Georgia football and Kirby Smart have proven that they can recruit talent from wherever they want. They are not afraid to travel anywhere on the recruiting trail because they know that’s what they have to do to be the best program in the country.
So whenever an elite recruit pops up in places far away, even Hawaii, Smart and his staff will get involved. And that’s exactly what they’ve been doing with an elite prospect from Hawaii who just recently announced his top six schools.
4-star OT Malakai Lee
Malakai Lee is a four-star offensive tackle from Honolulu, HI. According to the 247Sports compostie rankings, Lee is the No. 145 overall player in the country. He also is the No. 12 offensive tackle in the 2026 class and the top ranked player from his home state of Hawaii.
Lee is beginning the process of narrowing down his recruitment, which included naming his top six schools on Friday. And according to Hayes Fawcett with On3, Georgia made the cut. Joining the Bulldogs in Lee's top six is Michigan, BYU, USC, Alabama and Texas.
While Georgia clearly still has a chance in this recruitment, there is one team who is the clear favorite right now, and that is the Michigan Wolverines. The Wolverines are the only school with an official prediction in their favor on 247Sports which was logged last October. The good news for Georgia is that this crystal ball prediction is very old now, so it is unclear how much value it still holds, but it is clear they still have some ground to make up.
The best way Georgia can make up ground in this recruitment is by getting Lee to come to Athens on an official visit later this summer. So hopefully Smart and his staff will be able to do just that which should help convince Lee that Georgia is the right place for him.