Georgia Has A 5-Star National Signing Day
The Georgia Bulldogs football team may be out of the upcoming college football playoffs, but they still have something to celebrate. Yesterday that national early signing period officially opened and Georgia had themselves a 5-star day.
Anyway you break down the numbers, the Bulldogs did really well. In short, they received four 5-star commits, 20 4-star commits, and 4 3-star commits. Along with the University of Oklahoma, Georgia’s 28 commits were the most among the top tier of 30 schools. In fact, so far Georgia has 10% of the top 100 prospects, and the most 5-star recruits.
It certainly has been a tale of two emotions in the Bulldogs locker room the past month. In addition to losing to Alabama and not making the playoff, Georgia lost top quarterback prospect Dylan Raiola this week. Raiola, who previously committed to Ohio State before flipping to Georgia, now has committed to the University of Nebraska. His uncle coaches for the Cornhuskers and his father played there as well.
So Who Did Georgia Get?
“The headliners are on defense; No. 1 CB Ellis Robinson IV and No. 1 LB Justin Williams remained steadfast in their commitments, while Georgia flipped top-ranked safety KJ Bolden from Florida State,” CBS Sports explained. An additional 5-star player that plans to move to Athens is top defensive lineman Joseph Jonah-Ajonye. The top 4-star linebacker (#3 overall), Chris Cole also committed to Georgia. As for the quarterback position, the Bulldogs are in good shape there as well. Last year’s starter Carson Beck will be back next season. Furthermore, Ryan Puglisi of Paxton, Massachusetts (and Avon Old Farms High School) is a 4-star quarterback who also committed to Georgia.
DawgNation said this on national signing day, of the new quarterback coming to Georgia, “He’s got a strong arm and is a more than capable athlete.”
Though this is a great start for the future of the Bulldogs, there is still one more game to play this season. On Saturday December 30, Georgia will take on Florida State in what is expected to be a great Orange Bowl game. Yes, it happens to be a matchup of the two teams left out of the college football playoff.
3 Potential NFL Draft Destinations For UNC's Drake Maye
On Wednesday, December 27, North Carolina will play their last game of the season in Charlotte (Duke’s Mayo Bowl vs. West Virginia). With Drake Maye being one of the top prospects in the 2024 NFL draft, it’s time to take a look at three potential landing destinations for the star quarterback.
UNC is coming off a 8-4 record this season. Although his statistics were not as high as last year, Maye still had an incredible year, throwing for 3,608 yards and 24 touchdowns. At just 21 years old, Maye is the ideal size for a NFL quarterback, standing 6 foot 4.
2024 Draft Class
Many of the top players have still to officially declare for the draft. Yet, the expectation is that all the names we are seeing atop the mock draft boards will be moving up to the next level. There have been eyes on this year’s class for a few years now. That’s largely due to the generational quarterback pool.
USC’s Caleb Williams is a safe assumption to be the first overall pick. That’s where things can get tricky. The Carolina Panthers currently have the worst record at 1-11. However, due to last year’s trade, the Chicago Bears own their pick. Do the Bears need or want a QB? They just drafted Justin Fields. Of course, we still have the NFL combine, player pro days, and team meetings ahead of us. Much can change in that time. Still, I believe Maye will be the next quarterback taken after Williams.
To further emphasize how deep (and potentially special) this class is, three of the four Heisman Trophy finalists this season are quarterbacks. None of them are named Caleb Williams or Drake Maye (Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix, Michael Penix Jr.)
Come April, we can see as many as 10 NFL teams in need of a new quarterback. Here are three NFL teams that have a good probability of selecting in the top five picks of the NFL draft, where Drake Maye will likely be taken.
Jeff Gorra is a Boston-based writer who has been with Beasley Media Group since the beginning of 2023. He writes about restaurants and food, as well as sports and rock music. His experience also includes show hosting and in-depth creative writing in rock and reggae dub music. Jeff’s an avid surfer, New York Giants, and Pearl Jam fan, however, if you make unforgettable pizza, he is sure to find you.