Georgia football: expect Kaiir Elam to shun Gators, commit to UGA

National Signing Day is just over two weeks away. Georgia football already has a strong 2019 class, but it could get stronger with another top 10 cornerback.

For months, four-star cornerback Kaiir Elam was torn between Georgia and Florida. Former defensive coördinator Mel Tucker’s move to Colorado seemed to give the edge to the Gators heading into National Signing Day. But then Kirby Smart showed off his newest trick; stealing assistant coaches. Georgia announced the hiring of Florida’s defensive backs coach Charlton Warren this past weekend and that surely made the race for Elam interesting again as he was the lead recruiter of Elam for them.

Florida already has a pair of four-star corners committed in this class, but Elam is ranked higher than both of them (no. 49 overall, no. 7 cornerback). Georgia has just one corner signed for 2019, but that one is Tyrique Stevenson, the no. 4 corner in the nation. Between both teams are four of the best cornerbacks in the SEC East. Elam clearly isn’t concerned about facing competition from incoming and established players.

Right now, it’s more about who Elam wants to play for, not who he wants to play with. He was very high on Georgia’s staff when the possibility was to play for Smart and Tucker. Although that’s no longer the case, Warren is one of the best young position coaches in America and having the chance to play for him shouldn’t be passed up. Florida still needs to fill the void left by Warren and they have 16 days to do so with a comparable coach. If they take too long, or can’t find anyone better than Warren, Elam will dress in the red and black next year.

If Elam comes to Georgia, expect almost immediate impact because he’s good at covering slot receivers. In situations where Georgia expects the pass, and lines up with three defensive backs. he might be a better option at nickel. He’ll most certainly get looks when Georgia has to use dime formations.