Tag: 247Sports

Ohio State football’s still incomplete 2021 recruiting class has already passed its top five 2020 one

Ohio State football’s 2021 recruiting class it’s putting together is so good it has already surpassed its top five rated 2020 one.

Have we told you lately that Ohio State football recruiting is on fire? Get this for proof; the 17-member 2021 class that’s still got plenty of room available has now surpassed its top five 2020 class from last season according to the 247Sports Composite Team Rankings.

That’s not to take anything away from last year’s haul. Ohio State has the top wide receiver, Julian Fleming, and the top offensive lineman, Paris Johnson Jr., already enrolled. With the return of Justin Fields, a veteran offensive line, and many other weapons, this team should be just fine.

It’ll be that 2021 season that might be one of transition with Fields likely off to the NFL.

When looking a season further, Ohio State’s dominance is clear. The 25- member 2020 class had an overall rating of 295.08, while the 2021 class is sitting at 295.41. The latter has a nation-high in five and four-star recruits with three and eleven respectively. And, there’s potentially more on the way with OSU high on other four and five-star recruits’ lists.

That said, this team will be dominant for the foreseeable future.

4-star WR JJ Jones includes Georgia football in top-five

Saturday, 2021 4-star receiver JJ Jones took to Twitter to announce his list of top-5 schools and Georgia football made the cut.

Saturday, 2021 4-star wide receiver JJ Jones announced his top-5 schools on Twitter.

North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Mississippi State and Georgia made the cut for the Myrtle Beach High School prospect.

247Sports has Jones ranked as the No. 2 player in South Carolina and No. 49 receiver overall in the 2021 recruiting class.

Per the composite rankings, he is ranked as the nation’s No. 414 overall player.

In 2019, as a junior, Jones caught 45 passes for 707 yards and 15 touchdowns while being named to the All-Region team and 3rd-team All State.

Right now, 247 has South Carolina as the favorite to land the home-state prospect.

Jones holds 35 scholarship offers from across the country.

Texas now eighth ranked class in 2020 recruiting cycle

After landing Jahdae Barron, Texas has moved up to eighth in the 247Sports composite recruiting standings. UT jumped Florida of the SEC.

After landing former Baylor signee Jahdae Barron, Texas has moved up one spot in the 247Sports composite recruiting standings to eighth. Originally behind the Florida Gators, the four-star corner from Austin helped leapfrog the Longhorns over the SEC team.

Barron will join other four-star prospect Kelvontay Dixon as the other cornerback in the 2020 recruiting class. Early enrollees Xavion Alford and Jerrin Thompson come in as safeties to wrap up the 2020 defensive backs.

20 out of 21 players from the 2020 recruiting class come from the state of Texas. Five-star running back Bijan Robinson is the only player from out of state, as he is from Arizona.

Not only did the Longhorns acquire recruits from Texas, but 11 out of the top 30 players from in-state committed to UT. Texas signed the top in-state players at five different positions. The top (two) quarterback, defensive end, defensive tackle, linebacker, and center will all play college ball in Austin.

Being ranked eighth nationally still has Texas as the top spot in the Big 12. Oklahoma will finish second in the conference, coming in at 11th overall.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

UGA trending for two 4-star offensive linemen from Georgia

UGA football recruiting is putting in work and is now trending for two 4-star lineman out of the state of Georgia.

Georgia appears to be trending for two of the top offensive linemen in the class of 2021.

Both are from the state of Georgia and both are listed as offensive guards. Terrence Ferguson and Dylan Fairchild are projected to commit to Georgia, per their 247Sports profile pages.

Rusty Mansell, a leading recruiting analyst for 247Sports, recently submitted his crystal ball picks for Fairchild and Ferguson.

He projected both to Georgia, which is good news for the Bulldogs given Mansell’s reputation of being one of the most accurate at predicting where a recruit will go.

Terrence Ferguson:

Ferguson is a four-star guard out of Fort Valley, Georgia. He attends Peach County High School.

Ferguson ranks as the nation’s No. 51 overall prospect, No. 3 offensive guard and No. 5 player from Georgia.

The 6-foot-4-inch, 300-pound lineman made visits to Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia. Sam Pittman and Arkansas offered him as well in December.

Dylan Fairchild:

Fairchild, out of Cumming, Georgia (West Forsyth HS), is a 6-foot-5-inch, 298-pounder who plays both guard and tackle.

Per the 247Sports composite rankings, Fairchild is the 211th ranked player in America, the 10th ranked guard and the 22nd player in Georgia.

The Bulldogs offered Fairchild in early March. He has received a great deal of recruiting interest recently, including from Florida State, Auburn and Texas A&M.

A look at some of Georgia’s top recruiting targets for 2021 class

We list our top-10 Georgia Football targets for the 2021 recruiting class.

Georgia currently holds the No. 12 ranked recruiting class overall and the 3rd best class in the SEC behind Florida and Tennessee. (link to sec class story here)

The Bulldogs hold seven commitments for their 2021 class which is led by 5-star QB Brock Vandagriff, 4-star OT Micah Morris and 4-star ATH David Daniel.

With much of the recruiting cycle still remaining, there are still plenty of great young prospects the Bulldogs will be pursuing over the next year or so.

Here is our list of some of Georgia’s top recruiting targets for the class of 2021. Just because a player is not listed does not mean Georgia is not targeting him.

All rankings via 247Sports:

  1. 5-star OT Amarius Mims (Cochran, GA)
  2. 5-star DB Tony Grimes (Virginia Beach, VA)
  3. 5-star S James Williams (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
  4. 5-star DT Leonard Taylor (Miami, FL)
  5. 5-star DT Mason Smith (Houma, LA)
  6. 5-star OLB Smael Mondon (Dallas, GA)
  7. 4-star DB Isaiah Johnson (Bluefield, WV)
  8. 4-star RB Donovan Edwards (West Bloomfield, MI)
  9. 4-star LB Barrett Carter (Suwanee, GA)
  10. 4-star DE Quintin Somerville (Scottsdale, AZ)
  11. 4-star WR Mario Williams (Plant City, FL)
  12. 4-star OLB Xavien Sorey (Graceville, FL)
  13. 4-star WR Chris Hilton (Zachary, LA)
  14. 4-star CB Nyland Green (Covington, GA)
  15. 4-star TE Brock Bowers (Napa, CA)

Current look at Georgia’s 2021 recruiting class compared to rest of SEC

Here is an overview of the SEC’s 2021 recruiting class and where Georgia football fits in the mix.

According to 247Sports, Georgia currently has the 3rd best 2021 recruiting class in the SEC and the No. 12 class overall.

The Bulldogs currently hold commitments from seven recruits, led by 5-star quarterback Brock Vandagriff and 4-star offensive tackle Micah Morris.

The SEC teams ahead of Georgia are Florida, which currently holds the No. 3 spot nationally, and Tennessee, who comes in at No. 5 after receiving three commitments in the last week.

Surprisingly, the defending national champion LSU Tigers are slotted at No. 18 overall and behind Georgia at No. 4 in the SEC.

As for Alabama, Nick Saban has the Crimson Tide under-the-radar so far for the 2021 recruiting class. Bama is ranked at No. 46 overall and 10th in the SEC.

As the year moves on, look for Saban to start working his magic and make a run at the No. 1 spot, but for now, Alabama is preceded in the SEC by previously mentioned Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, LSU and also Texas A&M, Missouri, Auburn, Mississippi State and Ole Miss.

Arkansas is next behind Alabama at the 11th spot, followed by South Carolina and Kentucky, with Vanderbilt at the bottom spot No. 14.

There is still plenty of time in the 2021 cycle, so look for teams to start receiving more and more commitments as we get closer to fall. And especially since Coaches have so much down time on their hands to reach out to recruits.

Full SEC rankings:

  1. Florida
  2. Tennessee
  3. Georgia
  4. LSU
  5. Texas A&M
  6. Missouri
  7. Auburn
  8. Mississippi State
  9. Ole Miss
  10. Alabama
  11. Arkansas
  12. South Carolina
  13. Kentucky
  14. Vanderbilt

 

Georgia football’s 2020 NFL Draft class as recruits

Georgia football had seven players drafted in the 2020 NFL Draft, so we take a look back at the former Bulldogs as recruits.

Georgia had seven players drafted this past weekend in the 2020 NFL Draft. Let’s look back at the former Bulldogs from their time as recruits. 

Andrew Thomas OT – pick No. 4, New York Giants. 

Thomas was a 5-star OT for Pace Academy in Atlanta, Georgia. 247Sports had Thomas as the No. 9 OT and No. 45 overall recruit in the 2017 recruiting class. 

Isaiah Wilson OT – pick No. 29, Tennessee Titans 

Wilson was a 5-star OT for Poly Prep Country Day High School in Brooklyn, New York. 247Sports had Wilson ranked as the NO. 5 OT and No. 16 overall recruit in the 2017 recruiting class. 

D’Andre Swift RB – pick No. 35, Detroit Lions 

Swift was a 5-star RB from St. Joseph’s High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 247Sports had Swift ranked as the No. 4 RB and No. 33 overall recruit in the 2017 recruiting class. 

Solomon Kindley OG – pick No. 111, Miami Dolphins 

Kindley was a 3-star OT for Raines High School in Jacksonville, Florida. 247Sports had Kindley ranked as the No. 89 OT and No. 1,051 recruit in the 2016 recruiting class. 

Jake Fromm QB – pick No. 167, Buffalo Bills

Fromm was a 4-star QB for Houston County High School in Warner Robins, Georgia. 247Sports had Fromm ranked as the No. 3 pro-style QB and the No. 44 overall recruit in the 2017 recruiting class. Fromm was originally committed to Alabama before following Kirby Smart to Georgia.  

Charlie Woerner TE – pick No. 190, San Francisco 49ers

Woerner was a 4-star TE for Rabun County in Tiger, Georgia. 247Sports had Woerner ranked as the No. 25 WR and the No. 138 overall recruit in the 2016 recruiting class. Tae Crowder LB – pick No. 255, New York Giants

Crowder was a 3-star RB for Harris County High School in Hamilton, Georgia. 247Sports had Crowder ranked as the No, 1,868 overall player and the No. 175 ranked recruit in Georgia for the class of 2015. Crowder moved to linebacker after the 2016 season and blossomed into a starter in 2018 and 2019.

 

2021 4-star TE includes Georgia football in top-six

Sunday, Moliki Matavao, a 4-star TE from Nevada, took to Twitter to announce his top-six schools which includes Georgia football.

Moliki Matavao, a 4-star TE from Henderson, Nevada, took to Twitter to announce his top-six schools.

Georgia, Oregon, Washington, UCLA, Tennessee and Penn State made his top-six.

247Sports composite has Matavao ranked as the No. 4 TE and No. 144 overall recruit in the 2021 recruiting class.

The Liberty High School prospect holds 34 scholarship offers and is predicted to sign with the Washington Huskies, according to 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions.

 

247Sports wrote:

“Can run past linebackers in space. Decent hands with ability to high-point the football in tight spaces. Well-rounded weapon who can line up out wide or block at the line of scrimmage.”

Georgia football makes top-nine for one of Louisiana’s top prospects

Wednesday, 2021 3-star linebacker Andrew Jones of LA released a list of his top nine schools on Twitter.

Wednesday, 2021 3-star linebacker Andrew Jones took to Twitter to announce his final nine schools.

Georgia, SMU, Houston, Florida State, Texas Tech, Ole Miss, Louisville, Mississippi State and Memphis all made the cut for the Louisiana native.

The 6-foot-1 210 pound recruit plays for John Ehret High School in Marrero, Louisiana and was offered by the Bulldogs on April 15th.

247Sports has Jones ranked as the nation’s No. 710 overall prospect and as the No. 19 player in Louisiana.

As a junior, Jones recorded 137 tackles, 42 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 2 FF and 2 INTs.

Although Georgia is warming up, according to the 247Sports Crystal Ball, all five votes say Florida State is the team to beat.

247Sports wrote:

 “Huge production as a junior. Closes fast in pursuit and with a purpose. Shows impressive close-quarters explosiveness. Can uncoil without gathering. Pad-popper. Pursues well to perimeter and redirects well in run game.”

A look back at what recruiting evaluators had to say about Jonathan Taylor and Zack Baun coming out of high school

NFL experts agree that former Badgers Jonathan Taylor and Zack Baun are near-locks to be selected in the first or second round of…

[lawrence-newsletter]

NFL experts agree that former Badgers Jonathan Taylor and Zack Baun are near-locks to be selected in the first or second round of this week’s NFL draft.

For some of the other top prospects a first-round projection was expected, as they came out of high school with a high rating and a glowing recruiting review.

Former five-star prospects currently set to be selected in the first round on Thursday night include Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Ohio State defensive end Chase Young and cornerback Jeff Okudah, Auburn defensive lineman Derrick Brown, Alabama wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, Iowa defensive end A.J. Epenesa and Clemson wide receiver Tee Higgins.

For Taylor and Baun, on the other hand, their recruiting reviews were far from five-star caliber, thus making it even more impressive how they developed throughout their college careers and positioned themselves to have their names called early in the draft.

Taylor, first, came out of Salem High School in Salem, N.J. as a three-star prospect with his only notable offers coming from Wisconsin, Rutgers, Boston College and Harvard. 247Sports listed him as the 24th-highest running back prospect, the 8th-ranked prospect from the state of New Jersey and the 371st-ranked overall prospect in his class.

This ranking did not come with a lack of high school production, as the now-former Badger set the New Jersey single-season rushing record during his senior season. His ranking, then, came more from a lack of exposure than from a lack of his talent or potential.

When Taylor arrived in Madison, as everybody now knows, the second he stepped on the field it was clear that he was a special talent and had the chance to be a Wisconsin great.

Now looking at Baun’s high school ranking we see a similar story, though in this case due in part to a completely different factor.

Baun came out of Brown Deer High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as a dual-threat quarterback with offers from schools including Wisconsin, Minnesota and Indiana. Yes, Zack Baun was a quarterback in high school.

The Badgers actually signed him as a three-star “athlete” with the thought of teaching him a new position once he arrived in Madison. Like Taylor, Baun’s national ranking–4th in the state of Wisconsin, 85th at his position and 1073rd overall–was not due to a lack of talent, but rather to different variables which included Wisconsin high school football players usually getting a limited amount of exposure and the fact that he didn’t even play the position the top schools were recruiting him to play.

So, looking back, while schools like Alabama, Ohio State and Clemson and getting five-star prospects in the door, Wisconsin is doing the same work, though in their case with players who maybe otherwise wouldn’t have gotten the chance to succeed at the highest level of college football.

Now, how common is it for three-star prospects to get selected in the first round?

It isn’t as rare as you may think, as in 2019 more than one-third of the first round selections were three-star recruits coming out of high school and in 2018 that number was 40 percent.

What this means in terms of evaluating players entering college and trying to make it to the NFL is that first, a lot changes during a player’s three or four years at the college level, and second, oftentimes the evaluators just don’t have enough information to get it right. The second reason, clearly, was the case with future NFL players Jonathan Taylor and Zack Baun.