Dawgs Daily

2022 Receiver Dakota Twitty Talks COVID, Social Justice, and Georgia Football

Dakota "Dak" Twitty is a big-bodied WR in the 2022 class out of Mooresboro, NC. The 6'5" 210 is approaching 20 offers, one of which is Georgia Football.

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When you are 6'5" 210 pounds and have the athleticism and fluidity that Thomas Jefferson Class Academy wide receiver Dakota "Dak" Twitty does, you're going to turn some heads. The Mooresboro, North Carolina product is garnering attention from schools all over the southeast currently, including many ACC and SEC schools, one of which is the University of Georgia. 

Dak was offered his scholarship by the Bulldogs on March 3rd of this year and has gone on to secure offers from South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Wake Forest, and NC State since. 

Dawgs Daily on SI.com caught up with Twitty recently and had a wide-ranging discussion on COVID-19, social justice, his recruitment, and Georgia football.

In response to how COVID-19 has impacted him in his training for his junior season and, of course, his high school team in North Carolina, Twitty said, "Our county let our schools practice in the morning, so we have a set limit of people that can be there. I think it's 21 or 20. I have the later group, so skill position guys go at 10:00 AM and the lineman go at 8:00 AM." Also, as of the conversation we had, North Carolina teams were not allowed to use a football in their team workouts and they had to maintain social distancing.

In terms of his personal work, "I'd say it's been a little better honestly. We have been out of school since March. I've been working with my trainer since then and we just now started back high school workouts (in July). So me being able to hone in my craft and work on what I need to work on, like breaking down and getting in and out of routes,  always working on speed and being able to lift and go straight at that, it's honestly been a blessing."

On the recruiting front, Dak is, "just enjoying the process. I'm excited to be able to build relationships with all of these coaches and also just seeing what they have to offer. Also, look at what I have to offer and how I would fit in each of their systems." 

Specifically with Georgia Twitty explained, "Coach Hankton is the one that I've been in contact with and the coach that offered me. He's the one that I've been talking to and am building a relationship with. Georgia is always one of those schools that you see on TV and you're like, oh maybe I want to go there one day, I want to be up there on that stage one day. To get an offer from them is honestly a blessing and an honor. To me, it means they're recognizing me as one of the better athletes in my class."

Twitty explained that when he calls Coach Hankton, the two are mostly talking about things away from football. Dak and Hankton are getting to know about each other and their respective families. Twitty spoke on the importance of that kind of knowledge and relationship building saying, "That stuff is important. When you go to college, the position coach is who you are going to spend the most time with and they take on kind of that parent type role." 

Twitty did go on to say that the two had talked about Georgia's new offensive system and how a receiver like himself would fit into it. Twitty liked what he heard. Saying, "They are definitely wanting to spread the ball around and throw it down the field. Also, they are balanced and the run game is going to set up the pass when it's going good and the pass game is going to set up the run when it's going good. So those are things you like to hear as a receiver."

Twitty does not have any kind of set timeline for his recruitment as the is just entering his junior year. However, Twitty does want to make sure he gets visit to Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia specifically as soon as he can when the NCAA allows on-campus recruiting. 

When asked what he believes separates himself from other receivers, Twitty remarked, "I'd just say, I'm 6'5". I use my height to my advantage but also feel like I'm the smartest person on the field every time I step on the field. I can read defenses and I know how to use my body to my advantage and I feel that I can run every single route in the route tree. Just because I'm tall, it's not just a jump ball every time. You can put me in the slot and I can run an out route, or I can run a corner, or I can run across the middle and take those hits."

As Twitty alluded to with his feeling of being the smartest person on the field, intelligence, academics, and a great education are extremely important to him. Dak is a straight-A student and intends to keep things that way throughout high school. Also, the 4-Star receiver intends to study sports medicine in college and he also understands that the platform he has as a highly-skilled, highly recruited football player comes with opportunity and responsibility.

Specifically addressing social justice the climate in his environment, Twitty said, "I'm blessed. Where I go to school, there is no stand out minority. We are pretty balanced and everybody is on board and behind the same cause here. We have had protests in the community, but they have been peaceful." Twitty went on to say that, "as an athlete you know people are going to love what you do on the field. Being able to be a part of making sure things are right off of it and that people treat each other equally and with respect, that's why being an athlete is so important down here and how it can help bring change."

There is still a long way to go in Twitty's recruitment but undoubtedly he is a prospect that has already started to make in mark in the recruiting realm and if football does go on as planned this fall, he's likely to have a monster season. At the stature and length that he possesses, Twitty has a tremendous catch radius and he definitely understands leverage and how to put himself in a position to make throws easier for quarterbacks. 

Also, for just a tall receiver, Dak is crisp in his breaks and his cuts and has plenty enough speed, coupled with long strides, to create separation and make plays after the catch as well.

Whoever ends up getting Dakota Twitty is getting not only an excellent athlete, but also a young man with a high football acumen, overall great intelligence, a desire to learn, and maturity beyond his year. His recruitment will be an exciting one to follow and I'm sure the Dawgs and Coach Hankton are looking forward to growing their relationship further.

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