Georgia Football: First 2017 Commitment a Difference Maker
Bailey Hockman was the first player offered a Georgia football scholarship after Brian Schottenheimer’s arrival in Athens and he is the first 2017 recruit to commit to the Bulldogs.
Georgia received its first 2017 football commitment, and it could not be more significant.
Bailey Hockman (6’2, 210, Powder Springs, McEachern High ), a 247sports.com four star national number two ranked pro style quarterback and son of McEachern High School’s Coach Kyle Hockman becomes the cornerstone of The Bulldogs 2017 class.
Related: Hockman Joins the Quarterback Carousel
Hockman said to 247sports.com. “[Georgia] is the perfect place to get me to where and to who I wanna be.”
Question number one – and two and three – for Hockman is, “What of 2016 quarterback recruit of Jacob Eason (6’5” 2015,LakeStevens, WA, Lake Stevens High).”
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“Jacob Eason is going there and he is obviously a great, big time quarterback,” Hockman told 247sports.com. “He would either be a redshirt freshman or sophomore my freshman year. We would have to just go in and compete and see what happens.”
Hockman takes a long view, “Taking a quarterback every year is pretty normal, so anywhere I go I will be competing. What coach Schottenheimer would say is ‘Drew Brees and Philip Rivers each competed against each other when they came in, and they are both top quarterbacks right now. If we both go there and compete, it would make each of us better.”
And what of Jacob Eason? The 5-star quarterback Georgia commit’s family expressed enthusiasm over Hockman’s addition. “It speaks volumes for Schotty — he’s turning Georgia into Quarterback U. by getting the top guys there,” Tony Eason, Eason’s father told Michael Carvell of the AJC.com.
Adam Meadows is the last McEachern player to sign a letter of intent to play for Georgia. Now, Georgia appears to have seized the top Indians in the next two classes with Julian Rochester coming on board n 2016 and Hockman in 2017.
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Could 2016 defensive tackle Julian Rochester’s (6’5” 313 Powder Springs, McEachern High ) commitment have influenced Hockman?
That question remains unanswered, but there is no question Rochester is happy to see his teammate commit to the Dawgs. “He loves competition, so between him and Jacob Eason, we would be rolling at quarterback,” Rochester said and reported by the MDJonline.com. “I really think that he would love to compete with Eason for a starting job at Georgia for years to come. I do not think he is scared by a five-star at all. I think he is up to the challenge.”
Now, much as the commitment of Eason, the top 2016 quarterback, set the stage for Georgia’s rise in the 2016 rankings, Georgia will build on Hockman’s commitment. Hockman plans to do his part.
“I’ll go to camps and different visits and start talking to other guys,” Hockman told Dan McDonald of Georgiadogs.com.