Georgia tops 2020 Recruiting Rankings

If recruiting had a National Championship, Georgia will be in the Top 4 year in, year out.

For the 2020 class, Georgia would have topped the lot.

After taking in 4 5-star recruits and 15 four-star recruits – including 6-5, 298lb OT Broderick Jones – who may well start now Cade Mays has transferred to Tennessee – and 6-4, 305lb OC Sedrick Van Pray – today, UGA cemented its ranking at the top.

The Bulldogs’ class was highlighted the best corner in the nation – Kelee Ringo – deciding to head for Athens. He was fourth on 24-7’s composite player ranking.

Last year UGA had the country’s No.2 recruiting class, and in 2018 the Bulldogs locked in the No.1 class. In 2017 they were No.3.

While recruiting rankings in itself are utterly meaningless, they are an interesting way to look at a head coach’s success a few years down the line.

Although Kirby Smart has constantly been ‘in the Top 4’ for recruiting, the Bulldogs have made it one National Championship Game, won 1 SEC title, and won three SEC East titles. In 2019 they were destroyed by LSU in the SEC Championship Game, and they lost in heartbreaking circumstances to Alabama the year before.

Away from that, the SEC destroyed all-comers in the Top 10 of the recruiting rankings. Alabama was in second, Clemson third, LSU fourth and Texas A&M fifth.

Interestingly, Alabama had a bit of a kick in the footballs today when Alabama commit Jayson Jones decided to go to Oregon – coached by former Saban disciple Mario Cristobal – rather than Tuscaloosa, CB Ennis Rakestraw (who went to Missouri, prompting the best reaction for a commitment from Missouri HC Eli Drinkwitz in the history of man), and DL McKinnley Jackson, who opted for Texas A&M instead.

Auburn, Florida, Texas and Tennessee were also in the Top 10.

Although Florida took two massive hits, with the No.2 safety in the nation Avantae Williams, deciding on Miami rather than Gainseville, and four-star running back Jahmyr Gibbs opting to stay with Georgia Tech instead of going to the Gators, Dan Mullen still had a major D-Line pick-up with four-star DE four-star defensive end Princely Umanmielen deciding to play in the SEC instead of Baylor.

Auburn got Juco DT Marquis Burks, while Tennessee grabbed four-star WR Malachi Wideman, taking advantage of the horror show that is Florida State football at the moment. The Vols beat out Florida for athlete Dee Beckwith.

Elsewhere in the SEC….

• South Carolina got five-star DL Jordan Burch as well as the nation’s No.1 JUCO running back in ZaQuandre White (he also looked at Tennessee and Arkansas).
• Kentucky got four-star RB Michael Drennan II.
• Arkansas grabbed four-star QB Malik Hornsby, who could immediately start in the Sam Pittman era, bearing in mind how awful the Razorbacks were. Pittman also got 3-star OL Jalen St John (over Missouri), four-star OG Marcus Henderson (over Missouri and Ole Miss)
• Ole Miss got two O-Line recruits – three-star Brady Ward (over Arkansas and Oklahoma, amongst others), and OT Cedric Melton (over Texas Tech and Houston).
• Mississippi State got three-star WR Rufus Harvey, a small-but-useful signing start to the Mike Leach era.