The final weekend before the "traditional" NSD is now upon us, and while there is expected to be some drama the next five days, it doesn't seem like much of it will take place on campus.
2020 four-star Ga. RB Jo'Quavious Marks will visit this weekend, though. More details about the 2020 class will be coming in the coming days, weeks, and months.
The following are committed to Georgia Tech, and will sign next Wednesday:
Central Gwinnett (Ga.) LB Cornelius Evans
Bishop McDevitt (Pa.) WR Nazir Burnett
The following targets remain:
Rome (Ga.) RB Jamious Griffin
Huffman (Ala.) DL Mike Lockhart
I expect Georgia Tech to land both of them. Lockhart just finished his first year of football, so his upside is through the roof, to say the very least. Griffin's resumè speaks for itself, as do the schools Georgia Tech would be (hypothetically, of course) beating for his signature (Florida State and Auburn, among others)
Lockhart appeared to be all but done for Mississippi State going into his visit there last weekend. He visited, said Starkville was "lit" but then never pulled the trigger on a commitment. Combine that, Mississippi State losing their DL coach to Alabama, and their top DL commit Nathan Pickering shutting down his recruitment last night, and you've got the perfect recipe for a signing day surprise.
Well, not a surprise for subscribers of JacketsOnline but still.. The staff went to see him on Monday, after moving their visit up following the expectation that Tuesday was going to be a wintry mess. That visit seems to have paid off. Will Baker (Alabama's new DL coach) offer late? That, IMO, is the only thing that could prevent Georgia Tech from signing him next Wednesday.
The following recruits are in limbo:
St. Charles (Md.) LB Kameron Blount
I don't expect him to get an offer. With the emphasis he placed on his mom getting to see him play, I'm not sure he would have lasted in Atlanta had he signed with Georgia Tech. He will likely end up at either Maryland or UMass, depending on whether or not he visits UMass this weekend.
DT Joseph Darkwa seems to be all but a done deal to Penn State. I expect that to happen tomorrow. Georgia Tech just couldn't get him on campus. I expect them to continue to recruit overseas, specifically in Europe. The talent there is growing every cycle.
WR TJ Jones was rumored by some national media to be visiting this coming weekend, but as I posted this afternoon, that ship has sailed (if it was ever even on the dock to begin with)
The recruitment of Octavius Brothers has been a weird one, to say the least. Going into this weekend, I expect him to land at Auburn, but Miami has been his dream school for quite some time, and they have what it takes to gain ground fast in his recruitment. Georgia Tech being eliminated just hours after he finalized his official visit date there was one of the strangest things I have seen.
Super Bowl traffic in Atlanta, on top of the regular traffic in Atlanta, is not a good recipe for closing time as NSD approaches.
Both of the commits from the previous staff that didn't sign early are no longer committed. Joshua Black (Stephenson HS) is now committed to Louisville, and Larry Dowdy of South Carolina is now committed to App State. Both Dowdy and Black were able to find what recruiting analysts cal "soft landing" spots, meaning that they weren't actually dropped, but the writing was on the wall for both of them.
The staff was able to shore up the OL, at least for the short-term future, with the commitment of Jared Southers from Vanderbilt. Who fills the void of transferring OG Parker Braun is still unclear, though.
Speaking of transfers, it still feels like a "when" situation regarding Marquez Ezzard announcing his intentions to play for Collins and Georgia Tech. Ezzard will push hard for a waiver to gain immediate eligibility, as he should. Were he to win that appeal, he would have the chance to display the talent locals remember from his HS career at nearby Stockbridge High School.
He's not the only former Georgia HS star that the staff has been talking to from the transfer portal. While it is unclear what position Josh Imatorbhebhe would play were he to land at Georgia Tech, his impact would most certainly be felt early and often on The Flats, and for two years of eligibility at that.
Things like this certainly won't hurt their WR recruiting:
Those two possess the staff's two best current chances on the transfer market, to go along with Southers (OL) and Tyler Davis (TE) though other names are expected to come up after signing day, and probably after spring football as well. There's some smoke about a couple of QB's, but we'll save that for another day.
2020 four-star Ga. RB Jo'Quavious Marks will visit this weekend, though. More details about the 2020 class will be coming in the coming days, weeks, and months.
The following are committed to Georgia Tech, and will sign next Wednesday:
Central Gwinnett (Ga.) LB Cornelius Evans
Bishop McDevitt (Pa.) WR Nazir Burnett
The following targets remain:
Rome (Ga.) RB Jamious Griffin
Huffman (Ala.) DL Mike Lockhart
I expect Georgia Tech to land both of them. Lockhart just finished his first year of football, so his upside is through the roof, to say the very least. Griffin's resumè speaks for itself, as do the schools Georgia Tech would be (hypothetically, of course) beating for his signature (Florida State and Auburn, among others)
Lockhart appeared to be all but done for Mississippi State going into his visit there last weekend. He visited, said Starkville was "lit" but then never pulled the trigger on a commitment. Combine that, Mississippi State losing their DL coach to Alabama, and their top DL commit Nathan Pickering shutting down his recruitment last night, and you've got the perfect recipe for a signing day surprise.
Well, not a surprise for subscribers of JacketsOnline but still.. The staff went to see him on Monday, after moving their visit up following the expectation that Tuesday was going to be a wintry mess. That visit seems to have paid off. Will Baker (Alabama's new DL coach) offer late? That, IMO, is the only thing that could prevent Georgia Tech from signing him next Wednesday.
The following recruits are in limbo:
St. Charles (Md.) LB Kameron Blount
I don't expect him to get an offer. With the emphasis he placed on his mom getting to see him play, I'm not sure he would have lasted in Atlanta had he signed with Georgia Tech. He will likely end up at either Maryland or UMass, depending on whether or not he visits UMass this weekend.
DT Joseph Darkwa seems to be all but a done deal to Penn State. I expect that to happen tomorrow. Georgia Tech just couldn't get him on campus. I expect them to continue to recruit overseas, specifically in Europe. The talent there is growing every cycle.
WR TJ Jones was rumored by some national media to be visiting this coming weekend, but as I posted this afternoon, that ship has sailed (if it was ever even on the dock to begin with)
The recruitment of Octavius Brothers has been a weird one, to say the least. Going into this weekend, I expect him to land at Auburn, but Miami has been his dream school for quite some time, and they have what it takes to gain ground fast in his recruitment. Georgia Tech being eliminated just hours after he finalized his official visit date there was one of the strangest things I have seen.
Super Bowl traffic in Atlanta, on top of the regular traffic in Atlanta, is not a good recipe for closing time as NSD approaches.
Both of the commits from the previous staff that didn't sign early are no longer committed. Joshua Black (Stephenson HS) is now committed to Louisville, and Larry Dowdy of South Carolina is now committed to App State. Both Dowdy and Black were able to find what recruiting analysts cal "soft landing" spots, meaning that they weren't actually dropped, but the writing was on the wall for both of them.
The staff was able to shore up the OL, at least for the short-term future, with the commitment of Jared Southers from Vanderbilt. Who fills the void of transferring OG Parker Braun is still unclear, though.
Speaking of transfers, it still feels like a "when" situation regarding Marquez Ezzard announcing his intentions to play for Collins and Georgia Tech. Ezzard will push hard for a waiver to gain immediate eligibility, as he should. Were he to win that appeal, he would have the chance to display the talent locals remember from his HS career at nearby Stockbridge High School.
He's not the only former Georgia HS star that the staff has been talking to from the transfer portal. While it is unclear what position Josh Imatorbhebhe would play were he to land at Georgia Tech, his impact would most certainly be felt early and often on The Flats, and for two years of eligibility at that.
Things like this certainly won't hurt their WR recruiting:
Those two possess the staff's two best current chances on the transfer market, to go along with Southers (OL) and Tyler Davis (TE) though other names are expected to come up after signing day, and probably after spring football as well. There's some smoke about a couple of QB's, but we'll save that for another day.
