Georgia football had 19 early enrollees join the team, marking one of the largest groups under head coach Kirby Smart and, through the first half of spring practice, are already impressing the staff.
As one of the most complete classes that the Dawgs have put together, it shouldn’t surprise anyone because they came ready to compete.
Smart and his staff seek after high character kids who have high motors and are ready to get after it. This group has just that, and it’s exciting because they are the future of this program.
Georgia football is already seeing its mid-year players shine in spring practice.
Guys like Earnest Greene have already earned some notable mentions in a few practice reports. Jalon Walker is another early enrollee who has gotten some love this spring.
Daylen Everette is putting in some strong reps back in the secondary, and these are just a few who are causing noise.
Smart went out of his way during one of his press conferences to give the mid-years a shout-out, and the head coach seemed impressed.
"“The guys are growing, we are getting a lot of young players reps,” Smart said during his press conference. “I don’t know if I can ever recall a time where we have had so many first-year players, actually mid-year players that are getting valuable reps. Most of the time those guys are coming in your door and going with the three’s and we have a lot of them going with the two’s. It just shows the excitement they bring but also what we are trying to with and get better.”"
This quote shows why Georgia goes after specific kids in recruiting classes now and how it’s not always about landing the most 5-stars.
Having players willing to work right away and not expect things is why Georgia will continue to have success. These kids know that success comes from hard work, discipline and dedication.
To see it from players who are just getting on campus is great because there is no learning curve for the culture at Georgia. These kids know what expectations are there, and that is such a great thing to have with incoming freshmen.
There has to be an expectation there, and these kids need to know what kind of culture is in Athens. If they do right away, it makes the transition into college easier. It’s not easy joining college in January, so to see Smart praise them early on is great.
Georgia football is transforming right before everyone’s eyes, and this recruiting class proves that sometimes changing recruiting tactics can be the best decision for a program.