Georgia Football lands powerful kicker for 2020 class

Georgia football picked up its third commitment for June on Thursday. This time it was a kicker.

It’s day 13 for June, and Georgia football landed its third commitment of the month. The Bulldogs recruiting train is heating up, and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.

After visiting Athens on June 1 for camp, Jared Zirkel committed to the Bulldogs with an announcement on Twitter.

Zirkel plays for Tivy High School in Kerrville, Texas. He isn’t ranked on 247Sports, but the guy can flat out kick a football. The June 1 visit wasn’t the first time he visited Georgia. Zirkel also came for a visit back on Feb. 17 and then back again for G-day on April 20.

With Rodrigo Blankenship on his final season, the Bulldogs needed to find a kicker in the 2020 class. With only three offers, Zirkel chose Georgia.

Now the Dawgs do have Jake Camarda, who punted for the Dawgs last year but can place kick as well. So Zirkel will have to compete with him, but it’ll be a good one to watch.

During his most recent visit, Zirkel won the 2019 Georgia Football kickoff competition out of 150 campers and according to DawgNation, he finished in the top 8 in the field goal contest making more than one field goal from 55-yards out.

Zirkel works with Kicking World, and they have him listed at 6-3 and 190 pounds. According to his profile on Kicking World’s site, he hit a 70-yard field goal off the crossbar during a lesson.

His profile also included his stats. Zirkel made 4-of-6 field goals in 2018 and 2-of-4 in 2017. He made a 59-yard field goal in 2018 on Sept. 9 during a game. Kicking World says that he made a 59, 48, and two 45 yarders in 2018 while missing a 53 and 50 field goals.

Zirkel also had a 90 percent touchback rate in 2018 recording 63 touchbacks on 70 kickoffs.

While he may not be as highly decorated as many of Georgia’s commits, Zirkel is talented. He has a heck of a leg, and if he’s kicking 70-yarders in lessons, I want to see if he can eventually do this in a game. Now I know its highly unlikely that’ll ever be asked of him, but if he could do it consistently, Zirkel could change the game of kicking.

Zirkel has some big shoes to fill, but it seems like he’s on the right track. Georgia has a long line of successful kickers, and the Bulldogs appear to have found the next one.

With Zirkel’s pledge, Georgia has 13 commitments for the 2020 recruiting class. The Bulldogs have the No. 4 overall and No. 3 SEC recruiting classes.