UGA football: Re-ranking the Bulldogs’ 2016 recruiting class

The 2016 UGA football recruiting class was the first signed by head coach Kirby Smart. Most of the class has departed the program, but a few redshirted players remain with the team.

Late 2015 and early 2016 were tumultuous times for UGA football recruiting. For the first time in 15 years, the Bulldogs were looking for a new head coach. After Mark’s Richt’s firing the day after a win over Georgia Tech, four players decommitted and fans feared more recruits would follow suit.

But, new head coach Kirby Smart managed to keep the rest of the class committed while successfully recruiting a few new prospects into the class. The 2016 UGA football recruiting class finished ranked No. 6 in the nation and No. 4 in the SEC.

The top signee in the 2016 class was quarterback Jacob Eason, followed by athlete Mecole Hardman and tight end Isaac Nauta. Each of them was given five stars by 247Sports Composite. The rest of the class featured six four-star players ranked in the top 200, three more four stars ranked outside the top 200, a four-star junior college player, and nine three-star players.

Many players lived up to their lofty expectations, some far exceeded expectations, while others are just footnotes in UGA football recruiting history. Five players left the program and had some success at other schools. Now that the 2016 recruiting class has almost completely departed the UGA football program, how does the class look re-ranked today based on how all 22 players performed in college and beyond?