The most important thing about Clemson vs. UGA is the final score. The winner stays in the race for the national championship.
No. 2 is recruiting implications. UGA and Clemson often go head-to-head for elite recruits in both Georgia and South Carolina.
Clemson, which is located 25 miles from the Georgia, traditionally recruits well in the state.
Recruiting is not over for this year’s class, but perhaps no other out-of-state college has recruited Georgia better so far than Clemson. The Tigers have five commitments from Georgia, including the state’s No. 2 overall prospect, Gainesville High School quarterback DeShaun Watson.
Clemson’s efforts this year are a nice recovery from two woeful years of recruiting in Georgia. The Tigers lost a lot of momentum and connections when assistants Chris Rumph (Alabama) andBilly Napier (Clemson) left for other jobs. They had strong reputations for recruiting in Georgia.
Two years ago, Clemson totally whiffed in Georgia, not signing a single prospect from the state.
Last year was a ridiculous swing of emotions. Clemson got off to a sizzling start in Georgia, including an early commitment from the nation’s consensus No. 1 prospect, Robert Nkemdiche.
However, Clemson’s stronghold in Georgia folded down the stretch. The Tigers signed five from the state, but lost the commitments of Nkemdiche (signed with Ole Miss), WR Demarcus Robinson (Florida), Ryan Jenkins (Tennessee) and David Kamara (Ole Miss).
As poorly as Clemson finished in Georgia last year, it started off strongly this season. The Tigers have five 2014 commits from Georgia:
- Watson is the state’s best QB prospect since Cam Newton out of Westlake High School in 2007. He committed to Clemson as a sophomore but caused the Tigers to panic after he took a “secret visit” to Auburn last spring. Watson was the first 2014 QB that UGA offered but they waited much too late to offer (last January) to become a serious contender. And Gainesville is only 30 miles from UGA's campus. Watson is a safe bet to sign with the Tigers unless offensive coordinator Chad Morris is hired away.
- Sandy Creek WR Demarre Kitt committed to UGA as a sophomore but re-opened his recruitment last year because he felt like he rushed his decision. He also wasn’t hearing much on a regular basis from the Bulldogs at the time. He's considered the state's No. 1 prospect at WR.
- Calvary Day TE Milan Richard passed on the chance to follow Herschel’s footsteps to UGA. Richard got an early offer from the Bulldogs but decided to wait. That scholarship spot was eventually claimed by TE Jeb Blazevich of Charlotte. Richard also briefly risked having his spot taken at Clemson. The original plan was to wait until the summer to make a college announcement, but Richard changed his mind in a hurry after Clemson offered another TE prospect.
- RB Adam Choice of Thomasville appeared to be UGA’s backup plan if it didn’t land 5-star Nick Chubb of Cedartown (who did end up pledging to UGA). Choice is a high school QB who will transition to RB in college.
- Buford LB Korie Rogers committed to Clemson over UGA in a fierce head-to-head battle between the two schools. Out of the five Clemson commitments from Georgia, this is the kid that UGA wanted (and still wants) the most. Rogers appears to be solid with the Tigers.
UGA and Clemson also may end up duking it out over Liberty County LB Raekwon McMillan and Walton DB DJ Smith, among others.
And next year? Next year, Clemson is set up to have another dominating presence in Georgia. North Gwinnett offensive tackle Mitch Hyatt, the state’s top prospect for 2015, has an uncle who played for Clemson’s national championship team in 1981.
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