Georgia continued its recruiting dominance on National Signing Day. The Bulldogs currently have the second-best recruiting class in the nation behind Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide. UGA also has commits from five players in the top 26 nationally ranked players, according to 247 Sports.
Today, five-star wide receiver George Pickens flipped his commitment from Auburn to the ‘Dawgs. 247 Sports reporter Keith Niebuhr was the first to report the abrupt decision. Pickens’ decision comes at a much needed time for the Bulldogs. The team is losing receivers Riley Ridley and Mecole Hardman to the NFL Draft which delivers a blow to their depth at the position. However, with the pairing of George Pickens and four-star recruit Dominick Blaylock, Georgia seems to have a bright future at the receiver position.
It’s interesting to see how Pickens was never fully committed to the Tigers. In interviews, he spoke very highly of the team, but he never put pen to paper. In January, Pickens, talking to AL.com’s Josh Bean, said “Auburn is a home state feel. It’s like me at home, but I already know what to expect. Auburn is a good school, but I want to see everything. If other schools present the same feeling as the other schools I’ve been to, it’s probably going to be Auburn.”
It seems to be that Georgia had a different feeling for the Alabama native, and it paid off in a tremendous way.
For Auburn, this is an enormous hit to their recruiting class. Even with Bo Nix, the number one dual-threat quarterback in the nation, this only leaves them with two commits in the top 50, according to 247 Sports. The only other receiver the Tiger’s seemed to add was Ja’Varrius Johnson. He is a four-star recruit and is ranked 43rd in the nation for the receiver position.
As a teams success is dependant on how they recruit, Georgia’s head coach Kirby Smart continues to make decisions that put Georiga in a winning environment. As for Auburn, they are just another victim to the recruiting powerhouse that is Alabama, Georgia, and Clemson.
Many view this as a problem. A select few schools obtain the commitments of the top players in the country. It may also be interesting to see whether the NCAA will allow teams to pay recruits to come to their programs. We may see players start to skip out on college and go play professionally in starter leagues until they are eligible for the draft. However, we see this much more in college basketball than football as of now. But, it’s just another aspect pushing the NCAA to start letting their players profit from their talents.
But this argument is a whole new article. Georgia continues its recruiting dominance as Auburn is snubbed of their talented wide receiver.