5 reasons UGA recruiting should be just fine in 2018

Lots of fans are starting to worry about UGA recruiting and the 2018 class. Here is why they shouldn't. rn[relatedstory url="https://dawnofthedawg.com/2017/05/22/georgia-bulldogs-monday-morning-recap-9/" teaser="Monday Morning Recap" /]rnrn[caption id="attachment_51327" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports[/caption]rnrnAfter Donovan Georges decommitted from Georgia on Monday, the UGA recruiting class for 2018 is back to just 2 commits. 3 star cornerback Chris Smith and kicker/punter Jake Camarda are the only two players committed to playing for the dawgs in 2018 so far. Considering the class the dawgs put together last year, this is worrying some fans.rnrnIt also doesn't help that former coach Mark Richt is doing so well down in Miami. His class currently sits at #1 overall in the 2018 class rankings so far. Despite all this negativity, there are actually a lot of reasons that fans should not worry. Here are 5 of things fans should keep in mind when they see some of the negative posts out there at the moment.rn rn 5. It's only May. rn[caption id="attachment_50535" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports[/caption]rnrnThat's still kind of a big deal. While I can completely understand fans being frustrated by some of the things that have happened this cycle, there's a very long way to go in the 2018 class. At this point for the last class, UGA had only 6 prospects committed. While that's a good number more then they do now, its a lot less than the 17 Miami currently has for 2018.rnrnNow of course, last years UGA class had their two big time leaders, Jake Fromm and Richard LeCounte III all signed up. This year, there don't seem to be those kind of players in Georgia. Top, elite talents who are driven to build something special at their home state school. That's a shame and it means the coaches have to look elsewhere but it's not the end of the world. Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields both could have been just that, but with two 5-star QB's already on the UGA roster, it's understandable why both of them have committed to other schools.rnrnIt's worth remembering that a lot of commitments made early on don't necessarily last. Often the decision comes down to who recruits the player best in the end. UGA will experience this same issue in 2019 holding onto top 10 talents Nolan Smith and Jadon Haselwood. Georgia is still very much in the mix for several players who seem to be going elsewhere right now. Don't forget how they flipped the liked of Tray Bishop from Auburn late in the process last year.rnrn rn 4. When an offer isn't really an offer. rn[caption id="attachment_52373" align="aligncenter" width="590"] John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports[/caption]rnrnThe summer is one of the busiest times of year for coaches and recruiting. The main reason for this is that a lot of the 'offers' that players have, are not exactly what they seem. Top schools like Alabama hand out lots of these 'offers' but they really mean 'come and camp with us and we'll see how you do'. They're more invitations for players to come and show coaches that they can win a spot at the school. Only the very top elite players get real 'offers' to these schools without performing for coaches.rnrnJust the other day, we saw someone who is expected to be an Alabama commit Christian Tutt put back his commitment until the end of June. Most are reporting that this is because he does not actually have a commit-able offer yet. Tutt was once the nations #1 CB in this class but his play has since dropped off, the staff want to see in person what he can do against other top players.rnrnNow not all schools do this, but it should be remembered that Kirby is from that particular coaching tree. One of the reasons Alabama does this is because their roster is loaded with talent and their spots are genuinely desirable to recruits. After the most recent class, Georgia's roster is looking pretty stacked as well. With UGA doesn't have the winning pedigree that Saban has yet, their starting to build something that suggests they would consider using the same blueprint.rnrn rn 3. Georgia currently has the same number of commits as Alabama. rn[caption id="attachment_52374" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports[/caption]rnrnSpeaking of Alabama, it should be noted that the nations #1 recruiting powerhouse currently has 2 commits for 2018. Yep that's right, the same number as UGA, 2. Bear in mind that this same Alabama team has finished with #1 overall ranked classes for 5 straight years. They're a recruiting juggernaut.rnrnNow of course, they have rings and titles to point to which is why they are different to Georgia. But they know that there is plenty of time for them to build what will at least be a top 3 class. Schools like Miami might be sitting pretty now, but it would be shocking if they held onto all of their current commits.rnrnOther schools like LSU who are sitting at #4 in the rankings are more there for volume then talent. While they may have stolen Adam Anderson from the Dawgs last month, they have also loaded up on 3-star talent. in fact, so far, 9 of their 16 players are only 3 star players. In short, unless LSU lands some pretty big fish later in the cycle, their class will tumble down the rankings when other programs start to fill up.rnrn rn 2. Recruits want to see what this team can do... and that's ok. rn[caption id="attachment_51924" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports[/caption]rnrnThere's a key reason why several players who seem to be leaning towards UGA have not pulled the trigger yet. They're waiting to see just what this years Georgia team can do. It's a perfectly reasonable reaction. They have heard a lot of great messages from the coaches, they likely want to believe what they are hearing about how the program is going to change.rnrnBut it's absolutely fair for them to wait and actually see what this years team is going to do. 2016 wasn't a great year for UGA on the field. It wasn't terrible either but it was overall a little 'meh'. They had a true freshman QB who played ok. Their offensive line was a mess and they lost two very winable games to Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech.rnrnBasically, the team looked like Georgia. The same Georgia we have all seen for the past decade. Kirby Smart has been selling recruits that things are going to be different. That he and his coaching staff are going to bring glory back to the red and black and that players who join will win big time games and titles. 2017 is a year where the team has a chance to actually show people that. It's not particularly surprising that recruits are waiting to see exactly if this staff can be believed.rnrn rn 1. Kirby Smart is still the head coach. rn[caption id="attachment_51929" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports[/caption]rnrnThis all depends on how much you believe in Kirby Smart, but when it comes to recruiting, I believe he deserves the benefit of the doubt. The guy has come in and been a relentless recruiter from day one and he's delivered two great classes. People can say what they want about his in game coaching, I think it's fair to say a second year coach still has a lot to learn. But when it comes to recruiting, he's delivered results and he's not going to rest on those laurels. His reputation is that he's relentless.rnrnWith summer coming up, it looks like UGA is going to start bringing in prospects to Athens and start holding it's camps. To me, this will likely be where we start to see some more domino's fall. They likely won't be the biggest names, nor the most heralded prospects, but it's very likely that Kirby and co. will be able to sell their message to prospects while they are there. There will be several who jump on board to secure their spots and start building this class. Some of them will love the opportunity to really be leaders for this particular cycle.rnrn[nextpost teaser="Yante Maten returning to UGA" url="https://dawnofthedawg.com/2017/05/24/yante-maten-returns-uga/" /]rnrnThere's still plenty of time for Georgia to build a top 10/top 5 class for 2018. It's likely going to look very different to the 2017 class and a lot more will likely come from outside of state. But if UGA are able to put together a strong season on the field, I think there's a really good chance that Georgia will have one of the strongest 2018 class in the nation.

Dawn of the Dawg

5 reasons UGA recruiting should be just fine.

Lots of fans are starting to worry about UGA recruiting and the 2018 class. Here is why they shouldn’t.

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