We’re inside of 24 hours until ink hits paper in college football, the most important day of the offseason in the SEC as touted prep seniors sign binding letters of intent. National Signing Day has become a February spectacle we’re all interested in as football fiends, one that breeds anticipation at every major program in the country.
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Coming down the final recruiting stretch, it was a wild January for the Georgia Bulldogs.
Wednesday marks a fitting end for what’s expected to be one of the nation’s top incoming classes for 2015, currently a 25-member group that has battled through seven decommitments to post six flips, the most recent coming Monday night when the Bulldogs turned three-star running back Tae Crowder from Georgia Southern.
One player the Bulldogs are trying to hold onto this week is five-star athlete Terry Godwin, a prospect hand-picked to make an instant impact on either side of the football. Godwin is being pursued by several SEC programs including Auburn and was feared to decommit following Mike Bobo’s abrupt postseason departure to Colorado State.
One of the jewels of this year’s class alongside five-star defensive tackle Trent Thompson, Godwin remains undecided on where he’ll sign according to his mother. Over the last five days, he had in-home visits with Mark Richt and Gus Malzahn and will announce his decision Wednesday.
The Bulldogs are confident they’ll sign four-star linebacker Roquan Smith and former Alabama commit Rico McGraw, necessary additions to Jeremy Pruitt’s defense. McGraw took his official to Athens over the weekend and had what’s been reported as a positive conversation with several assistant coaches.
McGraw’s crystal ball heavily favors Georgia:
Georgia 2015 recruiting class
- National Rank: 7
- SEC Rank: 4
- No. of Commitments: 25
- No. of Commitments by Rating: 2 five-stars, 10 four-stars, 13 three-stars
Top incoming offensive players: Four-star WR Darius Slayton; Four-star WR Jayson Stanley
Top incoming defensive players: Five-star DT Trent Thompson; Five-star ATH Terry Godwin
Primary remaining targets: Four-star LB Roquan Smith; Four-star CB Rico McGraw
Best-case scenario: The Bulldogs hold onto Terry Godwin and welcome four-star defenders Smith and McGraw to Athens, securing a Top 5 class for the first time since 2009.
Verbal commits
- Trent Thompson, DT, Five-star
- Terry Godwin, ATH, Five-star
- D’Andre Walker, DE, Four-star
- Rashad Roundtree, S, Four-star
- Darius Slayton, WR, Four-star
- Chauncey Rivers, DE, Four-star
- Jayson Stanley, WR, Four-star
- Gary McCrae, LB, Three-star
- Michael Chigbu, WR, Three-star
- Juwuan Briscoe, CB, Three-star
- Sam Madden, OT, Four-star
- DeVondre Seymoure, OT, Four-star
- Sage Hardin, OT, Three-star
- Deontai Williams, S, Three-star
- Deandre Baker, CB, Three-star
- Juwan Taylor, LB, Three-star
- Justin Young, DT, Three-star
- Tae Crowder, RB, Three-star
Current class
- Jonathan Ledbetter, DE, Four-star (early enrollee)
- Natrez Patrick, DE, Four-star (early enrollee)
- Jackson Harris, TE, Four-star (early enrollee)
- Michael Barnett, DE, Four-star (early enrollee)
- Johnathan Abram, S, Three-star (early enrollee)
- Chuks Amaechi, LB, Three-star (early enrollee, signed during JUCO period)
- Jarvis Wilson, S, Three-star (early enrollee)
Editor’s note: Saturday Down South’s references to recruiting rankings are to 247Sports.com industry composite ranking.
