5-star Georgia signee Kelee Ringo undergoes surgery and will miss start of season

Kelee Ringo won’t be playing for Georgia football right out of the gate.

It may be a little while before Kelee Ringo makes his Georgia football debut.

According to Dayne Young of UGASports.com, “Georgia defensive back Kelee Ringo had shoulder surgery this week to repair a torn labrum, sources tell UGASports.com. He is out indefinitely as the recovery process can take months.” Ringo tweeted out early Thursday morning “blessing in disguise”, knowing that his labrum surgery will shorten, if not end, his true freshman season.

Kelee Ringo wasn’t going to start, but was vying for early playing time.

Even though the Georgia Bulldogs are loaded in the defensive backfield with Eric Stokes, Tyson Campbell and DJ Daniel at cornerback, as well as Richard LeCounte III at safety, Ringo was going to battle for playing time right away with the Dawgs. According to the 247Sports Composite, Ringo was the No. 4 overall player in 2020 out of Scottsdale, Arizona by way of Tacoma, Washington.

Ringo committed to Georgia on Jan. 4 and enrolled at the University of Georgia five months to the day later on June 5. 247Sports projects him to be the next Xavier Rhodes. With him being a bona fide, blue-chip prospect, Ringo has the feel of an early entrant into the NFL Draft. He would be eligible to go pro and enter the 2023 NFL Draft, but he may still play three years with the Dawgs.

While this is a tough blow for Georgia because Dawg Nation all wanted to see Ringo become a superstar in the secondary under head coach Kirby Smart right away, Georgia is one of the few programs in the country that can offset this early-season loss. As for Ringo being optimistic and viewing this as a “blessing in disguise” that’s not the worst thing in the world for him.

He’ll have an opportunity to grow as a man in his first year in Athens, look at all the good things Campbell, Daniel, LeCounte and Daniel do in the defensive backfield and pattern that to his already strong game. Since Smart arrived back at his alma mater in 2016, prowess in the secondary has been Georgia’s calling card on its climb back to being a top-five program in the country.

It stinks that Ringo won’t be ready to play on Sept. 26, but he’s got plenty of time left to be a star.

For more NCAA football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.