Georgia is running out of time to land its top OT target in the 2027 class

Let's be honest with ourselves here. When it comes to the Georgia Bulldogs being able to land five-star offensive tackle Mark Matthews as part of their 2027 recruiting class, the runway simply is not long enough. Although UGA is one of four finalists for the book-end offensive lineman out of Fort Lauderdale, the Dawgs are going to be playing third fiddle, at best, when it comes to landing him...

Here are the four teams Matthews will be choosing from when he makes his commitment on May 15.

• Georgia Bulldogs
• LSU Tigers
• Miami Hurricanes
• Texas A&M Aggies

At this point in time, Texas A&M and Miami are the two schools with the best chances of getting him.

According to the 247Sports Composite, Matthews is the No. 1 player from Florida, the No. 1 offensive tackle in the country, and the No. 5 overall prospect in the 2027 recruiting cycle. He might have 41 official offers, but it is going to be shocking at this point if he ends up picking Georgia, LSU, or anyone else over Miami or Texas A&M. Interestingly enough, he has been crystal balled to those two schools.

If Georgia has any hope to land Matthews, Kirby Smart and his staff must make wholesale changes...

Georgia slated to be a bridesmaid, not a bride, in landing Mark Matthews

Until Smart and the Georgia football program either add to or seriously open up their war chest, the Bulldogs are almost always going to get beat by high spenders in the wonderful world of NIL. Lane Kiffin is showing that he will spend money in his earliest days at LSU, but Miami and Texas A&M have a reputation for writing blank checks for seemingly everyone. There is also the hometown component...

That right there might be the most interesting wrinkle when it comes to Matthews' high-profile recruitment. Fort Lauderdale is in the same South Floridian metroplex of Miami as Coral Gables. He may play at a powerhouse catholic school in St. Thomas Aquinas, a school that regularly sends players all over the country. However, whenever Miami is up to caliber, the best players stay home.

Frankly, that has not always been the case under Mario Cristobal. The two most talented players from South Florida ended up playing their college football elsewhere. Fernando Mendoza originally played his college football at Cal before transferring to Indiana to become a legend. His namesake father played along the same offensive line as Cristobal in high school. There is also Jeremiah Smith as well.

Ultimately, the fact that Cristobal does not have a stranglehold on South Florida recruitment does open the door for someone like Georgia to potentially land him. However, it seems way more likely that either Kiffin is going to do some major convincing to bring him to Baton Rouge, or almost certainly that Mike Elko is going to back up the Brinks truck for him to get Matthews to Texas A&M...

Georgia still techincally has a puncher's chance at landing Matthews, but it may only be a pipe dream.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow