4-star DL trending away from Georgia in the final hour, now predicted to SEC rival

This is a tough loss for Georgia.
South Carolina v Georgia
South Carolina v Georgia | Todd Kirkland/GettyImages

One of Georgia football's top targets on the defensive line is PJ Dean, and he is set to come off the board on Monday. The Bulldogs are one of Dean's finalists along with Ohio State and South Carolina, and entering Monday UGA was the team to beat.

However, just hours before Dean announces his commitment, On3's Steve Wiltfong flipped his prediction and now believes that South Carolina will win Dean's recruitment.

Georgia no longer the favorite for 4-star DL PJ Dean

According to the 247Sports composite rankings, Dean is the No. 66 overall player in the country. He also is the No. 7 defensive lineman in the 2026 recruiting class and the No. 6 player from the state of North Carolina.

When Dean was predicted to Georgia just a few days ago, UGA fans exploded because of how elite of a talent they thought Georgia would be getting. That however no longer appears to be the case, and to make matters worse Dean is instead trending to a rival in the SEC.

It shouldn't be that surprising to see South Carolina come on strong in this recruitment because of how close in proximity they are to Dean's hometown. On top of that, the Gamecocks are a team on the rise after an impressive year during the 2024 season.

This loss thankfully isn't the end of the world for Georgia because they did just earn a commitment form the No. 1 defensive lineman in the country last week, but Dean would have been the cherry on top for Georgia at this position.

The next target on the defensive line to keep an eye on now is four-star Valdin Sone, who is a top 200 player in the country. So winning Sone's recruitment has become that much more important as it would make losing Dean not hurt as much.