Freshman Faces: Jared Wilson

Freshman guard Jared Wilson wasn't the most highly sought-after recruit, but it appears he will make a difference early in his career for Georgia.

Georgia has developed a reputation for developing under-the-radar players, and it appears that freshman offensive lineman Jared Wilson could continue this tradition.

Wilson was one of the few recruits from Georgia's 2021 class that chose not to enroll early. His high-school football season was delayed until the spring, and he wanted to finish out his senior season before coming to Athens.

He played for West Forsyth High School in Clemmons, N.C. They finished the season 4-1, and Wilson enrolled at Georgia after the semester.

The Clemmons native was originally committed to Georgia before de-committing and pledging to play for head coach Mack Brown at North Carolina. He committed to the Tar Heels on April 17, 2020, and it appeared the recruitment was over.

However, Georgia never backed off Wilson following his commitment. Offensive line coach Matt Luke continued to pitch Wilson in the summer heading into his senior season.

Ultimately, Wilson flipped his commitment back to the Bulldogs last year on Aug. 3. Wilson praised Luke for his continued pursuit and said the thing that stood out about him was his family nature.

Not many know the name Jared Wilson. He was an unheralded recruit who did not enroll early and could not play in the spring game.

That will change within a few years. Many believe that he's a vastly overlooked prospect. The staff will try to refine him during the 2021 season, but he could be competing for snaps as soon as next season.

In a press conference discussing the 2021 class, head coach Kirby Smart brought up Wilson by name and praised him:

"Jared Wilson was one of the guys that we targeted early on—size, width, hand-size, athleticism—really good target and works really hard. He comes from a really athletic background family. He’s a great kid."

Wilson's physical makeup suggests that he can be a starting lineman in the SEC. He was 6-foot-4 and 330 pounds going into college and still had some bad weight that could be converted to lower-body muscle.

He is a fluid mover in space and was asked to move laterally while in high school. Wilson showed that he understood leverage well and could pull around to make back-side blocks that Georgia frequently uses.

The most impressive part of his game is how physical he is at the point of attack. Wilson is a finisher who throws defensive tackles backward.

Here is what the SI All-American staff had to say about Wilson on early national signing day:

"Wilson is a mauler and brawler on the inside in college. He’s going to be able to move three techniques off the point from the day he steps into college, but will likely need to undergo an adjustment period in the passing game with the speed of the next level."

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