RECAP: Georgia Closes the 2022 Class out Strong

The 2022 recruiting cycle has officially come to a close and Georgia closes out strong with a top-three class.

Georgia has become one of the best in the business at putting together star-flooded recruiting classes year and year out, and the 2022 class was no different for Kirby Smart and his staff. The Bulldogs closed out yet another top-three recruiting class, which has become a regular occurrence for Georgia since the hiring of Kirby Smart. 

The Bulldogs came into today with the majority of their class under wraps as most players made their college decisions official back in December on early signing day. Despite that, there were still a few key players Georgia was in a battle for, that decided to take advantage of being able to wait until February to make their decision official and it appears Kirby Smart and his staff made the most of that extra time. 

Georgia kicked off the day off early as wide receiver, Dillon Bell, affirmed his commitment dating back to December of 2020 by officially signing with the Bulldogs on national signing day. 

Appling county native, Darris Smith, was quick to follow and officially signed with Georgia as well after being committed since December of 2020. The edge rusher is ranked as SI's No. 98 overall player in the class and adds to yet another immensely talented defensive class for Georgia. 

The biggest announcement of the day for Georgia came around noon when defensive lineman and the No. 48 overall prospect, Christen Miller, declared he would be continuing his football career in the red and black. By far one of the more talented defensive prospects in this class and a huge get for Georgia. 

Georgia then had their first bump in the road as running back Jordan James, a long-time commit for the Dawgs, flipped his commitment to the Oregon Ducks and will be heading out West with former Georgia coach Dan Lanning. In typical Kirby fashion though, the bad news didn't linger for very long. 

After a late surge in the 2022 cycle and a hard-fought battle between Clemson and Georgia running back, Andrew Paul, signed with Georgia. Paul becomes the second running back to join Georgia's 2022 class with Branson Robinson being the other who signed with the Bulldogs back in December. 

The day officially came to a close for Georgia after linebacker, EJ Lightsey, out of Fitzgerald, GA made his college decision official and signed with Georgia after decommitting from the University of Florida back in December.

In totality, Georgia reeled in 29 commits and concludes the 2022 cycle with a top-three finish amongst all other college programs. It is also the fifth time since the hiring of Kirby Smart that Georgia has finished inside the top three. 

Georgia has emerged as one of the more consistent programs in regards to success during the season and a large part of that has to do with the job Kirby Smart and his staff has done on the recruiting trail every year. And by the looks of this year's class for the Bulldogs, it shows no signs of that trend coming to a halt anytime in the near future after closing out the cycle with a well-rounded 2022 class. 

Though the talk of the day was Texas A&M, who finished with 13 SI99 members in a class filled with 29 verbal commits. 

The consensus No. 1 class only got stronger on Wednesday when Shemar Stewart and fellow SI99 recruit Jacoby Mathews jumped on board. The only remaining context is whether or not it's the greatest recruiting class of the modern era, which will take years to figure out. 

2022 Recruiting Class

• Malaki Starks, S
• Daylen Everette, DB
• Earnest Greene, OL
• Mykel Williams, EDGE
• De'Nylon Morrissette, WR
• Chandler Smith, WR
• Oscar Delp, TE
• Gunner Stockton, QB
• Jalon Walker, LB
• CJ Washington, LB
• CJ Madden, EDGE
• Aliou Bah, OL
• Shone Washington, DT
• Jacob Hood, OL
• JaCorey Thomas, DB
• Griffin Scroggs, OL
• Brett Thorson, P
• Bear Alexander, DT
• Christen Miller, DL*
• Marvin Jones Jr, EDGE*
• Julian Humphrey, CB*
• Drew Bobo, OL*
• Cole Speer, WR*
• Branson Robinson, RB*
• Jahiem Singletary, CB*
• Dillon Bell, WR*
• Darris Smith, EDGE*

You Might Also Like:

• Scouting Notebook: What We Learned About UGAs Future at All-American Bowl
• Georgia Offense Key to Success is Spreading The Wealth
• Todd Hartley Recognized as Tight End Coach of the Year

Join the community

Follow Brooks Austin on Twitter: @BrooksAustinSI

Subscribe to our YouTube Page HERE

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top right-hand corner of the page. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook @BulldogMaven & follow us on Twitter at @BulldogsSI.