Georgia Zoning In On Next Potential PWO Contributor

The University of Georgia has searched long and hard for every roster advantage they can find. So, could Peyton Streko be next PWO contributor?

Brooks Austin | Oct 19, 2022

Fresh off a 55 to 0 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores, the Georgia Bulldogs are still hot on the recruiting trail, having landed two commitments in the last weeks time with 2024 Ryan Puglisi and 2024 ATH Sacovie White joining the mix.

As for who could be next, the Bulldogs are still looking to round out a 2023 class that has some room remaining in it. Though one of Georgia's specialties under head coach Kirby Smart is their ability to potentially stack talent via a preferred walk-on spot if they can find great talent with even better grades.

Take a player like Cash Jones, who had offers elsewhere on the mid-major level to play on scholarship, and travels from Texas to Athens, Georgia to walk on. Two years later he's just scored his first career touchdown while traveling on road games and a being heat-seeking missile on special teams.

Or Dan Jackson, an in-state talent that was a 4.4 caliber runner at West Hall high school that Georgia took a stab at. By the time Jackson was a junior and Georgia was in the midst of a title run, it was the walk-on starting in the national championship game at safety.

So, as Georgia continues to hunt for this caliber of football player with a unique blend of grades and a rather large chip on their shoulder, it doesn't take long to find the name Peyton Streko.

A former Air Force commit, Streko backed off of his commitment to the academy on Monday. He also happened to be in Athens on a visit the weekend prior.

The 3.9 GPA carrying student from West Forysth also carries a 4.42 40 on a sturdy 5'10, 190 LB frame. Oh, and he's mustered up 3800 all-purpose yards and 42 career touchdowns in Georiga's 7A classification.

If you're following Georiga Football closely, you'll recognize West Forysth's name. In the last two recruiting cycles they've managed to send two scholarship players, Oscar Delp and Dylan Fairchild, along with two walk-ons in Cooper Johnson (TE), and Drew Southern (DB) to Georgia. Streko happens to be a long-time teammate of all of them.

We caught up with Streko in a recent interview following his de-commitment and recent visit.

Streko on the de-commitment:

Air Force was a great fit with great benefits and with missing the second half of my season last year a lot of bigger schools just wanted to see me play again before they pulled the trigger on an offer. I felt committing to Air Force was a safe route for me but after having a very big start to my senior year. I felt that I knew I can play football at a high P5 level and that’s when I decided to open it back up.

The interest between Georgia and Streko is mutual, and it has been for quite some time. Georgia has been in contact with Streko since the fall of 2021 following a game against Walton in which Streko had 267 carries on 22 attempts and 6 TDs.

They’ve been going well, I started talking with coach McGee last year after my game against Walton. He got my number and he told me I was locked in. Then I’m not sure where I stood with UGA but the Wednesday before the Vanderbilt game he texted me asking to come up on a visit. Since then we’ve had great in-person conversations and he has also been in contact with my dad.

Georgia isn't the only school to show extreme interest in Streko either. Since he's opened things up, he's receiving calls from Clemson, Duke, South Carolina, and Virginia.

It's become an interesting landscape in college football recruiting for players like Streko. This is an individual who likely who'd have been flooded with quality mid-major interest, most likely even mid-tier Power 5 interest prior to the changes in the transfer portal rules as well as the additional year of eligibility that was provided by the NCAA.

It's become a trickle-down effect of sorts for players like Streko who are division 1 caliber football players that have had roster spots squeezed out by transfers and super seniors for the time being. So, perhaps programs like Georgia can reap the rewards, they've certainly laid the groundwork.

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