It was a big weekend for the Georgia Bulldogs 2019 class and Kirby Smart is already looking to build something special in the future.
Related Story: UGA Recruiting update
UGA gets a big commitment:
On a weekend where the Georgia Bulldogs were welcoming several top prospects from the 2018 class, Rashad Cheney Jr committed to the 2019 class. Currently, he’s unranked on most of the big scouting websites, but he played well at the True 19 game early this year.
With intriguing size and explosiveness, Cheney could be a big impact player in 2019. He currently stands at 6-4 and 265lbs and plays all along the defensive line in his high school. He should continue to grow and it will be fascinating to see how he develops before he arrives in Athens.
Big time play for ‘My UGA’:
Nolan Smith II has started to make a name for himself. He committed to UGA just before national signing day having recently transferred to the vaunted IMG Academy down in Florida. He recently showed up at the Nike Opening camp in Orlando this past weekend. Despite being one of the youngest players there, he put on an absolute show.
According to Dawgnation’s recent report on his performance, he’s put on 18lbs since arriving in Florida. He’s also become even more explosive and put up some impressive numbers at The Opening. He secured a score of 129.75 on the Nike ‘Sparq’ test that was the second best in the entire camp. The test measures all different types of athleticism and Smith impressed across the board. He ended up posting the 3rd best time in the nation this year.
I didn't do this GOD did everything 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/IIUKqcjc8P
— Nolan Smith II (@SmithNoland2) February 19, 2017
It wasn’t just his testing that was so impressive. Smith looked explosive and dominant against some of the best offensive linemen in the country and he seemed to get better as camp went on. He spent a great deal of time with #2 overall player in 2018 Xavier Thomas who
is learning under at IMG. Showing like this at camps and a good first season at IMG will likely lead to a surge in the rankings for Smith. He looks like he could well end up as a top 10 player when all is said and done.
As well as being a great prospect, he’s also the lead recruiter for what could be an exceptional class for UGA. Smith is all in on Georgia and is already pushing hard to recruit his new teammates at IMG. Having such a highly talented and vocal leader like Smith on board so early is a great sign for the 2019 class.
The #Final5 from yesterday's @TheOpening Regional in Orlando, Florida. pic.twitter.com/7IdRZYPDBs
— Final 5 (@Final5Linemen) February 20, 2017
More commitments coming?
Smith, Cheney and Offensive Tackle Luke Griffin are UGA’s three commitments so far for 2019 but more could well be on the way. Jadon Haselwood was in Athens this past week and Georgia seems to be heavily in play for him. He has recently stated that he too would like to commit early so that he can enjoy his final few years at school. A commitment from the #2 receiver in the country would be huge for this young class.
Smith also told Jeff Sentell in the Dawgnation interview that there are two more commitments that he expects to come soon. He also said that the ‘True 19′ chat group is now titled’ Dawg Life’. Smith expects at least 10 of the players from that group to end up at Georgia, an impressive haul.