The first day of the Early Signing Period has been very good to the Georgia Bulldogs. It looks pretty certain that they will finish this period as the No. 2-ranked class in the country behind only Alabama, and there are 5 5-star recruits who will be the anchors to this class for years to come.

The 5-star recruits are defensive end Nolan Smith, linebacker Nakobe Dean, defensive tackle Travon Walker, wide receiver Dominick Blaylock and center Clay Webb. Smith is the No. 1 prospect in the country; Dean is No. 14.

There are also 14 current 4-stars in the class.

Let’s take a look at the key player in the class, the key flip, the biggest need filled, the potential quarterback future and the national perception of another year well done on the recruiting trail:

1. Key player

There are a few choices here, but I’m going with 5-star center Clay Webb for several reasons. First, he’s the No. 1 center in the country, according to the 247Sports composite, and secondly, it fills an area of need for the Bulldogs. You can never have enough first-rate offensive linemen.

The most important reason, though, is that Alabama also desperately wanted the Oxford, Ala., native. The Crimson Tide coaches saw his as a guy who would start for two or three years, and probably spend a dozen years playing center in the NFL. Instead, he’s a Bulldog, and an anchor to the line for at least three years for sure. He’s already on campus in Athens, going through bowl preparations with the Bulldogs.

2. Key flip

There’s no doubt about this one — and it was a huge Day 1 flip for the Bulldogs. Stealing 4-star quarterback Dwan Mathis from Ohio State was a massive get, especially with the Justin Fields transfer news hanging in the air.

Mathis has been committed to Ohio State since the summer, but with Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer retiring, things changed in his mind. Let’s make no mistake here: This is a massive, massive get that helps solidify this as a great class. Mathis is 6-6 and 205 pounds, and is the No. 7 pro-style QB in the 247Sports composite rankings.

3. Biggest need filled

The thing we learned about this 2018 season was that you can never have enough defensive linemen. The Bulldogs dealt with a lot of attrition issues all season, losing several players to injury for long stretches. It was especially a problem on the interior of the line, and all of it added up to Georgia finishing dead last in sacks in the SEC with only 20 in 12 regular-season games.

Georgia hit the jackpot during this recruiting season. They got Nolan Smith, the Savannah, Ga., native who’s been at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., and he’s the No. 1 -ranked overall player in the 247Sports composite. Fellow 5-star defensive tackle Travon Walker is also signed and there are seven defensive linemen overall, which is big. Problem solved, in other words.

4. Quarterbacks of the future

We’ve been discussing ad nauseam all week about the Georgia quarterback situation now that it looks like a second 5-star quarterback, Justin Fields, will head out of town. Jacob Eason, a fellow 5-star, left last year when it became obvious that Jake Fromm was going to be the man this season. Fromm will be a junior next year, and he’s still going to be the man.

Depth is always an issue at this position, so the Dwan Mathis flip that we mentioned earlier is huge. He will likely join fellow 4-star QB John Rhys Plumlee in Athens, where they can learn the ropes from Fromm and not complain a lot about playing time. Plumlee still hasn’t signed, so that’s not a done deal yet, but we’ll have to see. Just Plumlee would have been fine, but the Bulldogs definitely needed two quarterbacks in this class with Fields leaving. It’s going to be interesting to see how this out wraps up.

5. Best national impression

There’s no doubt that this one. After having the No. 1 recruiting class in the country in 2018, Georgia has followed that up with a No. 2 class, with is further proof that this program is here to stay under Kirby Smart, because he and his staff can recruit and go toe-to-toe with everyone. It’s one thing to have one good recruiting year, and it’s another to keep it up year after year.

It’s pretty likely that Georgia will finish up with that No. 2-ranked class now, and that’s tremendous. Sure, beating Alabama last year was nice, but they are once again very close, and the 5 5-star players they got also fill critical needs. Especially considering several chose Georgia over Alabama. This is, quite honestly, a huge day for the Bulldogs.

Now it needs to translate to even bigger victories in 2019.

Cover photo credit: @FootballUGA