Georgia Football: Should fans worry about 2018 recruiting?

Why are players leaving Georgia?

The most concerning element for most fans is the fact that so many players from Georgia seem to be leaving the state in 2018. Unlike 2017, when UGA signed 12 of the top 20 players in state, this year, they will be lucky to even sign 4. The vast majority of those players have already committed elsewhere and they don’t seem interested in staying home.

While this is frustrating for fans, there’s not a huge amount coaches can do about this. Last year, a lot of players really bought into Kirby Smarts message of having pride of playing for your home state. They loved the idea of winning big for the place their family grew up and the team they supported.

It doesn’t look like many kids in 2018 are buying into that message. Cox is a great example of that. His family are huge UGA fans, but he he sees Columbus as the easier route to rings and the NFL. I can’t begrudge him that, Ohio State is clearly the best team in a relatively weak Big 10. They churn out NFL prospects every single year. Georgia is simply not where the Buckeyes are right now, Kirby Smart is only in his second year.

Fans shouldn’t feel too downhearted though. In part because 2019 seems to be very different that 2018. A lot of the top players from that class seem to have the drive to win for their home state. That should make so a much stronger local class.