Atlanta Sports: Local Kid Making College Football Recruiting Noise

Like most High School football classes, 2018 showcases a lot of talent from the State of Georgia. Justin Fields, though, has the recruiting world’s attention.

It seems like I have to preface every article about college football recruiting with the disclaimer that, yes, it seems ridiculous that grown men pay so much attention to the college choices of 17-18 year old young men. I get it. But that doesn’t mean these choices don’t matter. And there is a kid on the Atlanta Sports scene that is showing that these decisions do matter.

The backdrop to this is that a couple of things are at play in the 2018 high school football recruiting class. Georgia always has talent. It is one of the top five states in the country in producing D-1 talent. 2018 is not different, except that it might not be “as deep”. Meaning the total numbers of high-end “ready day one” players might be lower than most years.

But there is also something else at work. In spite of that total talent reputation, the State of Georgia doesn’t really crank out championship or NFL level talent at Quarterback. It’s just a fact. Yes, there have been the Fran Tarkentons, Charlie Wards (could’ve played and excelled, but chose the NBA), and Cam Newtons, but that is few and very far between. There are only 5 active Quarterbacks currently playing in the NFL from the State of Georgia.

2018, though, is an exception to that rule. Well, it seems that way. According to 247Sports, and their cumulative rankings, Trevor Lawrence is currently considered the #1 overall high school player in the country. Emory Jones is 31st in the nation regardless of position. They are committed to Clemson and Ohio State, respectively. Both are expected to make it to the NFL, based on today’s metrics.

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But then there is the case of Justin Fields. Quarterback out of Kennesaw. He “de-committed” from Penn State earlier this spring and has taken the College Recruiting world by storm. That started when Cam Newton came out and said, for his money, Fields is the best in the country. People took notice.

Then, this past week, Fields joined 100, or so, of the best high school football players for Nike’s “The Opening”. It is the largest and most prestigious national football camp on the calendar. In short, Fields dominated. Trent Dilfer (eye roll), one of the founders of the camp, said he might the best QB who has been there in a decade. People are taking notice.

So, why the intense focus? The other aforementioned QBs are possibly as talented. First, because they are “committed” and Fields is not. Second, there are 5 schools in the Southeast in dire need of a QB in this class (Georgia, Florida, FSU, Auburn, Alabama). Third, Mr. Fields, apparently has juice with some of the other blue chip talent in the state and country. Some are reporting that multiple 4* and 5* players in this class have secretly told them that “where he goes, they go.” That in and of itself is unique.

If, in fact, that dynamic turns out to be true, and Justin Fields’ commitment to play football at one specific university brings in other players with elevated talent, we will see one of the most heated and competitive recruiting processes from most of the Southeast powerhouse programs.

What this also means is that, were Mr. Fields to choose to go to any school other than Georgia or Georgia Tech, the most plentiful and talented QB class in history from the State of Georgia would yield not one to any in-state school. It would be a recruiting failure of epic proportions.

College football is a billion dollar industry. Winning championships is big business. You have to have the best players and coaches to do that.

17-year-old Justin Fields has not set a date when he will announce where he will be attending university in Fall of 2018.

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