Georgia football and Florida got good news regarding recruiting at the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, as both teams can host pledges now. That word host is a bit of a push because they can host them, but it doesn’t mean what it usually does on the recruiting trail.
For this instance, host means schools can provide tickets to the game but nothing else. This ability is the start of something special that could happen for both Georgia and Florida, but it is only just that.
While head coach Kirby Smart has been on this topic of moving the annual game out of Jacksonville since he took over, it’s going to take a lot more than just giving tickets to recruits to change his mind.
For this to stay a tradition, recruits need to be able to have the whole experience — talking with coaches, tickets, etc. Whatever they need to do to make this so appealing that Smart doesn’t want to move the game is what needs to happen.
Georgia football and Flordia see a solid start to hosting recruits in Jacksonville.
However, merely being able to go to the game isn’t much of a change. If a recruit wanted to go to the game, tickets were easily obtainable. I’m not saying that either school made that happen at all, but they were able to go to this game. They just couldn’t talk to coaches.
That ability is similar to this new rule they just implemented, so how is it different? To me, it’s not that much different outside, making it official for the teams to do so.
I have a hard time thinking that other things before this passed were going on, but that is all speculation and in my head. I have no evidence of this, and I’m not stirring the pot to suggest it was happening genuinely.
The Georgia-Florida game must stay in Jacksonville because it’s a unique college football tradition. Don’t change that because of recruiting — that is an easy fix. However, I will say it’s a step in the right direction.
If Georgia and Clemson were able to host recruits — similarly to what they now can do in Jacksonville — why not take it another step? These neutral site games don’t happen often, so why not allow coaches to get in touch? It can quickly occur, plus they can keep it fair by only allowing the home team or an allotted time for both sides to host the prospects.
It’s a strong start, but I want more than just being able to hook up prospects with tickets. If Jacksonville wants to stay a thing, more changes will have to happen, or Smart will keep pushing for this game to go home-and-home or Atlanta-Jacksonville until he gets what he wants.