While recruiting has slowed down a bit since the dead period started on August 1st, there are still some important things going on in regards to the 2023 UGA recruiting class. The Dawgs currently have the fifth highest rated class according to the 247sports composite rankings, with the On3 consensus rankings has Georgia with the third ranked class in the nation. Alabama and Notre Dame are #1 and #2 in both, with 20 and 23 commits compared to our 18 commits.

Last week saw some well known names come off the board, but none of them put on the UGA hat. So what happened? Three star defensive lineman Tavion Gadson committed to FSU on Thursday. Gergia sent out an offer, but never really pursued the in-state prospect. In-state quarterback, 3* Kasen Weisman, committed to Kansas the same day. There was some talk that he could be a backup plan when Arch Manning committed to Texas, but nothing ever matriculated there. Four star defensive lineman Kelby Collins chose Florida on Saturday, and while the Gators have some recruiting momentum, there was always the question of how big of a target he was for Alabama and Georgia. A flip wouldn't surprise me if either team goes hard after him leading up to signing day, especially if Alabama does.

One prospect who committed to Florida Sunday was/is a top target for UGA. The Gators received 4* DL Kamran James's commitment mainly due to a longer established ralationship. Florida offered him earlier and got him on campus earlier and more often. It was pretty much the same situation with Rickey Gibson and Tennessee. The 3* DB committed to the Vols Sunday. UGA gained a ton of momentum leading up to the week of his decision, but the longer standing relationship won out.

UGA made the top six for a pair of 5* teamamates from Cerver-Montgomery. Qua Russaw and James Smith included the Dawgs with Alabama, Alabama State, Auburn, Florida, and Ohio State. Georgia and Alabama are likely the top two for both and they say they're a package deal. It will be interesting to see what happens here leading up to he early signing period. Four star defensive lineman Tomarrion Paker decommitted from Penn State last week. Many thought he would be choosing the Dawgs for a while, but the word is that he wanted to play a different position than we were recruiting him at. Is that fixed? I was told the day before he decommitted that it was coming and that UGA has been in touch a lot. Tennessee and Florida are also after him, while Clemson offered shortly after the announcement of his parting with Penn State.

Hykeem Williams set a commit date for September 23rd. The Dawgs are in the middle of a battle with Texas A&M for the 5* receiver. FSU is trying to make a move, while Pitt is also a top team. The biggest news of the week for UGA was for the 2023 and 2024 classes. Top running back target Tovani Mizell decided he'd seen and heard enough. He 'Committed to the G' early last week. He visited over the summer and quickly became a top target. The 4* RB is currently in the 2024 class, but contemplating reclassifying to 2023. Top defensive line target Xzavier McLeod announced yesterday that he is ready to make his decision known this Thursday. There are other teams that have been involved, but this one looks to be coming down to the Dawgs and the hometown Gamecocks. McLeod plays his high school ball about 40 minutesd from Columbia in Camden, SC. There is a strong pull to stay at home, but Georgia is gaining a ton of momentum leading up to his decision. It may be too close to call right now, and we have a prediction edit made for both UGA and USCe. I'm close to putting in the prediction for UGA, but it's just too close right now. If it goes too long without us knowing which way to lean, I just won't put a prediction in. I'd rather do that then put on in an hour before his decision just to be able to say we were right.

We'll do another recruiting overview next Monday. Thank you for being understanding about my not being able to post as much while passing kidney stones. We'll continue our weekly posts (Recruiting Overview, Looking Back, Looking Ahead to 2024, Quick Hitters). If you haven't been reading the daily fall camp updates from @Graham Coffey then you're missing out. My guy is breaking news left and right! Check out his post today if you haven't yet.