Here’s something for you.
Youth isn’t always a bad thing, unless you’re Curt Cignetti and your minimum age requirement for a transfer or recruit is the age of 25. I kid, kind of.
With the five for five deal in place, this will likely balance out over time, but it’s worth noting that there are several teams in here that are currently projected to be CFP participants at year’s end, and even portal heavy teams like Texass and TAMU, and especially Miami, are making this list, too.
For context, Georgia is ranked 8th in returning production with 68% (Notre Dame is first, with 72%), so 2026 will be a real litmus test for Kirby’s way in the NIL era, as well as his longstanding reputation as a player developer.
We’ll know soon enough how well that plays out.
I thought about that last year when assessing our team. We were pretty young last year in key areas, so bringing that youthful experience back was key. I like our chances this year.
Going forward, I’m worried because we seem to be loading up on 3 stars. Unless Kirby found a hidden hoard of Jordan Davis and Ladd McConkey clones, I’m not very comfortable.
The definition of a 3 star recruit according to the services is a player is projected to be a starter at some point. Kirby has made the decision that he isn’t going to pay an incoming freshman blue chip more than the player who is currently starting at the same position. Will that work out? We’ll see.
Also, Georgia has missed on some 4 & 5 Stars this cycle. They have been in the final three schools, but lost out in the end. If they are in the final three then the money on the table was right. They missed for some other reason. What that is…who knows? Maybe the youth of the roster is impacting this somewhat.
A Verbal Commitment to UGA just sets the market price that we ultimately won’t pay.
Don’t these kids get the star ratings based on performances at camps? That reasons that some kids just don’t camp as much as others, wouldn’t it?
I’ll wait to be worried after the ink is dry on the signing class and the portal class, and after we see who leaves for the NFL draft. The extra year of eligibility might help teams like UGA a lot.
“We’ll know soon enough how well that plays out.”
Youngest with some of the mostest back seems like a good place to be. Not sure if the Transfer Portal balances that out AND it sadly concerns me that unless QB play elevates, does it even matter? Lots of teams make jumps based on a QB change alone. Gone are the days when a QB with a chip on his shoulder the size of my – – let’s just say talk, that the OC can gravy train to a Head Coach gig in the National Football League is around. We got a guy that has admitted he needs to let it rip but struggled to hit his roommate regularly and loved to check down from his check downs. All while being the protege of the dude that developed Matthew Stafford and had the Ginger Ninja set the program record for TDs in a season. From my POV that makes the margin for error tighter and chances of disappointment brighter.
Lots of young AND experienced elite talent. Gonna be a good year.