The No. 2 running back in the country is David Gabriel-Georges. He is expected to announce his commitment at some point in July, and at one point Georgia was in the running. He even had an official visit schedule to Athens a few weeks ago, but he chose to cancel that visit which ended his relationship with Georgia.
At the time it wasn't clear why he chose to turn his back on Georgia. Many assumed it had to do with the fact that fellow five-star running back Kemon Spell was already committed to Georgia, but if that mattered to him he would've ended his relationship with UGA the moment Spell committed.
So there had to be something else at play that caused him to not have any interest in Georgia anymore, and it might just have to do with the massive NIL deal he is expected to sign.
NEW: 5-star RB David Gabriel Georges is expected to be the highest-paid RB recruit in history, @PeteNakos reports💵
— On3 (@On3) July 1, 2026
He is in line to become the first RB prospect with a $1M deal.https://t.co/VYimDXkSTG https://t.co/YOsiVd9la1 pic.twitter.com/WZzTe6GKEq
Georgia never really stood a chance with David Gabriel-Georges due to an insane NIL deal
According to On3, Gabriel-Georges is expected to sign the largest NIL day for a running back recruit of all time. They didn't specifically share how big his deal will be, but that information will likely come out once he commits to a school. But it's safe to assume that his deal will be worth millions of dollars.
Kirby Smart is willing to spend NIL money on recruits, but he will not throw large piles of cash at a recruit just to convince them to come to Georgia. That is not the culture he wants at Georgia, and he won't change his stance for one recruit no matter how good they are. So when a recruit is going to sign one of the biggest NIL deals of all time, it's safe to assume that Georgia never stood a chance.
That however shouldn't be a concern for Georgia for a variety of reasons.
Georgia doesn't actually need David Gabriel-Georges
The biggest reason why Georgia doesn’t need Gabriel-Georges is because they already have the commitment from Spell who is the No. 1 running back in the country. Gabriel-Georges is the No. 2 back in the country, so both players expect to be starters throughout their careers, so it doesn’t really make sense for them to go to the same school.
On top of that, the fact he wants to sign the largest NIL deal possible doesn’t make him a good culture fit for Georgia. Smart has won three SEC titles and two National Championships during the NIL era by avoiding players who care this much about NIL, so he clearly knows how to win in this era and what works for him at Georgia.
Would it have been nice to land Gabriel-Georges? Sure, having the top two running backs in the country would’ve been one of the greatest recruiting wins of Smart’s tenure at Georgia. But this “loss” really isn’t much of a loss and is something no Georgia fan should be upset about as they will be just fine with Spell.
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