Georgia football once again dominated the news cycle on Wednesday in the college football world. This fact is nothing new to UGA fans, but something very strange happened on Wednesday. The three biggest stories involving Georgia all surrounded the running back position, which is quite the coincidence.
So let’s dive right in, beginning with Georgia’s latest commitment.
Georgia lands No. 8 RB Jae Lamar
For the fourth day in a row, Georgia earned a commitment in the 2026 class. This time it came from four-star running back Jae Lamar, who is the No. 8 running back in the country according to the 247Sports composite rankings.
Lamar now joins Georgia’s 2026 recruiting class which is ranked No. 4 in the country according to 247Sports. And while this ranking is very strong, the Bulldogs are continuing to trend well with many other elite recruits in the 2026 class. So it is likely just a matter of time until Georgia moves higher in these rankings.
Kirby Smart accused of tampering
While winning the recruitment for Lamar was big news, it wasn’t the biggest story Georgia was involved in on Wednesday. Kirby Smart and UGA unfortunately were accused of tampering with running back transfer Josh McCray, who came to Georgia from Illinois this offseason.
This accusation came from Illinois head coach Bret Bielema who found it strange that McCray was visiting Georgia within 12 hours of entering the transfer portal. This however does not prove Georgia tampered with McCray at all, so it sounds like Bielema is a little upset Illinois couldn’t afford to keep one of the best backs in the country at Illinois.
5-star RB predicted to Georgia
To finish off the news surrounding the running back position on Wednesday, the Bulldogs received a prediction to land a commitment from another running back. This prediction came from On3 and was for Georgia to win the recruitment for five-star running back Derrek Cooper.
Cooper is scheduled to announce his commitment on July 12, so UGA will have to hold on in this battle for two more weeks still. But if Georgia can hang on, they will have the best running back duo in the country in the 2026 class with Lamar and Cooper heading to Athens.