How Good Can UGA’s Recruiting Class of 2016 Be?

With two huge commitments this week, the UGA football team is well on its way to having one of the best recruiting classes in 2016.  4-Star DT Tyler Clark and 4-Star DB Chad Clay are the two newest rising high school seniors to commit to the Georgia Bulldogs.  Mark Richt and his staff now have 11 hard commitments and 1 soft commitment.

In years past, the Dawgs have had a difficult time of securing its borders as so many elite prospects end up leaving the state to go play college football.  Georgia is a hotbed for high school football talent, right up there with California, Texas, and Florida.  If Richt and top recruiters DC Jeremy Pruitt, WRs Coach Bryan McClendon, and new RBs Coach Thomas Brown can secure the state’s borders from outside institutions, how good can UGA’s Recruiting Class of 2016 be?

With the early commitments of QB Jacob Eason, OT Ben Cleveland and DE Chauncey Manac, the Dawgs Recruiting Class of 2016 already had some serious bite before Thanksgiving of last year.  Eason and Cleveland committed together back in July and Manac followed suit back in late September.  Cleveland and Manac are both 4-Stars and top ten players in Georgia.

Eason is the number one rated quarterback in the country.  The lanky (6’5”, 205 lbs.) pro-style passer from the Pacific Northwest might be the most highly touted high school quarterback since Highland Park’s Matthew Stafford in 2006.  Great news for the Dawgs in getting Eason’s firm commitment, as Stafford went number one overall to the Detroit Lions in 2009.

Since Mark Richt came to Athens from Tallahassee, UGA has had a very impressive track record with pro-style passers: David Greene, DJ Shockley, Matthew Stafford, Aaron Murray, Hutson Mason all went on to the NFL.  Georgia’s reputation for having a great pro-style offense brings young men from all over the country wanting to play in the Red and Black.  Eason, Cleveland, and Manac have all been integral in their attempt to have the best class in college football by the end of national signing day in March.

The newest committees Clark and Clay have advocated that they will persuade many other topic prospects in the state to stay at home and play for the Georgia Bulldogs.  But they won’t have to do it alone as Pruitt, McClendon, and Brown are ace recruiters for the Dawgs.

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Since Jeremy Pruitt has come over to Athens from Tallahassee, like Richt did in 2001, he has been able to completely transform the Dawgs secondary.  Pruitt is getting guys to commit that would normally have gone to programs with elite secondaries like Alabama or LSU.  Any 3-Star or better defensive back wants to play in Pruitt’s system because it yields outstanding results.  Coach Pruitt won three national championships, two at Alabama and one as DC at FSU, before coming to Georgia.

Currently UGA has the number one recruiting class in the SEC and the fourth nationally.  With nearly a year left to build this pledge class, it would not surprise me if Georgia beats out presumably Alabama, Ohio State, and USC for the country’s best incoming class of 2016.