Georgia Football: You win some and you lose some in SEC Recruiting

Georgia Football received the commitment from a defensive lineman but missed on a cornerback, all in an hour. So goes recruiting in the SEC.

I guess the Dawgs missed one, I guess we aren’t paying players after all! For most of the past few weeks, Georgia Football fans were told to expect a commitment from top JUCO Cornerback DJ Daniel. Almost all of the recruiting writers across the websites thought that Daniel would be staying in state. But at the last minute, he instead shocked them all and committed to South Carolina. Even Gamecock writers were surprised. There was a reason none of them showed up at his press conference.

Shortly before his announcement, Dawg fans were celebrating. A third defensive lineman out of Tennessee had committed to UGA. Tymon Mitchell is the largest recruit on the DL so far this cycle. He profiles like a natural nose on tape and is exactly what fans were crying out for in this 2018 class.

And so the wheel continues to turn in recruiting. Georgia has been on such a hot streak the past few years that it’s hard to remember that every now and then, even their staff misses on a player. Back in May Owen Pappoe decided to go to Auburn in a move that still confuses a lot of people. He continues to talk about being the next Roquan Smith and yet he’s going to play for a staff that hasn’t developed an inside linebacker since… Karlos Dansby?

It’s always worth remembering that at the end of the day, we’re dealing with kids. Not everyone will feel the same and ultimately, they’re all looking for something a little bit different. If Daniel is looking to get a lot of playing time and jump to the NFL quickly, then SC is probably a great spot. If he’s looking to win championships, then not so much.

Mitchell is a talented but very raw prospect. He liked what he saw at UGA and so made his decision. That wasn’t the case for Daniel, who ultimately went in a different direction. There’s no conspiracy theory to see here. The Dawgs didn’t call Daniel and tell him they didn’t have space for him and South Carolina didn’t drive a truckload of money to his parent’s house. Those sorts of stories all sound well and good, but it doesn’t make any of them true.

For example, Pappoe went to Auburn because they made him feel like a star. They treated him like an ‘alpha’ and made it clear that treatment will continue once he arrives. The school even made him a custom, one-off jersey just for his commitment ceremony. He’s the king of their campus and he’s still got another year of high school.

That’s not the offer that was on the table from Georgia. There are and will be no star players that get special treatment as long as Kirby Smart is in Athens. Some 5-stars like Justin Fields and Nolan Smith don’t care about that, they want to be in the culture that Smart has built at Georgia. Others want to be the big man on campus and there’s nothing wrong with either. It’s just different and it’s why UGA will always miss on some players it really wants.

When that happens, the Georgia staff and fan base need to dust themselves off and move to the next one. It hurts to miss Daniel just like it hurt with Pappoe in May. There are only so many elite athletes out there and you always want them on your football team. But at the end of the day, in a conference like the SEC, you can’t win them all. All you can do is celebrate those players who do decide they want to become Dawgs and cheer them on every Saturday. So welcome to the family Mr. Mitchell, I’m pretty sure you’re going to love Athens.