Road Trip: Georgia's 2023 Recruiting Class
As National Signing Day 2023 comes to an end, we can start to finalize our opinions on Georgia’s haul.
There’s still movement that can happen - top-tight end target Duce Robinson just pushed back his decision - but the class is basically finished.
First off, it’s hard to knock anything when a school lands the No. 2 overall class like Georgia did, but there’s one thing that stands out when you look at Georgia’s class:
The Bulldogs signed just 4 out of the top 25 players in Georgia according to 247’s Composite Ratings.
Two things can be true at the same time: Georgia signed a class every team would love to have, and they also missed on some key in-state players that could’ve been contributors. As for the first “truth”, Georgia has shown a propensity for snagging the best players from states around the country. In 2023, Kirby Smart and his staff signed: the No. 4, 7, and 10 ranked players in Florida, the No. 1 player out of South Carolina, the No. 5 player out of Alabama and North Carolina, the No. 2 player out of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, and the No. 3 player out of Nevada.
“They signed five-stars out of Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, and Massachusetts.” said Dawgs Daily Lead Editor Brooks Austin.
“Kirby Smart has operated on a “best player available” approach for several classes. There’s zero consistency with in-state vs out-of-state numbers, class over class”
Brooks is correct in stating that there isn’t a pattern for Georgia when it comes to landing in-state recruits. Kirby Smart wants to get guys that fit his system and culture. If there happens to be a bunch of them in Georgia in a particular class, great. If not, Georgia will travel nationally to get their guys. Hello, Brock Bowers.
Here’s a look at how many players Georgia has landed out of the state’s top-25 over the past few years:
- 4/25 - 2023
- 9/25 - 2022
- 8/25 - 2021
- 3/25 - 2020
- 4/25 - 2019
- 9/25 - 2018
Some years they take a ton, some years they land just a few. The only year you can really point to with some causation is the 2021 class. In a pandemic-limited recruiting effort, Georgia was forced to narrow their scope and target homegrown talent, but there is no pattern to point to over the years.
Now, for the other “truth”. Georgia lost some big recruiting battles in their own backyard in this class. Most notably, the top-two players in the state: Caleb Downs and Justice Haynes. What stings even more is who they lost the battles to: Alabama.
The Crimson Tide finished with the No. 1 class, which included 9 5-stars. Both Downs and Haynes will likely be stars in the SEC. If Georgia is able to land them, they finish with the same number of 5-stars as Alabama and likely the top-rated class.
Again, the coaching staff isn’t losing too much sleep over finishing with the second-best class, but having the team that is your biggest competitor swipe the top-two players out of your state will, at the very least, cause a few serious meetings to happen in those fancy new offices at the Butts-Mehre building.
Other Georgia News:
- Kirby Smart Gets Eyes on Several Top Targets in Latest Recruiting Rounds
- Ranking Every Team of the Kirby Smart Era
- WATCH: Georgia Releases Highlight Reel From 2022 Season
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