Georgia beats out 36 other schools to land top 5-star linebacker

Kirby Smart and Georgia football added to their 2021 recruiting class with the addition of five-star linebacker Smael Mondon. 

Go ahead and rejoice, Georgia football fans. That’s because Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs have come out on top of yet another monster recruiting battle.

For a while now, the expectation has been that five-star linebacker Smael Mondon would stay home and suit up for the Bulldogs. They’ve been among his top schools for months, but other teams like Tennessee and Auburn had been making a late push to try and land his commitment.

Those efforts weren’t enough, as Mondon announced his verbal pledge on Wednesday morning to the Bulldogs.

Georgia landing 5-star linebacker Smael Mondon is yet another monster recruiting win

Plain and simple, this is a massive get for Georgia. Checking in at 6-foot-3 and weighing 220 pounds, Mondon is ranked the No. 1 outside linebacker in the country by 247Sports and the No. 9 player nationally. Throughout his recruitment, he picked up 37 offers but narrowed things down to Tennessee, LSU, Auburn, Georgia and Florida in late October.

Originally, the plan for Mondon was to take all five of his official visits this fall and then make his decision. However, things changed due to the coronavirus pandemic for him. Regardless, Smart and his coaching staff were the odds-on favorites to land his verbal, with them making Mondon a top priority throughout his process.

Mondon becomes the third 5-star recruit for the 2021 class to pick Georgia, joining quarterback Brock Vandagriff and offensive tackle Amarius Mims. Smart’s ’21 group is now up to 19 commitments. Per 247Sports, Georgia holds the No. 5-ranked class in the country and the No. 3 class for the SEC. With the Early Signing Period less than a month away, look for Smart to keep adding to what’s already an impressive class.

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.