Assessing Georgia’s 2016 recruiting class entering this summer

Georgia is in position to compete with Alabama, LSU and Ole Miss for the top recruiting class in the SEC as well as the country.

If the Bulldogs can bring in Derrick Brown, it will give the team three of the country’s Top 10 players based on the current 247Sports composite rankings. (Two of those would be five-star in-state defensive linemen. UGA also has a recruit from a four-star defensive tackle from Americus, Ga.)

Holding onto four-star running back B.J. Emmons, rated as the fifth-best player at the position in the country, also would help. Emmons recently was downgraded to a “soft” commitment by 247Sports, and Alabama is pursuing him with vigor right now.

The team still needs to add some help at linebacker, as UGA loses 12 of its 17 players at the position in the next two seasons, including several NFL draft picks.

But the team is loading up on both sides of the line of scrimmage with some huge, talented linemen. Oh, and don’t forget about Jacob Eason, the headliner in the SEC’s already-supreme quarterback class. If UGA does win the SEC East — or more — in 2015, this could be coach Mark Richt’s best-ever class.

ASSESSING GEORGIA’S 2016 CLASS

Current commits or enrollees: 12 (avg. star 3.8; last year: 3.6)
Current big-name targets: RB B.J. Emmons, DT Derrick Brown, OLB Jaleel Laguins, ATH Mecole Hardman Jr.
Biggest positions of need: WR, LB and OL
National/SEC rank: 4/1

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Christopher Smith

An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.