Georgia football: can Dawgs flip five-star receiver George Pickens?
Georgia football is still building on its 2019 recruiting class with 16 days until National Signing Day. Although committed elsewhere, Georgia isn’t out of the running for five-star George Pickens.
The best unsigned player in the southeast has been committed to Auburn for about a year and a half. But that doesn’t mean Georgia football is out of the running. Five-star wide receiver George Pickens visited Athens over the weekend, and Kirby Smart might return the visit to Hoover, Alabama this week. 247Sports Composite ranks Pickens no. 27 nationally, no. 4 out of all wide receivers and no. 2 in the state of Alabama.
One thing is certain, he’s not as locked in to Auburn as he once was as he’ll likely go on a few more visits before National Signing Day on December 6. With most of its class already signed, Georgia can divert all of its resources to recruiting players like Pickens. They don’t have to worry about keeping anyone.
In the past, it’s been nearly impossible to sign players from Alabama. Both the Tigers and Crimson Tide have locked the state down. But the 2019 no. 1 center Clay Webb is already a Bulldog. Clemson has also taken players from the Yellowhammer State. Kirby Smart coached at Alabama as an assistant for almost a decade, he’s built a base there and will use it to sign Alabama players.
Many sites, including 247Sports and Rivals are selling Pickens flip to Georgia as a possibility. New offensive coördinator James Coley and wide receivers coach Cortez Hankton have visited Pickens twice recently.
One thing going in Georgia’s favor is momentum. Since his commitment, he was an Auburn guy. But After a visit to LSU in October, his Tiger loyalties seemed to shift from Auburn to Baton Rouge. Tennessee and Miami have also been in the hunt since December. It’s only been recently that Georgia has even been in the conversation. The pace at which the connection between Georgia and Pickens has formed might be a sign that him and his family are just waiting on an in-home visit by Kirby Smart.
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A commitment from Pickens would boost Georgia’s 2019 class a ton, possibly enough to pass Alabama assuming Kaiir Elam also signs. Pickens would supplant Jadon Haselwood’s decommitment. He’s very similar to Haselwood, though he’s not quite as athletic. That doesn’t matter for his style of receiver however. Pickens wins most of battles with solid route running and physicality. Plus, he’s fantastic after the catch. Might be even better with the ball.