Kirby Smart dropped the ball with an in-state superstar at the worst time possible

Friday gave Kirby Smart another chance to save Georgia's recruiting class. The Bulldogs are currently outside the top 15 recruiting classes in the country, and a big reason why is because they have zero defensive back commits.

The best way for Smart to finally add a defensive back would be for him to convince an in-state prospect to stay close to home and come play at Georgia. That's where Ta'Shawn Poole comes into play who is a top 100 safety from the state of Georgia.

The Bulldogs were one of his three finalists, but unfortunately he committed to Florida State over Georgia and Tennessee on Friday.

Georgia needed Ta'Shawn Poole's commitment more than people realize

If Smart can't convince elite recruits from the Peach State to play at Georgia then who can he convince? These are the recruitments he has to win if Georgia wants to improve their recruiting class because Smart should be able to rely on UGA being the best program in the state to convince in-state recruits to come play for him.

The importance of that grew even more since Georgia's class has zero defensive back commits in mid-July. So not only would Poole have been a huge addition to the program based on his ranking alone, he would've been a commit at the position where Georgia needs the most help right now.

Maybe this is a recruitment Smart will be able to circle back to in the future, but for now he is heading south to the Seminoles. Smart however has no time to sulk though because another elite in-state defensive back is planning to commit on Saturday and Georgia once again is a finalist.

Georgia has another chance to add an in-state DB on Saturday

Adryan Cole is a safety just like Poole who is from the state of Georgia. He isn't ranked quite as high as Poole, but he is still the No. 166 overall player in the country and the No. 15 player from the Peach State.

Cole will announce his commitment on Saturday, July 18 at 4:30 pm EST. Georgia is one of four finalists along with SEC rivals LSU, Ole Miss and Florida.

Georgia however is expected to win this recruitment. The Bulldogs are the only school with a prediction in their favor on 247Sports and On3 also has Georgia as the heavy favorite as well.

A commitment from Cole would move Georgia up to No. 12 in the 247Sports team rankings. That still isn't where anyone wants to be, but it would be a step in the right direction.

Hopefully this is a recruitment Georgia can win, but it still won't make up for losing Poole. So after hopefully landing Cole it would be wise for Smart to circle back with Poole at some point to try and convince him to join Cole in Georgia's secondary.

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