July 20 marks the commitment date for five-star running back Derrek Cooper. Throughout the past few months Georgia has been one of his top teams if not the team leading in his recruitment. However, the last few days have seen multiple recruiting experts predict Cooper to Texas.
There theoretically is still time for Georgia to come back and win this recruitment, but that seems nearly impossible at this point. So what went wong for Georgia in this recruitment?
It's hard to know exactly how Georgia lost this recruitment, but a few experts have hinted at the sole reason being financial.
Cooper trending to Texas because of NIL offer
Two recruiting insiders on Sunday hinted on social media that the reason Cooper is likely to pick Texas is because of the financial package offered to him by the Longhorns.
The first report indicating Cooper’s decision is being heavily influenced by money came from Rivals insider Geoff Ketchum. It’s important to not that Ketchum is a Texas insider with Rivals, so he likely is the most knowledgeable person at Rivals about Cooper’s recruitment.
The Derrek Cooper recruitment is a reminder that money in college football matters and that it's ok.
— Geoff Ketchum (@gkketch) July 20, 2025
It sometimes matters more than official visits... and that's ok.
It sometimes matters more than any other factor... and that's ok.
Georgia insider Radi Nabulsi also weighed in on this recruitment by sarcastically crediting the amazing relationship Texas formed with Cooper.
Amazing relationships being developed by Texas https://t.co/o9kCrDhnXW
— Radi Nabulsi (@RadiNabulsi) July 20, 2025
Regardless of the reason, it’s unfortunate that Cooper appears to be heading to Texas instead of Athens. Blaming the loss on a massive NIL offer is an easy excuse for fans to make when losing a recruitment, but that’s just the name of the game nowadays.
Whether Georgia likes it or not, recruiting is heavily influenced by money. So if Georgia wants to win more of these recruitments, they might have to up the NIL they’re willing to offer.
At the end of the day though, Kirby Smart has shared he will not overspend for any recruit out of high school. He’d rather reward his upperclassmen financially who have earned it over multiple years at Georgia.
So far this strategy has worked at Georgia during the NIL era, and as long as UGA keeps winning on the field then losing these recruitments isn’t so bad.