Signing day 2022: Georgia football once again loads up with talented recruits

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia signed eight players ranked in the top 100, according to the 247 Sports Composite — on defense alone. Just an FYI for anyone curious about how Georgia is always great on defense.

There were two others in the top 100 on offense, with a five-star tight end still on the radar because why not add another elite tight end.

Ho-hum, just another massive recruiting haul for Georgia in the Kirby Smart era: This class sits No. 2 in the country, making it the seventh straight to finish in the top four. (And it was fourth only one year.) Recruiting prowess has become so ingrained that when Smart was asked how winning the national championship helped in this cycle, he seemed confused.

“I don’t know if you can measure that,” he said. “It gets you in the conversation with more national guys. But there’s nobody when I look at this list that we would’ve gotten if we hadn’t won it, or we got them because we won it.”

Here are thoughts and observations on this recruiting class as it looks now.

Linebacker talent galore

Five-star edge rusher Damon Wilson is the crown jewel of Wednesday. He joins Samuel M’Pemba, the nation’s 36th-ranked prospect per the 247Sports Composite, a year after Georgia brought in five-star Marvin Jones Jr., as well as Jalon Walker, a top-50 prospect last year who has been used on the edge as well as inside.

Introducing the newest class of 𝐃𝐚𝐰𝐠𝐬.
Stay tuned.#GoDawgs | #KeepItG23
— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball) December 21, 2022

“We’re trying to get that room back to where it was in the past. There was a time there when there were three or four really high draft picks in that room,” Smart said, pointing to how edge rushers can help on third downs, diverse packages and special teams. “When we’ve been at our best, we’ve had a lot of speed and athleticism in that room, and we’re trying to get back to that.”

At inside linebacker, Georgia reeled in the prospects ranked third, fourth and fifth at the position: Raylen Wilson, Troy Bowles and C.J. Allen. That’s with two sophomores starting this year.

GO DEEPER

Georgia lands 5-star edge rusher Damon Wilson

Cornerbacks

Georgia loaded up at this position, signing five-star prospect A.J. Harris and four-star prospects Daniel Harris and Chris Peal. This a year after signing two five-stars (Jaheim Singletary and Daylen Everette) and another in the top 100 (Julian Humphrey). And this with two members of the 2021 class (Kamari Lassiter and Javon Bullard) starting and doing well this season.

Oh, and Georgia is still in the mix for Deyon “Smoke” Bouie, the blue-chip member of the 2022 class who went to Texas A&M but is transferring.

So why stock up so much? Because teams simply can’t have enough of those players in today’s pass-oriented game.

“There is no such thing as a ‘cornerback’ anymore in my mind,” Smart said, making air quotes. “There’s defensive backs that play everywhere. Football is a matchup game. There’s more empty (backfield) than we’ve ever seen before, more spread than we’ve ever seen before. You’ve got to have slot corners, you’ve got to have outside corners, you’ve got to have guys that can go inside and play. You’ve got to have guys who are gunners, guys who can tackle. There’s so many roles of a defensive back that it’s not three corners; it’s can this guy play early, can they help us? You can’t have enough.”

The Bulldogs are building depth, Smart added, because it’s a position that sees attrition whether it’s via transfer or the NFL Draft.

Receivers

This is the main area of focus in the transfer portal, and Georgia could add two or even three before the offseason is over. But it also went there via the high school route.

• Tyler Williams (6-foot-3, 200 pounds) is ranked 85th and the 14th-ranked receiver. Height is obviously his main drawing card.

• Anthony Evans (5-10, 160) is ranked No. 245. The former Oklahoma commit’s specialty is speed.

• Yazeed Haynes (6-1, 170) ranks No. 252 and has a bit of both.

All three have enrolled and have been practicing with the team, which drew a joke from fourth-year receiver Kearis Jackson.

“They’ve all got lockers near me; they’re trying to push me out of here,” Jackson said.

Four-star receiver Raymond Cottrell (6-2, 203) was supposed to sign Wednesday but had not as of Smart’s news conference. There were no indications of any hang-ups with Cottrell, who ranks 148th nationally.

Offensive line

This was the first signing class for Stacy Searels at Georgia — well, not counting his 2007-10 stint in Athens — and it wasn’t a full cycle, since Searels was hired in February. Still, it was a decent start by finishing on Monroe Freeling, a tackle ranked No. 57 nationally, as well as Bo Hughley, ranked No. 127, fending off a late charge from Auburn.

Georgia also got interior lineman Kelton Smith, a four-star prospect, and Joshua Miller, a three-star prospect.

It simply may be that Georgia was spoiled by the Sam Pittman era, when he collected elite prospects at a level that few programs do. Since he left, Georgia has had Matt Luke for two years and now Searels, and the results are still pretty good: The 2022 class had Earnest Greene, a top-50 prospect; 2021 had five-star Amarius Mims and two more top-100 players in Micah Morris and Dylan Fairchild. Plus there’s the chance to develop less-heralded players.

“We recruit as a staff, not as a position,” Smart said. “I think Stacy has done a tremendous job this year. Went and got some really talented, flexible guys who can go inside and out. That’s always what you’re looking for, to get length at tackle, guys that can go inside and play guard.”

Quarterback future

This is setting up to be the first recruiting cycle of the Smart era when no scholarships go to a quarterback. That’s partly a sign of confidence in the three who are due back: Carson Beck, Brock Vandagriff and Gunner Stockton. And it’s partly because so much was put into the Arch Manning sweepstakes, losing out on him to Texas.

But Georgia has also made the calculation that it can adjust if needed.

“I think it’s irrelevant in today’s day and age. The portal’s full of them,” Smart said. “There’s going to be multiple guys in every year. You want to do the best job you can, be the best quarterback you can. When you have three quarterbacks, sometimes you don’t have any, and when you have one quarterback, sometimes that’s when you have a quarterback. We’re very pleased with what we have in our quarterback room. We think we have three quarterbacks who are going to be very good.”

Other notes

• Georgia signed one running back (four-star Roderick Robinson), while Kyron Jones had been committed to NC State as a running back. But Georgia announced Jones as an athlete, indicating it may use him at defense. That would enhance the chances of taking a transfer running back at some point, especially if it loses more than just Kenny McIntosh this offseason.

• The two tight ends Georgia signed — Pearce Spurlin and Lawson Luckie — are four-star prospects. And Georgia is still pushing for five-star prospect Duce Robinson, who plans to announce by February. That may seem like a lot, but only sophomore Brock Bowers and freshman Oscar Delp are sure things for being back in 2023. Darnell Washington is eligible for the NFL Draft, Brett Seither and Ryland Goede both participated in senior day, and the star-crossed Arik Gilbert’s future at Georgia is in serious doubt.

• Georgia signed place-kicker Peyton Woodring (Lafayette, La.), which is probably a sign some attrition is coming since the team is unlikely to carry three place-kickers on scholarship. Jack Podlesny, finishing his third year as the starter, has another year of eligibility but could head for the NFL. Jared Zirkel, who is finishing his third year in the program, patiently has waited and could be the kicker in 2023 — or could have to compete with Woodring.

(Photo of Kirby Smart: Steve Limentani / ISI Photos/Getty Images)