Georgia football loses in-state safety to SEC rival

Friday marked the decision date for talented Peach State safety Nascar McCoy. McCoy had announced a final three consisting of Georgia, Ole Miss and Michigan, but it was the Rebels who came out on top and stole a Peach State recruit from UGA's backyard.

3-star safety chooses Ole Miss over Georgia

According to the 247Sports composite rankings, McCoy is a three-star safety and the No. 490 overall player in the country. He also is the No. 39 safety in the 2026 recruiting class and the No. 53 player from the state of Georgia.

Georgia at one point was full on board with trying to land McCoy's commitment, but those feelings did die down over time. This potentially had something to do with how well Ole Miss was recruiting McCoy, but it might have had more to do with Georgia cooling on him and getting other stud defensive backs from the 2026 class instead.

Georgia so far already has six traditional defensive backs committed to their 2026 recruiting class. This total includes three corners and three safeties. Of those six recruits, five of them are ranked higher than McCoy, so that shows that this loss really isn't all that bad for Georgia.

On top of that, UGA may not even be that interested in adding anymore safeties to their recruiting class. As mentioned, Georgia already has three traditional safeties committed to their 2026 class, so there is a good chance Kirby Smart and his staff don't feel the need to add a fourth.

There is a scenario where Georgia does add a fourth safety, and that is if one of the best safeties in the country decides they want to come to Georgia. McCoy does not fit that description, so that is why this loss doesn't hurt Georgia.

At the end of the day though, Ole Miss was able to earn a commitment from a very solid player that has a lot of upside he can immediately bring to their program.