Georgia football comes up short with 5-star DL, faces harsh reality of NIL era

Georgia football's momentum on the recruiting trail has come to a screeching halt in a big way on Friday as Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs have come up short in the recruitment for one of the best players in the country.

Five-star defensive lineman Justus Terry has had one of the most back-and-forth recruitments out of any player in the country, but it ends with Terry committing to Texas.

Justus Terry's roller coaster recruitment

Terry has arguably been the most confusing yet exciting recruitment in the 2025 class. It all began back in January of 2023 when he originally committed to Georgia. That commitment was held for a long time until he decommitted from Georgia back in March of this year.

On the same day of his decommitment, Terry made the decison to commit to USC and join the Trojans recruiting class. That commitment however did not last for long as he backed off this commitment in June. From there it became a race between a few schools, with Georgia seemingly leading the rest of the year with Alabama and Auburn making pushes as well.

But in the end it was Texas who Terry went with, who reportedly offered him a NIL deal about 12 hours before his commitment today that would be impossible for anyone to turn down.

The harsh reality of the NIL era

Georgia did everything right in this recruitment. They had five crystal ball predictions in their favor for Terry and seemed to still be the team to beat even after late pushes from Auburn and Alabama. But the harsh reality of the NIL era is that any team can come in at the last second and convince a recruit to commit to them based on a dollar sign rather than one built on relationships.

Regardless, Smart and Georgia stay put at No. 4 in the recruiting rankings while Texas takes a commanding lead in the top spot. The Bulldogs still have a very good class, especially on the defensive line, so this loss isn't one that will kill Georgia. But it is a tough loss because Terry has the makings of an All American player and future first round draft pick.

Hopefully Georgia can get their revenge on the field this weekend against Texas in the SEC Championship game.