It took the student holding off the teacher to make it happen, but for the second time in three years, Kirby Smart and Georgia are the recruiting national champions.
Nick Saban and Alabama threatened on Wednesday's National Signing Day, but with four-star defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson’s decision to commit to Texas A&M over Alabama, there’s no other reasonable scenario remaining that would catapult anyone over Georgia for the top class in the 247Sports Composite Team Recruiting Rankings for the 2020 cycle.
For the Bulldogs, the first Wednesday in February was much more about hanging on to a lead than mounting a furious finish. After the departure of offensive line coach Sam Pittman to the Arkansas head coaching job, Georgia’s loaded offensive line class was left vulnerable. Five-star Broderick Jones and four-star Sedrick Van Pran both took multiple visits during the January recruiting period but ultimately decided on Wednesday to sign with Georgia, securing No. 1 in the 247Sports Composite Team Recruiting Rankings.
Georgia did land two commits on the day — a long, upside defensive back out of Louisiana that it flipped from Ole Miss named Daran Branch and in-state offensive lineman Cameron Kinnie — but most of the work was done well before Wednesday arrived. The commitment of four-star running back Daijun Edwards last week gave Georgia the final push to the No. 1 spot but a loaded group built in the early signing period set the tone.
Among the talent coming to Georgia, the Bulldogs signed 10 of the top 60 players in the country. It’s a national approach, featuring eight states and the District of Columbia. It landed running back Kendall Milton out of Northern California, five-star cornerback Kelee Ringo out of Arizona, five-star tight end Darnell Washington out of Nevada and a top-three player in the state of Florida in defensive tackle Jalen Carter.
The class also features loads of speed. Arian Smith and Jermaine Burton are two of the fastest wide receivers in the class of 2020 while Ringo and Texas cornerback Jalen Kimber are among the fastest cornerbacks the class has to offer.
Not only is the No. 1 class an indication of what Smart is capable of at Georgia on the recruiting trail, it also speaks to the consistency that he’s developed. This will be Georgia’s second No. 1 class but maybe more importantly, this is three consecutive years of top-2 finishes.
_Reporting on February 5th, 2020 at 19:09 UTC »
Meanwhile we're in the top 10 but still 7th in the SEC lmao
doublenik55 on February 5th, 2020 at 16:51 UTC »
Man our staff is loaded, our team is loaded. I'm so excited.
Can't wait until we lose it all at the Championship game in a couple of years.
Draisaitl92 on February 5th, 2020 at 16:50 UTC »
Saban taught Kirby well