Georgia Football Recruiting 2018: 5 most important commits for Bulldogs
By John Buhler
The Georgia Bulldogs have crushed it so far with the top-ranked 2018 recruiting class. Here are their five most important commits of this recruiting cycle.
Even though Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs came up a play short of winning its first national title since 1980 in overtime earlier this month, the Red and Black are in great shape going forward. That was only Smart’s second year leading his alma mater’s football program and Georgia isn’t going anywhere.
Why you ask? Because the Dawgs have completely dominated on the recruiting trails under Smart, especially with this sensational 2018 recruiting class. According to 247Sports, Georgia has the No. 1 class in 2018, with an average rating of 0.9374.
Georgia has nine early enrollees, 11 others that have already signed their 2018 national letters of intent, as well as two other hard commitments. That brings the Bulldogs’ total to 22 commitments heading into national signing day on Feb. 7. Overall, Georgia has six five-stars, 12 four-stars and four three-stars comprising its stellar class.
Not all of these commits will ultimately pan out in Athens, but several will be key in the Bulldogs’ quest for its third-ever national title. After what we saw this past season, we have to believe that is coming sooner rather than later. Here are the five most important commits of the 2018 recruiting class so far for Georgia.
If Georgia is going to contend and win national titles, the Bulldogs must continue to win recruiting in the trenches. One of the best parts of Smart’s two-year tenure in Athens was his ability to poach offensive line coach Sam Pittman away from the Arkansas Razorbacks in 2016. It took a year, but the Dawgs front-five became all sorts of ferocious in 2017.
One guy that could literally be huge for the Red and Black up front is guard Jamaree Salyer from Pace Academy in Atlanta. Salyer is 6-foot-4, 342 pounds and could challenge for a rotational spot right away at Georgia. He signed his national letter of intent to Georgia on Dec. 20.
Salyer is the No. 1 offensive guard prospect in the nation, the No. 3 prospect from Georgia and the No. 10 player nationally. 247 Sports has him as a five-star recruit with a 0.9945 grade. You’re just not going to get a guard prospect as highly touted in-state as Salyer.
He might have the frame to kick out to either tackle spot if need be. That could help him see the field quicker than most kids that won’t be showing up on campus until later in the summer. Georgia will look to continue to win pounding the rock and using its pro-style passing game from the pocket. A big-time interior offensive line prospect like Salyer will go a long way in helping Georgia stay in the national title conversation for the next several years.