Georgia football coach Kirby Smart commented on the end of the recruiting dead period in an athletic board meeting on Thursday. Details here.
The NCAA’s recruiting dead period, which has kept recruits from visiting programs for over a year now, will be lifted on June 1. In the meantime, UGA football has been working on an $80 facility, featuring new weight rooms, locker rooms and recovery areas among other things.
During the athletic board’s spring meeting at the Reynold’s Plantation Ritz Carrolton in Greensboro, Ga., Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks showed videos featuring coaches sharing their appreciation to the board. In coach Kirby Smart’s video, he mentioned just how big the end of the dead period will be.
“”Hello UGA Athletic Association and board members. Sorry I’m not with you today but I just wanted to say hello,” Smart said. “You guys mean a lot to us here at the university. We appreciate the tireless work and effort you guys put in to make critical decisions. I’m excited about this upcoming season. I feel like we had a very productive spring and moving into a critical time, June 1, we’ll kickoff recruiting. We’ve had 16 months without any kids being on campus. It’s about to go crazy, as we say around here. We’re about to have a ton kids come in and stop by and I’m excited as we get the facilities to show off to them and our coaches get to work in a great environment. So we’re excited to have packed stands this fall. I know you guys are excited the same way. Hopefully things get back to as close to normal as possible and we’re going to have an exciting football season. Thank you for all you do. It means a ton to us and Go Dawgs.”
Since March of 2020, recruits were not allowed to tour facilities or speak in person to staff.
Starting June 1, Georgia will host official visits from class of 2022 prospects, which are allowed to visit on the programs’ dime. 2023 prospects can visit as well, but they have to cover the trip themselves.
They new facilities will be a huge draw for recruits, as if Smart and staff need any more help in recruiting. The Dawgs currently hold the No. 1 ranked class in the country for 2022.
Here’s a clip of several Georgia players touring the new facilities for the first time.
