Georgia Football: Kirby Smart and Staff Recruiting at the Next Level
The Georgia Football program is on their way to finishing with a top three recruiting class for the second year in a row. The Dawgs have signed 21 players and have moved up to number two in the recruiting rankings.
Wednesday was a great day for the Georgia Football program. Early signing day saw the Georgia Bulldogs added 5 – five star,14 – four star and 3 – three star players to the fold. The last player was a familiar face, as former backup quarterback Stetson Bennett returned to the squad.
The impressive early signing day moved the Dawgs up one spot in the recruiting rankings past Texas A&M. UGA now only trails nemesis Alabama for the number one spot. UGA is attempting to finish with the number one recruiting class for the second straight year.
Key Replacements
Kirby Smart was able to land some key replacements in the 2019 recruiting class. He and the Georgia staff were able to flip a major recruit getting four star quarterback Dwan Mathis to flip from Ohio State, to the University of Georgia. Mathis is the nation’s number two dual threat quarterback.
The Mathis signing was extremely significant, as the Dawgs faced the possibility of having only one scholarship quarterback on the roster, should Justin Fields transfer. Our Kit Anderson talks about the Fields situation and how it will affect the Dawgs here.
As previously mentioned, quarterback Stetson Bennett IV returned to the Dawgs, after transferring to Jones County Junior College in Mississippi prior to the 2018 season. Bennett was a preferred walk on with the Dawgs previously.
He is now a scholarship player and gives the Dawgs a backup with experience in the offense. Bennett gives Kirby Smart the option of red shirting Dwan Mathis, should he so desire.
Another key addition due to a transfer, is tight end Ryland Goede from Acworth, Georgia. Goede is the number six ranked player at his position. His signing was so important, because freshman tight end Luke Ford surprisingly showed up in the NCAA transfer portal before Justin Fields did.