Five-star running back Derrek Cooper is one of Georgia’s most important targets remaining in the 2026 recruiting class. Georgia hosted Cooper on his official visit on June 13, and this marked a significant turning point in his recruitment. The Bulldogs were always viewed as one of his top schools, but this visit seemed to push Georgia to the No. 1 team on his list.
There are plenty of reasons why this was the case, but the work Kirby Smart is putting into this recruitment is the biggest reason why. And according to Cooper himself, the final message Smart shared with him at the end of this visit shows how hard Smart is working to win this recruitment.
"We want you bad," Cooper shared via dawgnation.com. "We’re going to do whatever it takes to get you.”
Georgia continues to trend well with Cooper
Cooper originally had a commitment date scheduled for July 12. A few days ago however he decided to cancel that date and unfortunately did not provide a new commitment date.
Other reports however have since surfaced indicating there is a chance that Cooper could commit sooner than July 12. And considering Georgia was the leader before this cancellation, an earlier commitment could be really good news for UGA.
Regardless of when Cooper commits, there is still a lot of work for Georgia and Smart to do if they are going to win this recruitment. Miami (FL), Texas, Florida State and Ohio State are Cooper’s other finalists, and winning a recruitment against these programs is never easy.
But if Smart in fact is doing everything he can to win this battle, then Georgia fans shouldn’t be worried. In fact, it could even be time to start imagining what Cooper will look like in Georgia’s backfield alongside five-star quarterback Jared Curtis.