Georgia could spoil Florida's recruiting efforts by landing this 4-star safety commit

Are you paying close attention? As spring approaches summer, more and more top-flight high school prospects will announce their intentions of where they will be playing their college football careers at. For four-star safety Kailib Dillard, he seems to have narrowed it down to three Power Four schools in Florida, Georgia, and Oregon. The Jenks, Oklahoma native is announcing his commitment on May 5...

At this time, Florida is seen as the leader for Dillard, but Georgia and Oregon are built to play spoiler.

According to the 247Sports Composite, Dillard is the No. 13 player from Oklahoma, the No. 43 safety in the country, and the No. 464 overall player. While 247Sports does not view him as a four-star, it is close. Rivals has given him that designation. Dillard will be making two official visits this summer. He will be coming to Georgia on June 5, and then will be going to Florida about a week later on June 11.

What does this all mean for Georgia's chances of landing him? How does Kirby Smart factor into this?

Kirby Smart has the track record to ruin Florida's plans for Kailib Dillard

While Smart, Dan Lanning, and Jon Sumrall all favor the defensive side of the ball as Power Four head coaches, Smart is the only one who cut his teeth coaching up defensive backs. Lanning and Sumrall specialized more in coaching up linebackers than in the secondary. Yes, a safety can bulk up and drop down into the box, but Smart is the one who played safety at an incredibly high level before in college.

While Florida and Oregon do both recruit nationally like Georgia does, it is telling that two of the three finalists for Dillard's services are SEC teams. Lanning may have thrived as Smart's top assistant, but that was half a decade ago. With Oklahoma now being an SEC state, committing to play for either the Bulldogs or Gators will make it easier for Dillard's family to come see him play. Why can UGA get him?

In short, Sumrall is brand-new to the SEC, and coaching at the Power Four level as well. Smart has been better at his job for longer than Lanning and Sumrall have combined. While Georgia does not have the greatest reputation for backing up the Brinks truck for top players, you are effectively guaranteed to make the playoff every year at a place like Georgia now. Oregon too, but not Florida...

Although Florida may be the team to beat to land Dillard on Cinco de Mayo, let's not rule out UGA yet.

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