National Signing Day 2014: Georgia Starts Strong, Afternoon Surprises Possible
National Signing Day at Georgia is always a big deal. The Bulldogs started off the morning with the #10 ranked recruiting class according to the ESPNRecrutingNation rankings, and pretty much everything went as hoped.
On the positive side, the Bulldogs had a couple of nice early morning surprises. First, Isaiah McKenzie, a 4-star wide receiver from Ft. Lauderdale, Fl., chose Georgia over Ole Miss and Virginia Tech. Coach Mark Richt and staff offered McKenzie on Monday, and having his teammate (and best friend) Sony Michel come to Georgia sealed the deal for the speedy wideout.
The second surprise for the Dawgs came when West Hall High School tight end Hunter Atkinson flipped from his commitment to Cincinnati, and decided to come to UGA after getting an offer from Richt on Tuesday. Atkinson goe 6-foot-6, and 250 lbs, and was very under-the-radar prospect. He received offers from Cincinnati, Purdue, Louisville and UCF.
Defensive tackle Lamont Gaillard, who had been a bit of a late concern for the Bulldogs, did eventually send his LOI over, so the Bulldog Nation can breathe easy on that one.
The day isn’t over yet however, and Georgia could be getting a couple of nice commits before the day is done. Michael Carvell of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution breaks down who could end up making a big splash in Athens.
"Andrew Williams, DE, 6-4, 247, ECLA: If UGA pulls off this off, it would be one of the biggest recruiting surprises of the year. The Bulldogs appear to be a long shot behind Auburn (rumored frontrunner) and Clemson but his coach told the AJC on Monday that “UGA is definitely in the mix now” after the visit.Lorenzo Carter, DE, 6-5, 240, Norcross: Florida and UGA appear to be co-leaders for state’s No. 1 prospect. He’s also considering Florida State and LSU. Carter’s mother told the AJC that she ranked last weekend’s UGA visit as an “11″ on scale of 1-10."
Most think that Carter is pretty much a done deal after his last visit with coach Richt, but nothing is a sure thing.
On Tuesday, Kendall Gant, the 6-2, 180 lb safety from Lakeland (Fla.) flipped from UGA to Marshall on Tuesday for “academic reasons.”
Here are the signees that UGA has penned thus far:
Hunter Atkinson TE, 6-5/250Oakwood, Ga.
Kendall Baker OL, 6-6/275 Atlanta, Ga.
Detric Bing-Dukes LB, 6-0/232 Atlanta, Ga.
Jeb Blazevich TE, 6-5/230 Charlotte, N.C.
Keyon Brown DE, 6-3/240 Wauchula, Fla.
Nick Chubb RB, 5-10/215 Cedartown, Ga.
Jake Edwards OL, 6-4/271 Franklin, Ga.
Shattle Fenteng DB, 6-2/200 Loganville, Ga.
Lamont Gaillard DT, 6-2/328 Fayetteville, N.C.
Shaquille Jones DB, 6-2/175 Palm Bay, Fla.
Gilbert Johnson WR, 6-3/192 Homestead, Fla.
Rico Johnson WR, 5-11/172 Swainsboro, Ga.
Isaiah McKenzie WR, 5-8/175 Fort Lauderdale, FL
Sony Michel RB, 5-11/205 Plantation, Fla.
Jacob Park QB, 6-3/202 Goose Creek, S.C.
Dominick Sanders ATH, 6-0/190 Tucker, Ga.
Shakenneth Williams WR, 6-1/195 Macon, Ga.
Isaiah Wynn OL, 6-2/269 St. Petersburg, Fla.
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