Recruiting: It’s A Marathon, Not A Sprint

It’s easy in today’s hyped up, social media saturated world to overreact to anything, whether large or small. That’s why it’s a good thing that college football fans, especially those who closely follow recruiting, are known for being deliberative and thoughtful. Right? Right?

Case in point? Georgia’s 2025 recruiting class, which has begun to pick up some momentum in June, but is still situated outside the top 5 in most industry rankings. Particularly worrisome for some Bulldog recruiting observers had been the commitments of several Peach State prospects to programs far and wide.

You can tell fans that as the apex predator of the college recruiting world Kirby Smart hunts wherever he wants, close to home or not. But still there will be those who insist on “building a fence around the state.” These same fans own a closet full of Brock Bowers jerseys and currently have a hundo on Carson Beck to win the Heisman. But they’ll still tell you that it’s a crying shame if Georgia doesn’t sign that four star tight end out of Vidalia, regardless of who else is in the recruiting class or already on the roster.

In the end, they’d do best to just trust Kirby. The Brain from Bainbridge usually has a recruiting plan. And he doesn’t give up on it.

The latest example is Smart’s pursuit of a pair of five star instate defensive linemen. Warner Robins’ Isaiah Gibson and Manchester’s Justus Terry are both among the top five players in Georgia and the top twenty in the nation according to industry experts. Both received early offers from the Bulldog coaching staff. And both committed early in the process to Southern Cal.

There was a time when this would have sent Bulldog message boards into an unmitigated meltdown. As it is, there was some mild grumbling about negative recruiting, NIL shenanigans, and hopeful comments about other, just as highly rated prospects. But still, no Bulldog fan viewed Terry and Gibson’s commitments to the Trojans as good news.

But my, how the turn tables have turned.

Repeatedly.

The twin decommitments of Terry and Gibson are likely worse news for USC and great news for Georgia. Terry had been an early UGA commitment, and I still think the Bulldogs are the favorite. But they will have to hold off Alabama and a host of other programs.

Gibson is also being courted by a who’s who of college football royalty, though he’s enjoyed some face time with King Kirby and will certainly hear from him many more times.

Personally, I think Clemson is a team to watch with Gibson, as his high school teammate Vic Burley plays for the Tigers. But Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Tennessee among others will continue to push for his signature.

But the Bulldogs are very likely to be in the mix until the very end for both, along with Savannah defensive tackle Elijah Griffin, likely the top defensive tackle in the country and believed by some to already be quietly committed to the Red and Black due to his frequent visits to Athens. Again, it is a long, long way to Signing Day. But I think there’s a real chance that Tray Scott, Glenn Schumann, and Kirby Smart may put together an all-time defensive line class by December. Until later…

Go ‘Dawgs!!!