Georgia Tech building a recruiting wall around Atlanta
Georgia Tech is doing its best to win recruiting in the state of Georgia. How do you do that? You build a fortress around the I-285. It’s the bypass that surrounds the perimeter of Atlanta.
From there, you hop in a car and lock down the areas within a two-hour drive in each direction.
Georgia Tech has made a point to securing Atlanta on the recruiting trail. Additionally, since Geoff Collins took over in 2018, the program has become active on social media.
There is constant promotion of their #4the404 hashtag and culture swing.
It’s working.
As a result, Collins is now getting the area’s key recruits on campus.
For instance, Georgia Tech got an official from five-star Mykel Williams before he committed to USC.
Additionally, Walton’s Marcus Allen had the Georgia Tech in his final group before he committed to North Carolina two weeks ago.
The base of Georgia Tech’s recruiting is in Atlanta metro area
Eight of the 11 players committed to in the class of 2022, hail from the state of Georgia. All eight of those commits play high school football within a three-hour drive from the Atlanta campus.
Georgia Tech makes it a point to get on recruits in the state early. Players from the class of 2025 like King Joseph Edwards, Jaylen Bell and Oxford, Alabama’s 2024 quarterback Kamari McClellan are on their way to becoming national recruits.
As a result, Georgia Tech has already put in offers before either has played a high school game.
The heavy pressure the Georgia Tech coaching staff is applying to the state is working. The program is now in the running for some of the state’s best.
Winning the state of Georgia in recruiting gives teams a chance. There are five- and four-star players all over the state. The number of division I players is well into the 300s year in and year out.
Collins and staff have given recruits that have a desire to stay home an alternative to Georgia. The Athens campus sits about 70 miles to the northeast.
Defending home is important to some of Georgia’s best.
“Since coach Collins took over there’s been a massive emphasis on taking care of your home city,” Georgia Tech commit Brandon Best said. “He (Collins) wants us to enjoy being here and win while we’re here. A lot of players are taking on that mentality. We want to stay home and build something right where we grew up.”
Name Image and Likeness having mixed reviews on the recruiting trail
College football is set to change a lot with the players now set to profit from their name, image and likeness. In lieu of the change, some big stars and some big programs signed deals on July 1.
How has it impacted recruiting?
Schools have prepared pitches for the future stars of their programs. For Tennessee commit, Maurice ‘Mo’ Clipper, it was intriguing. Tennessee’s plan has him happy. Clipper’s future school is already looking for him to do things that interest him.
“They have something where they’ll help you brainstorm and help you find what you’re interest in,” Clipper said. “Being able to make money in college hasn’t been available, so I’m excited to see what’s in the future.”
A few of the nation’s elite players have more mixed reviews about it. Evan Stewart, one of the nation’s top wide receivers, told 247 Sports that he cut the schools that attempted to recruit him with NIL pitches. Stewart says he wants to focus on football.
The top ranked player in the class of 2023, isn’t too focused on the NIL part of his recruitment either. As a result, with two years of high school football left, Lebbeus Overton doesn’t see the point, though he is gathering information.
“As a rising junior, it’s not really playing a big part to me right now,” Overton said. “Moving forward, me going to different colleges and them explaining how it’s going to work at their programs, they’re giving great information on how they want to attack the situation and how they want everybody to feel toward it.”