Tag: Kirby recruiting

Barrett Sallee picks Florida to win SEC East, projects Georgia record

CBS college football writer picks the Florida Gators to win the SEC East over Georgia football, as well as SEC records.

College football experts have already begun to submit their predictions for the 2020 season.

CBS Sport’s college football writer and analyst Barrett Sallee posted his SEC win total predictions for 2020 on Friday, via Twitter.

Sallee has Georgia as the 2nd team in the SEC East, with Florida as No. 1.  He also predicts the Dawgs to drop two games on the season, both being to SEC teams.

UGA has a rather tough schedule this season, playing Alabama away in Tuscaloosa. Georgia also has tough matchups against Auburn, Florida, Tennessee and Kentucky, all of which could be ranked meetings.

The Dawgs have won the past three matchups against the Florida Gators, and have a massive wave of new talent coming in with the No.1 recruiting class in the country for 2020.  Florida had the No. 9 2020 recruiting class.

The Gators and Bulldogs face off on Halloween (Oct. 31) this year in Jacksonville.

Checking in on Nick Chubb’s cousin, Harlem Diamond – a rising Cedartown star

An interview with former Georgia football RB Nick Chubb’s first cousin Harlem Diamond, who is a rising star at Cedartown High School.

Nick Chubb will be a household name with Georgia Bulldog football fans for the rest of eternity.

The former Bulldog great trails just one other running back in the all-time Georgia rushing rankings, and that man is Herschel Walker. Chubb is second in yards (4,769) and touchdowns (44) in the school’s history.

The kid out of Cedartown, Georgia blew away expectations, helping the Dawgs win an SEC Championship and a Rose Bowl and becoming one of the greatest Georgia Bulldogs of all time.

Chubb, who currently plays for the Cleveland Browns, is now the highest graded PFF running back in the NFL, but the family’s football blood doesn’t stop with Nick.

Chubb’s first cousin Harlem Diamond is a rising sophomore at Cedartown High School in Chubb’s hometown, where he is a three sport athlete.

“I play football, basketball and baseball.  I started playing football at the age of 5.” Harlem told me in a phone interview.

I asked Harlem which sport was his favorite and the answer was clear.

“Football. I love football, it’s not an easy sport, you really have to work hard at it. Not anyone can play football. You have to be tough and may be a little crazy.”

Harlem is a two-way player, playing running back just like his cousin, in addition to playing defensive back. Apparently ball carrying style and his work ethic resemble that of his role model’s.

“Nick Chubb is my role model, he is a great person.” Harlem said. “I look up to him. He works hard in the weight room and is very humble, so I try to copy his work ethic… My vision at running back is something I have heard (that mimics Nick’s game). I would say just bringing a winning attitude to the game overall.”

And just like Nick, Harlem is not to be messed with in the weight room. At 15 years old, standing at 5-foot-6, 145 pounds, Harlem is benching 205, power cleaning 200 and squatting 305 pounds. Those are some legit numbers for a rising sophomore in high school.

Harlem’s performance in the classroom is also something not to be overlooked, as he currently has a 3.7 GPA.

I spoke with Harlem about his expectations for next year as well as his personal goals for the season.

“I’m just ready to prove myself. Our team’s mindset is to play hard every game, win regions and go to states. The goal I have set is to work hard, encourage my teammates and rush for 1,000 yards or have 100 tackles.”

Harlem has had incredible support from his family his entire life, with his father being the ultimate sports dad. Harlem’s father, James, is the all-time tackle leader at Cedartown High.

“Just knowing that he is on my side is motivation.” Harlem said.  “He believes in me regardless of the sport.  He was the defensive player of the year in high school in 1999 and holds the tackle record at Cedartown High School so I listen when he talks. He just wants to see me be successful in life, on or off the field. I have great support from my entire family.”

Harlem reminisced on his favorite memory with his cousin.

“I was at a football all-star game in Athens and Nick came over to the dorms, picked me up and gave me a private tour of the UGA facilities during the All-Star week.”

Harlem is just as good a baseball player as he is a football player, but you can just refer to him as the Bass Master from now on.

“I love to fish.  I consider myself a Bass Master, my biggest bass weighed 8.5 pounds.”

From the looks of it, the two have an unbreakable bond through family and football.  Harlem is now trying to make a name for himself in the football world and hopes to get recruited by a top program soon, as it is still early in the recruiting process for him.

Dawgs fans would love the idea of having Nick Chubb’s cousin Harlem taking over as the next great Georgia running back, and we hope that becomes a reality.

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UGA commits Brock Vandagriff, Lovasea Carroll recruiting 4-star DE to Georgia

5-star Georgia football QB commit Brock Vandagriff continues his recruiting efforts, reaching out to 4-star DE.

5-star Georgia quarterback commit Brock Vandagriff has been leading the charge of heavily recruiting the top players of the 2021 class to Athens.

Vandagriff has been tweeting at uncommitted recruits that are at the very top of teams’ lists for the past couple of weeks in hopes to sway them to UGA.  Now Vandagriff is making a push at convincing 4-star defensive end Dallas Turner to put pen to paper with Kirby Smart and the Dawgs.

Turner is the No. 2 weak-side defensive end recruit in the 2021 class, standing at 6-foot-4, 235 pounds. According to the 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions, Turner is expected to sign with the Dawgs, having four Crystal Balls for UGA and one for Alabama.

Turner ranks as the nation’s No. 33 overall player.

Joining Vandagriff in recruiting Turner is Georgia running back commit Lovasea Carroll. Carroll, a 4-star back out of IMG Academy, agreed that’s UGA’s “gotta get him (Turner)”.

Carroll has been committed to Georgia since April and ranks as the nation’s 117 overall player.

Another Georgia commit, 4-star defensive back David Daniel, reached out to Turner earlier in the week, telling the Fort Lauderdale, Florida native to make the trip up to Athens.

Vandagriff’s enthusiasm in the whole recruits-recruiting-recruits is just the leadership you want to see out of your 5-star quarterback commit.

Georgia’s 2021 class

Georgia’s 2021 class is as follows (all rankings via 247Sports)

5-star QB Brock Vandagriff: No. 2 QB, No. 12 overall

4-star OT Micah Morris: No. 9 OT, No. 61 overall

4-star ATH David Daniel: No. 4 ATH, No. 78 overall

4-star RB Lovasea Carroll: No. 7 RB, No. 117 overall

4-star SDE Jonathan Jefferson: No. 13 SDE, No. 145 overall

4-star WDE Elijah Jeudy: No. 10 WDE, No. 170 overall

3-star DT Marlin Dean: No. 28 DT, No. 447 overall

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5-star Georgia signee Darnell Washington recruits 2021 top TE Brock Bowers to UGA

5-star Georgia football TE Darnell Washington makes effort in recruiting top 2021 TE Brock Bowers to UGA.

The efforts of current Georgia players, signees and commits in recruiting some of the top players in the country have not gone unnoticed.

These current and future Bulldogs have been virtually recruiting the America’s top high school prospects to come join them at UGA. This all started with 5-star quarterback commit Brock Vandagriff Tweeting at recruits with their picture in a Dawgs jersey.

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5-star UGA tight end commit Darnell Washington, who signed as a member of Georgia’s 2020 class, is joining in on the fun, replying to 4-star 2021 tight end and heavy Dawgs prospect Brock Bowers via Twitter.

Washington replied to Bowers’ tweet of an old practice video of him running through tackles to open grass.

“Looks like a UGA DAWG to me,” Washington said.

 

Bowers, the Napa, California native, is listed as the No. 3 tight end in the 2021 class, according to 247Sports.

Georgia looks to be the leader for Bowers, who has a top eight of Cal, Georgia, Notre Dame, Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State, UCLA and Washington.

Related: Is Georgia the favorite for Brock Bowers?

Georgia offered Bowers back in September of 2019. He and his family took a trip to Athens in January for an unofficial visit.

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UGA DB commit David Daniel recruiting top players to Georgia

4-star 2021 Georgia football DB commit David Daniel recruits players in the 2021 class to join him at UGA.

4-star 2021 Georgia defensive back commit David Daniel has joined Brock Vandagriff in the efforts to recruit the top talent of the 2021 class to Athens.

On Thursday, Daniel tweeted at 4-star defensive end Dallas Turner and 4-star outside linebacker Xavian Sorey to come ‘eat’ with him.

Turner and Sorey are both from Florida, and Daniel, the Woodstock, Georgia native, is making a push for the Floridians to come team up with him in Athens.

Turner is the No. 3 weak-side defensive end recruit in the 2021 class, standing at 6-foot-4, 235 pounds. According to the 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions, Turner is expected to sign with the Dawgs.

Sorey stands at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds and is the No. 1 outside linebacker in the 2021 class, per 247Sports. 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions currently have Sorey going to Alabama.

Recruits recruiting recruits has been a theme with the Dawgs’ incoming 2021 class, helping Kirby Smart and his coaching staff reel in more of the nation’s top players.

 

5-star UGA QB commit Brock Vandagriff recruits nation’s No. 2 TE to Georgia

Georgia football’s 5-star QB commit Brock Vandagriff tweets at No. 2 TE in 2021 class in an effort to recruit the top players in the country

Georgia’s 5-star 2021 quarterback commit Brock Vandagriff has been playing a big role in recruiting members of UGA’s 2021 recruiting class.

Vandagriff, from Bogart, Georgia, plays for Prince Avenue Christian School and is actively recruiting some of the most talented players in the 2021 class to play along side him at UGA.

Vandagriff tweeted at Brock Bowers, the nation’s No. 2 tight end in the 2021 class, recruiting him to Athens.

Bowers is from Napa, California, and listed at 6-foot-3, 225 pounds. He has over 20 offers, and Georgia appears to be the leader right now.

Vandagriff fancied the idea of a “Brock-to-Brock” connection in Athens down the road, which could be very fun to watch.

 

Georgia football offers scholarship to Keon Coleman

Georgia football extends scholarship offer to 4-star 2021 WR Keon Coleman.

The Georgia Bulldogs have extended a scholarship offer to 2021 wide receiver Keon Coleman.

Coleman is a four-star out of Opelousas, Louisiana, where he attends Opelousas Catholic.  He’s listed at 6-foot-4, 185 pounds and is ranked as the 17th best receiver in his class, according to 247Sports.

Coleman had a big junior season, reeling in 33 receptions for 1,143 yards and 22 touchdowns. The Dawgs are yet to receive a verbal commitment from a receiver in the 2021 class, although it is still early. Georgia has seven commits for its 2021 class.

Coleman has been recruited heavily by Florida State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Mississippi State and Texas A&M, but his recruitment is 100% open.

Coleman’s frame is massive, but he is one of the quickest players on the field. His speed and size allow him to create amazing separation from his defenders and make big plays. Check out Keon’s junior season highlights here.

 

 

Blazing fast UGA WR signee Arian Smith undergoes wrist surgery

2020 Georgia football WR signee Arian Smith undergoes surgery on broken wrist, expected back in 4-8 weeks.

4-star Georgia wide receiver signee Arian Smith underwent surgery to repair a broken bone in his wrist, according to a report from DawgNation.

Smith is the fastest member of the Bulldogs’ 2020 recruiting class, winning the “Fastest Man Challenge” at the Under Armour All-American practices in Orlando this past December.

He apparently suffered the injury last football season but waited on surgery, Smith told DawgNation.

The 6-1, 170 pound receiver committed to Georgia the day after the Dawgs lost to LSU in last years’ SEC Championship.

He was ranked as the nation’s No. 7 receiver in the class of 2020 and the No. 42 overall player, per 247 Sports. Smith hails from Lakeland, Florida.

With a wrist surgery, it should take Smith anywhere between 4-8 weeks to fully recover, which should be around late June or early July. That’s right around the time that UGA president Jere Morehead is hoping to have fall student athletes back on campus.

You can read DawgNation’s full report here.

Smith is crazy quick and has great catching abilities.  He will compliment sophomore receiver George Pickens very well and give incoming transfer quarterback Jamie Newman another great deep threat target.

Smith partnered with Matthew Boling, Georgia’s record breaking sprinter, in the USA’s U20 4×100 team last summer. For their age group, Smith and Boling are world record holders in the 4×100.

Smith’s top time posted in the 100 meters is at 10.31 seconds. That’s blazing. Even faster than Mecole Hardman, who Smith said the Georgia coaches used to convince him to come to Athens.

If you want a preview of just how fast Smith is, you have to watch this clip below posted by Georgia Heroes.

Look at him come from the other end of the field and chase down this player before he crossed the goal line.

 

 

 

 

Georgia football offers scholarship to Javon Bullard

Georgia football extends offer to 2021 3-star CB Javon Bullard.

Kirby Smart and the Dawgs have extended a scholarship offer to 2021 3-star cornerback Javon Bullard.

Bullard attends Baldwin High School in his hometown of Milledgeville, Georgia.

The 6-foot, 185-pound rising high school senior is ranked as the 64th best corner in the 2021 recruiting class.

Bullard, who holds roughly 20 offers, is also being recruited by Auburn, Tennessee, UCF as well as Boston College and Cincinnati. Now Kirby is trying to persuade Bullard to stay home and play his college ball in the Peach State.

Tennessee offered Bullard in April as well.

Check out Javon’s high school highlights on Hudl here.