The SEC's Newcomers to Know

Before last season, names like Marcus Lattimore, Michael Dyer, and Cam Newton were hardly being thrown around outside of the Southeast. By January, these guys had earned the country’s respect. The SEC’s recruiting efforts in the past five years have only been surpassed by their rabid following, and this year is no different. Here are ten SEC newcomers that, barring injury, you may be getting acquainted with by the end of the year.

10. Anthony Johnson – LSU:

It’s not often that freshman defensive linemen make an impact in college football, but if anyone can it’s the New Orleans native they call The Freak. In addition to being quick off the snap, Johnson possesses the non-stop motor that defensive coaches cherish in the trenches, and the versatility to rush the passer from the outside as well.

9. Ray Drew – Georgia:

This Thomasville, GA native currently serves as the pastor of his hometown Paradise Missionary Baptist Church, but this fall he’ll only be baptizing quarterbacks between the hedges. At 6’5, 250 pounds, Drew will play Will linebacker at UGA. He’s freakishly strong and explosive for his size, any questions about his talent were answered at this year’s Army All-American game, where he racked up 2.5 sacks going against the top talent in the country.

8. Maurice Couch – Tennessee:

A Garden City (KS) Community College transfer, Couch will wreak havoc early on the line in Knoxville. Standing at 6’2, 295, Couch will likely gain a starting spot in the fall. An explosive lineman with experience playing in both 3-4 and 4-3 schemes, Couch’s arsenal is a mixture of power and versatility, Vols defensive line coach Lance Thompson has to be excited about Couch’s potential.

7. Mike Blakely – Florida:

Blakely doesn’t have the speed or quickness of Urban Meyer-era Florida backs, but in the new pro-style offense, he has a chance to make a great contribution to the Gators’ backfield this year, especially if redshirt freshman Mack Brown hasn’t recovered fully from injury. Blakely has a low center of gravity, and combined with his excellent agility makes him a threat in a Charlie Weis offense.

6. Zach Mettenberger – LSU:

Mettenberger transferred to LSU after being dismissed from the University of Georgia amidst legal trouble. A prototypical quarterback (6’5 245) who seems to have a rocket launcher attached to his shoulder, Mettenberger was listed behind senior Jordan Jefferson on the depth chart after transferring from Butler County Community College in Kansas. Though Jefferson has the most experience, I believe Mettenberger has a good chance of seizing the starting job by the end of the year, given his physical tools. LSU consistently has a stable of great receivers, and Les Miles knows he has an ace in the hole should Jordan Jefferson struggle before the Bayou Bengals’ conference schedule begins.

5. Demetrius Hart – Alabama:

The U.S. Army All-American Player of the Year, Hart switched commitments from Michigan to Alabama following the coaching change in Ann Arbor. An extremely agile, shifty runner, Hart could be the secret weapon in the Tide backfield, a great complement to Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy. He has the potential to be a weapon in the return game from the time he steps foot on campus.

4. Jesse Williams – Alabama:

After losing Marcel Dareus to the NFL Draft, the Crimson Tide will be looking for playmakers on the defensive line. Brisbane, Australia native Jesse Williams fits the bill. This 6’3, 310 pound nose tackle initially spent his free time playing basketball and rugby until the age of 15. Since then, he’s been hooked. Once he gets on campus after transferring from Arizona Western Community College, Williams will anchor the Crimson Tide line as they look to rebound from a 10-3 season. With experienced linebackers and an extremely talented secondary behind him, look for the Tide’s D to put together a few shutouts this season.

3. Jonathan Jenkins – UGA:

This mammoth nose tackle is originally from Meriden, Connecticut, but spent two years at Gulf Coast Community College in Mississippi. This junior college served as a pit stop for Terrence Cody before he became a mountain of a man at Alabama. Gulf Coast’s coach Steve Campbell says the 6’4, 350 pound Jenkins “moves better than Cody” and has better mobility. If that doesn’t convince you—get this, Jenkins played fullback in high school, and by his own account, he runs a 4.9 40-yard dash. Expect Jenkins to team up with Kwame Geathers to plug up the middle of Todd Grantham’s 3-4 defense in Athens.

Link to 40-yard dash quote: http://twitter.com/#!/Bigjohn481/status/56079231884599296

2. Isaiah Crowell – Georgia:

A shy kid from Columbus, Georgia, Crowell is the crown jewel of Mark Richt’s Dream Team recruiting class. All eyes in the Peach State will be on Crowell once he arrives on campus in June. At a solid 5’11 205, he’s been called a stronger C.J. Spiller; his highlight film is a must-watch. Crowell possesses all the tools necessary to become an every-down back in the SEC after spending time in a legitimate strength and conditioning program. He can catch the ball out of the backfield; he has excellent vision, balance, agility and breakaway speed. Crowell has a great chance to overthrow Caleb King and Washaun Ealey for the starting spot at tailback for the Dawgs this year.

1. Jadeveon Clowney – South Carolina:

The man, the myth, the legend—Clowney’s reputation precedes him; there’s a Twitter page dedicated to his everyday exploits, such as breaking vices while attempting to crack his knuckles, killing birds by throwing them off cliffs, ripping tags off mattresses, etc. Standing at 6’6, 247, Clowney runs a 4.5 forty yard dash and his first step off the line of scrimmage is insane. He’s such a presence on the football field that the arrow used to indicate which player to watch in his highlight film is virtually unnecessary. Clowney will make plays early and often in Columbia, Expect him to play a large role in their campaign for the SEC title.

The SEC's top personnel groups

The SEC lost a ton of talent to the NFL Draft, with ten players selected in the first round alone; and this will be the case next year as well. Though Cam Newton, A.J. Green, and Patrick Peterson are gone, you can expect to be hearing Mel Kiper and Todd McShay to rave about these guys around this time next year.

Backfield – South Carolina

With both Stephen Garcia and Marcus Lattimore returning, the Gamecocks have the most productive backfield in the SEC. With these two, Steve Spurrier’s squad brings back the SEC’s leading returning passer as well as its second-ranked rusher. Lattimore rushed for 1,164 yards and 17 touchdowns as a freshman in 2010, and bulked up to six feet, 230 pounds during the off-season. SEC defenders can only hope for a sophomore slump from this bruising back.

Receivers – Arkansas

Even after losing Ryan Mallett to the Patriots, the Hogs’ receiving corps is filled with veteran playmakers that will thrive in Bobby Petrino’s pass-happy system. Jarius Wright and Joe Adams combined for 190 yards and two touchdowns in their Sugar Bowl loss to Ohio State, a game they played without arguably their most talented threat, Greg Childs. This senior-laden group will make Tyler Wilson’s transition into the starting spot that much easier.

Tight ends – Georgia

The Bulldogs have always put quality tight ends in the NFL, Randy McMichael, Leonard Pope, and Ben Watson all played their college ball between the hedges. This year, Orson Charles, Aron White, and Arthur Lynch will carry the torch. White is a prototypical receiving tight end that will be a great option in the passing game for Aaron Murray, but Orson Charles may be the SEC’s best kept secret. Standing at 6’3 and 250 pounds, Charles is a hybrid-type tight end that will also see time at wide receiver this fall. Charles caught 27 passes for 504 yards and two touchdowns as a sophomore.

Offensive line – Ole Miss

The Rebel Black Bears (still sounds weird reading that, huh?) might not have much to be excited about this season, but their offensive line should be serviceable. They return every starter on the offensive line, including the behemoth Bobby Massie, a 6’6 312 pound sophomore. This unit will hope to open some lanes for Enrique Davis, Brandon Bolden. Houston Nutt’s squad quietly rushed for the third-most yards in the SEC in 2010 and allowed the fewest sacks in the league despite being one of the youngest units in the league.

Defensive line – Georgia

Call me crazy, but I give the Dawgs the slight nod over Ronald Powell, Sharrif Floyd and the Florida Gators since they’re in their second year under Coach Todd Grantham. The defensive line has been coached by Rodney Garner since 1998, and this year, the unit may be the most stacked he’s had a chance to work with in a long time. Redshirt sophomore Kwame Geathers (6’5 350) drew rave reviews from coaches in the spring and impressed in the spring game. He’ll split time at nose tackle with junior college transfer Johnathan Jenkins (also 6’5 350), but Grantham hinted at the possibility of putting both nose tackles on the line at the same time in short-yardage or goal line situations. In addition to those beasts in the middle, DeAngelo Tyson and Abry Jones are all-SEC candidates at defensive ends. Tyson played out of position at nose last season; with the transfer of Jenkins and the improvement of Geathers, 2011 sets up for a breakout season from the Statesboro, GA native.

Linebackers – Alabama

To run the 3-4, Nick Saban needs a linebacking corps full of talent. This year is no different: Dont’a Hightower, Nico Johnson and Courtney Upshaw will make plays all season. Hightower was second on the team in tackles last year, with 69, including 3.5 for loss. As a sophomore, Johnson racked up 33 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and two passes defended. Upshaw landed a whopping 14.5 tackles for loss, 7 sacks, and four forced fumbles last year.

Secondary – Alabama

Aside from a powerful front seven, the calling card of a Nick Saban defense is a playmaking secondary, and this year’s squad is full of ballhawks. Robert Lester, Demarcus Milliner, and Dre Kirkpatrick combined for 30 passes defended last year, so don’t expect many teams to have success throwing against the Crimson Tide. With the addition of quality depth like Dequan Menzie and John Fulton, the secondary looks to be an area of strength for ‘Bama for years to come. Considering the talent across the board in Tuscaloosa, don’t expect many teams to have success against Saban and the Tide, period.

Special teams – Georgia

The Bulldogs have the most talented special teams unit in the country, and that’s no stretch of the imagination. Aside from returning Lou Groza Award semifinalist Blair Walsh, who accounted for 106 points last season and holds a career long mark of 56 yards, the Dawgs’ unit is home to the 2009 Ray Guy Award winner and 2010 All-American punter Drew Butler, who holds a career average of about 49 yards per punt. This personnel group sounds deadly enough, but when you add UGA’s all-time return record holder Brandon Boykin, it gets downright scary. This unit will be the X-factor in an extremely important season for Mark Richt and the Bulldogs.

UGA Spring Preview

Signing Day was a huge step in the right direction for Mark Richt and the Georgia Bulldogs, but aside from Chris Conley and Christian LeMay, the Dream Team won't get on campus until June. This makes spring practice an even bigger deal for the forgotten upperclassmen. Today marks the beginning of spring practice, the first unveiling of the results of Joe T's new Strength and Conditioning program, and the first team practices in what many pessimistic fans will call the post-AJ era.

If this is your first time reading this blog, I warn you that I tend to see things from an optimistic point of view. Honestly, I think Aaron Murray and Grantham's defense adding a year of experience will affect the team much more than the loss of AJ Green will. On a less tangible note, all accounts point to a shift in attitude around the football program. Before you groan and say "We hear this every off-season," consider the facts. Since Greg McGarity took office in Athens, it's been nothing but positive news coming out of Butts-Mehre. The new S&C program seems to be weeding out the men from the boys, the new hires look great (on paper, at least), and the players are all buying into the attitude of change. McGarity made schedule changes (adding Boise State, dropping Louisville, adding Tasty Cake home games) that will increase exposure as well as minimize team fatigue.

Although we don't know how everything going on within the program will turn out, the players and coaches seem excited about this season and the positivity is contagious. The fans are excited, the administration is excited, the students are excited. You should be too. Here are a few players/units I'm paying attention to over spring practice:

• Kwame Geathers - Johnathan Jenkins is as close to a sure starter as you can get, but Bean Anderson moving back to the O-line gives Kwame Geathers a full spring to get first-team reps at nose. Kwame has a lot of weight on his shoulders should Jenkins be unable to play for any reason come fall. Fortunately, by all accounts Kwame has made great strides under the new S&C program, two years after showing up to fall camp overweight.

• The DEs - This unit might be the most talented on this side of the ball. DeAngelo Tyson and Abry Jones are already all-SEC caliber players that, in my opinion, will benefit the most from the change in defensive scheme. Garrison Smith and Derrick Lott should definitely push for first-team reps during the spring as well.

• Jarvis Jones & Richard Samuel - These two guys might've been the biggest recruits of the 2010 class. Their redshirt year made it possible for get healthy and gain experience, respectively. Even though there's no substitute for game experience, these guys have played the game before, and they're no slouches. Can't wait to see these guys between the hedges.

• Rantavious Wooten, Marlon Brown, Chris Conley - Even though the Dawgs' WR corps lost most of its productivity this year, the absence of AJ Green will make for opportunities to get more options on the field. Green helped set up the running game when he was on the field, hopefully these guys become big enough threats for Mike Bobo to spread these guys out. If Wooten is healthy and put in enough work in the weight room, his route running and after-the-catch ability could be a great asset. Marlon Brown is the best blocking receiver on the team, but didn't get many balls thrown to him with Green and Durham around. This spring is the time for these guys to establish themselves as legitimate threats in the passing game.

• The secondary - I'm not as down on this unit as most seem to be. Keep a proper perspective here, these guys were young, in a new scheme and still found a way to make more plays than the secondary did than in the 08 and 09 seasons. One thing to remember: The bigger, stronger front seven will pay dividends for the DBs. Brandon Boykin coming back was huge and Sanders Commings is a baller. If Branden Smith proves to be as good in run support as he is in coverage the unit will be solid, even though I think Jakar Hamilton would be a better all-around corner at his spot. The coaches moving Ogletree to ILB rubbed a few people the wrong way, but I don't really understand why. During the recruiting process it was a consensus opinion that Tree would eventually move to LB. People forget that Bacarri Rambo and Shawn Williams were first-year starters last year. I'd be even more confident about the back four if Corey Moore would've enrolled early, he could end up being the best coverage safety we've seen between the hedges in quite a while, and that's more important to me than a headhunter.

My (extremely late by Internet standards) National Signing Day recap.

This class feels different. It’s not Mark Richt’s first Top 10 class, and I believe it won’t be his last, either. But let’s look closer, shall we? John Jenkins’ signing to UGA and Cyrus Kuandijo’s to ‘Bama means that UGA will pass Texas for the 3^rd ranked class in the nation next time Rivals updates their rankings. More importantly, this class is the second highest-ranked class in the SEC, only trailing Alabama. This haul also comes at the same time as a relatively disappointing class for Florida; while the Gators signed a quality class including RB Mike Blakely, QB Jeff Driskel, TE A.C. Leonard and FB Hunter Joyer, they missed out on early near-locks like Tim Jernigan, James Wilder Jr, Mike Bellamy, and Nick Waisome as well as high-priority guys like Curt Maggitt, Brandon Fulse, Kelvin Benjamin and Sammy Watkins. Kinda reminiscent of UGA’s 2007 and 2010 classes, right? Well these are the recruiting missteps and triumphs that make for talent gaps and roster mismatches in the future.

Dean Legge of Dawgpost wrote an excellent article a little more than a year ago listing the prospects the Dawgs had to get. Let’s see how the staff did:

1. Jay Rome – “should be recruited by Georgia three times harder than Clemson recruits him.”—signed with Georgia.

2. Ray Drew – “is a must sign.”—signed with Georgia.

3. Isaiah Crowell – “the most important sign for the Dawgs in 2011”—signed with Georgia.

4. Gabe Wright—signed with Auburn, but adding John Jenkins and Chris Mayes more than makes up for that loss.

5. James Vaughters – signed with Stanford, and honestly that’s a helluva lot better than meeting him the SEC later, plus some kids just want to go out of state. He was one of them.

6. Damian Swann – “needs to be shown tapes of Branden Smith’s 2009 season.”—signed with Georgia.

7. C.J. Uzomah – signed with Auburn. I’m not extremely impressed with the kid, he’ll play tight end at Auburn, and we’ve got better prospects at both of his potential positions.

8. Stephon Tuitt – “too close to Athens not to be signed.”—signed with Notre Dame, or was it Georgia Tech?

9. Nick Marshall – signed with Georgia.

10. Xzavier Dickson – signed with Bama. Most of us know the story behind this one, though.

11. A.J. Johnson – signed with Tennessee. Apparently both coaching staffs thought he was too much of a tweener. *Willie Martinez Shrug*

12. Watts Dantzler – signed with Georgia.

We got half of the guys from the list, and the only one I’m slightly concerned about losing is Dickson, and our LB corps is going to be just fine without him.

The 2011 class showcased the recruiting strengths of the Georgia coaching staff in almost all aspects. There were the sleeper prospects that UGA jumped on early and signed, like Ramik Wilson, Sterling Bailey, Chris Conley, Chris Mayes and Zach Debell. There were the lifelong fans that held the class down for the coaches during the tough season, like Corey Moore, Chris Sanders, Watts Dantzler, Amarlo Herrera and Boss Andrews. A few sleeper prospects put in the work to get their academics in order before they got their offers, like Sanford Seay and Quintavious Harrow. Fans were complaining about the staff losing prospects from South Georgia? Boom, the staff gets Xzavier Ward from Moultrie, Justin Scott-Wesley from Camilla, Ray Drew from Thomasville, along with Jay Rome and Malcolm Mitchell out of Valdosta.

Mike Bobo caught a lot of flack during the season, but he definitely earned his keep on the recruiting trail, landing ten prospects: Drew, Mitchell, Conley, Dantzler, LeMay, Marshall, Rome, Scott-Wesley, Seay, and Xzavier Ward. Todd Grantham sold every defensive prospect on the 3-4 defense, and they responded in a major way. Bryan McClendon worked his tail off recruiting Crowell, and it paid off in the end. John Lilly had a hand in recruiting Rome and Crowell as well. Scott Lakatos has a lot to work with in the secondary for the next few years, with Swann, Marshall, Bowman (a sleeper if you ask me), Moore, Sanders, and Mitchell.

Overall, this was a class we had to have, and the coaches put their noses to the grindstone and got it done. The negative recruiting was at an all-time high; Kirby Smart and other coaches were in recruits’ ears all year. We were supposed to see Georgia get raided by Alabama, Auburn, and Tennessee, but in the end, UGA went head-to-head with SEC foes for the top GA prospects and got 7 out of the top 10 to stay home. By all accounts, the football program has turned a complete 180 under new athletic director McGarity, and Mark Richt has commented that he feels “like a brand new coach.” It’s easy to see that McGarity is leading us toward success down the road, even if it comes without Mark Richt, but with the current changes in place, its hard for me to fathom that UGA will be going through a coaching carousel as soon as our rival fanbases would have us believe.

Who's comin' up?

All-Star games are the last evaluation period for Rivals, Scout, and ESPN. These are the guys I expect to move up in the rankings after their respective games.

UGA Commits

• Christian Conley - from all reports, he's tearing it up at the Offense-Defense Bowl. Standing at 6'3 and about 190 pounds, All season, Conley has shown great hands and awareness after the catch, and his route-running was also noteworthy at practices this week. He racked up huge numbers against mediocre high school competition, but has drawn rave reviews from top prospects in Myrtle Beach, including Ohio State safety commit Jeremy Cash and consensus top-ten wideout Kelvin Benjamin. Enrolling at UGA in January should give him enough of a head start to get on the field as soon as possible. Conley enrolling early could pay huge dividends for the North Paulding graduate, the Dawgs' receiving corps will be low on numbers next year, so he'll have a great shot of getting playing time. We'll see how far along he's progressed at the G-Day Game.

• Amarlo Herrera - The kid's a tackling machine, and a flat-out gamer. He racked up about 150 tackles during the season, and is a helluva blitzing linebacker. I wouldn't be shocked if he had a similar performance at the O-D game tomorrow.

• Corey Moore - With a good week of practice in San Antonio and a solid showing in the game, Corey Moore could vault into the Top 5 at the safety position. He has a high football IQ, and is an extremely tough, competitive player. Moore is also one of the hardest hitters in the country. He plans to enroll early, and could be one of those guys you see de-cleating guys on kickoff coverage come next year.

"When a blind man leads a blind man"

Strangely, that’s not a quote from coach Richt’s post-practice press conference.

I usually try to avoid wasting clicks on bad articles, lol, but I couldn’t help myself today. Buck Belue kinda ticked me off just now. When it comes to recruiting, I only trust these national journalists and analysts so much, I mean, at the end of the day, it is a business. But for someone with the status he has, Buck Belue could use a subscription. I’m sure he’s got enough money for it. I’m a college student, I could probably make enough to buy myself one in a month or so, realistically speaking. But man, Buck…Some quotes from the person you’re talking about would be

nice...maybe a link? Not calling you a liar, maybe suspecting it a little, though. Because from just about every recruiting outlet, the MAIN person involved with Carradine's recruitment besides himself was his uncle.

FSU had been recruiting Tank for much longer than UGA had...Tank and his uncle made it clear he wanted to play in Florida to begin with. UGA made a strong push at the end, but FSU was around longer, since UGA waited for academic clearing to officially offer the guy. UGA definitely had a shot at the end, but you can't win em all, unlike some employed 'journalists' tend to think. Click the picture below to see an article from a legit recruiting source....note the last line.

You obviously haven't been reading these websites, Buck. You probably just read the AJC when it comes to recruiting, right? Maybe it’s just me. It's not like they could've verbally offered him (oh wait, they already did.), it's not like the coaches couldn’t get him to visit during the season, right? You know, when he played his junior college games? On Saturdays? In KANSAS, right? Weren't you the one saying Richt had to get the best guys in the state to save his job? Kansas is way further than Griffin or Thomasville though, right? Why recruit a JUCO guy in Kansas, hell, why leave the state of Georgia if Alabama is raiding Georgia like ya'll say they are? (Oh, right...they only have two guys from GA committed, and you know how those high school kids like to change their minds J)

I understand you have a job and your own personal life, and probably don't have too much free time on your hands...but if you wanna talk about recruiting, you might need to get a subscription, or find a way to hear these things from the horse's mouth on what's really going on in recruiting. You just can’t claim a poor start to the recruiting class when so many of the top guys haven't even started to make their choices. We understand it, you want to see the Dawgs’ doing well. We all do, but most of us know enough to know that we don’t know everything going on inside the program. Maybe you should hang around the AD’s office and see what he’s up to. Myself and the rest of the recruitniks would much rather hear about that, and I’m sure they wouldn’t mind you hanging around the office. Why not interview McGarity next week, instead of throwing this same tired Coach Richt meme we hear from the AJC every morning?

‘he-said, she-said’ is fine when there’s verification, you know, some kind of record of what was said. Without verification, no one knows who to believe; And in this case, some fan who’s doesn’t spend time reading actual recruiting sites is eating this up, and in turn, keeping bad blog writers’ like the ones in Atlanta employed. Not to mention the recruits of the Dawgs use the Internet too, right?

I heard this quote thanks to EbenGregory, a blogger from the DMV area. Not sure where it came from, but I think it serves as the moral to this story:

He who knows not, and knows not he knows not, is a fool, shun him.

He who knows not, and knows he knows not, is simple, teach him.

He who knows, and knows not he knows, is asleep, wake him.

He who knows, and knows he knows, is wise. Follow him.

Finally, a first-hand look at the future

The most exciting football I’ll watch over Winter Break probably won’t be the Liberty Bowl. In no way does that mean I’m more excited about recruiting than I am about an actual UGA game. I mean no disrespect to Jeffrey Godfrey and UCF; I’ve heard from 2 Live Crew frontman Uncle Luke all year about how good he is, and how he should be starting for Miami right now. I actually think the Liberty Bowl will be closer than it seems, simply because I’ve never been impressed with our defense against mobile QBs in the past. But I’ll most likely feel the most excited about UGA football in the week after New Year’s.

All eyes are gonna be on San Antonio and Tampa for the Army and Under Armour All-American games, and with good reason. The fallout from coaching shakeups will have the vultures of the coaching ranks out in full force for these next two months, we’ll hear plenty about whether or not Will Muschamp can switch some recruits from Texas to Florida, and if Kirby Smart indeed goes to Gainesville with him, we’ll hear the same about Alabama’s commits. Finishing the recruiting year off with a bang is big for the perception of a program, and even bigger for recruits sitting at home watching, and if all goes like it’s rumored to be going, the UGA coaching staff has done a phenomenal job planning for the future. A few things to watch for:

Army All-American Game:

You know how everyone says our defense will be fine when Grantham gets “his players” in the system? Well you’ll get a first-hand look at those players in this game.

Sterling Bailey and Ray Drew vs. Garrett Greenlea, Matthew Hegarty, Tyler Johnstone, Ryker Mathews, Greg Robinson:

This matchup will showcase two highly-ranked Georgia defensive linemen going against a solid corps of offensive linemen. The OL vs. DL drills should be fun to watch.

Safety Corey Moore and CB Damian Swann vs. WRs DeAnthony Arnett, Victor Blackwell, George Farmer, Trey Metoyer, Jaxon Shipley, Kasen Williams:

The Army game took more kids from the state of Georgia than I’ve noticed in recent years. The game always picks national playmakers though, and this year is no different; the lowest-ranked receiver on the West squad is ranked thirteenth by Rivals. Corey Moore is a competitive ballhawk who’s an impressive safety and coverage and one of the hardest-hitting safeties in the country. Swann showed his skills this past summer, when he shut down Charone Peake, who Rivals compares to Braylon Edwards, at the Mark Richt camp. He’s an exceptional athlete who could excel on both sides of the ball.

Under Armour All-American Game:

Quan Bray, Malcolm Mitchell, Justin Scott-Wesley, vs. Ha’Sean Clinton-Dix, Enrique Florence, Nick Waisome:

This should be a great matchup. It’s pretty much Georgia vs. Florida and Alabama. I’m anxious to see the fastest guy in Georgia and arguably the best three skill players in the South on either side of the ball (Quan Bray, Malcolm Mitchell, Nick Waisome) going at it.

If you have ESPNU, you should be able to watch Under Armour practices throughout the week of the game.

The best part of the weekend besides the actual game will be the recruiting announcements, we should expect to see Ray Drew, Jay Rome, Malcolm Mitchell, Damian Swann, and possibly Quan Bray make their choices known, likely committing to the Dawgs that weekend. The buzz around UGA’s recruiting class should be huge.