Georgia Football: What Losing The Nation’s Top Wide Receiver Recruit Means

Jadon Haselwood, the nation’s number one wide receiver has de-committed from UGA. Let’s take a look the fallout, and speculate on how Georgia Football will bounce back moving forward.

Jadon Haselwood is a 6’3 195 pound wide receiver out of Cedar Grove High School in Ellenwood, GA. In addition to being the number one player at his position, he’s listed as the number three overall football player in the nation. He had been committed to Georgia Football since 2017.

Jadon Haselwood’s game has been compared to Randy Moss and former UGA wide receiver AJ Green. Haselwood isn’t as fast as Moss, however he posses good speed, along with the body control, timing, and leaping ability to go up and make difficult catches in traffic like Moss and Green.

Haselwood first broke the new on his twitter account with this tweet:

Jeff Sentel of Dawg Nation was the first to cover Haselwood reopening his commitment in this article. In the article Sentel stated that the University of Miami and former Georgia Football coach Mark Richt are among the front-runners to land Haselwood, partially due to the fact he coached AJ Green.

The reason Haselwood chose to de-commit from Georgia Football is unclear and could boil down to a number of factors. One of the main reasons is likely the fact that the Bulldogs are such a run heavy offense. It reasonable to belive that Jadon wants to be featured on whatever team he commits too.

The fact that Demetris Robertson, a former five-star receiver who transferred from Cal isn’t playing many snaps is also likely was a reason for Haselwood to reconsider his commitment to Georgia Football. Particularly the fact that blocking is what’s keeping D Rob off the field.

Jadon Haselwood mentioned liking what he saw from the Dawgs passing game in the last interview he gave. He also mentioned wanting to see Justin Fields play more. Jeff Sentel of Dawg Nation has the full interview embedded in this article.

You can watch a clip of Haselwood speaking to WSBTV below:

Haselwood re-opening his recruitment dropped the Georgia Bulldogs two spots from number one, to number three in the nation via the 27/Sports composite rankings. Georgia Football trails only number one Texas A&M and number two Alabama in the 2019 rankings.

Though he is a talented, wanted player, the de-committment of Haselwood hasn’t put Georgia Football in a bad spot, as far as wide receivers are concerned. Only three of the Dawgs eight wide receivers are seniors, Terry Godwin, Jayson Stanley, and Ahkil Crumpton.

Mecole Hardman and Riley Ridley, who lead Georgia Football in receiving are both Juniors, as is Tyler Simmons. All three are good players but none are expected to forgo their senior seasons for the NFL draft. Demetrius Robertson is only a sophomore.

Georgia Football still has a solid commitment from a top wide receiver Dominick Blaylock for 2019. Blaylock is a shade under 6’1 and weighs 187 pounds. He attends Walton High School in Marietta, GA.

Dominick is rated the sixth best wide out in the state of Georgia, and the number 31 wide receiver in the nation, according to 24/7 Sports. He’s also the sixth rather player in the state of Georgia.

Makiya Tongue, the number eight “athlete” in the nation, is also committed to Georgia Football for 2019. The 6’2 210 pound Tongue had the ability to play wide receiver and outside linebacker.

It’s extremely rare that a player posses the size and strength to play linebacker, yet the speed and explosiveness to play wide receiver. So that alone tells me Makiya Tongue is a special athlete. It’s unclear which position he will play at this time, but Tongue is certainly an option to fill the vacancy.

If Jadon Haselwood is indeed gone for good, I also expect the Bulldogs to flip a wide receiver from another school before signing day.

I spoke with New Dawg, Jamey Goodman of the Dawgcast Podcast. He named 6’4 George Pickens from Hoover, Alabama, an Auburn commit as a possible UGA target. Pickens is ranked the number seven receiver in the 2019 class.

The other name “New Dawg” mentioned as a possible target, was Ramel Keyton who is committed to Tennessee. Keyton stands at 6’3 and is from Marietta, GA. He’s rated as the number 21 wide receiver for the upcoming recruiting class.

Losing a player like Jadon Haselwood is certainly disappointing for Kirby Smart, his staff and Georgia Football fans alike. However it’s no reason to panic. Losing certain kids due to style of play, role concerns, and playing time questions are just a part of the recruiting process.

The Dawgs may not be able to claim the number one overall recruiting class for 2019 due to the number of scholarships available, compared to other top teams. However UGA can claim the highest average recruit title.

Make no mistake about it, Kirby Smart, Dale McGhee and the Georgia Football recruiting juggernaut is still in full effect.

We will have more on Georgia Football recruiting as news breaks. We’ll also continue to cover the Dawgs on the field in their quest to repeat as SEC Champions. Continue to visit ATL All Day for the latest on UGA and all of your favorite Atlanta area sports teams. Thank you for reading.