Kirby Smart's shot in the dark led to a prized 5-star commitment

Georgia's biggest commitment potentially in their program's history is from five-star quarterback Jayden Wade. He is the top ranked player in the 2028 recruiting class and just a few months ago he announced to the world that Georgia was the school he wanted to play for.

Wade is still a sophomore in high school, so it is pretty remarkable that Kirby Smart was already able to earn his commitment. But this didn't just happen by chance, Smart took a shot in the dark when Wade was still in eighth grade and it was that decision that led Wade to commit to UGA.

"They offered my on Christmas my 8th grade year. It was before anybody had even seen anything in me. They seen the potential in me early and then they pulled the trigger and wanted to take a chance."

Kirby Smart won Jayden Wade's recruitment long before anyone was paying attention to him

According to Wade, Smart offered him on Christmas while he was in eighth grade. This was before any other school began paying attention to him, so the fact Georgia was already willing to take a chance on him really stood out to him.

Fast forward to today and Georgia is really enjoying the benefits of having him in their recruiting class. They do still have a lot of hurdles to overcome as many other schools are beginning to ramp up their recruitment of him, but so far he is choosing to stick with Georgia and is urging everyone to not worry if he takes other visits.

This is just another example of Smart being one of the best recruiters in the country. He identified the talent Wade had before he even got to high school, and it was his early scholarship offer that led to Georgia earning Wade's commitment.