This year’s crop of Georgia college football prospects was the most elite class ever, including No. 1 and No. 2 in the ESPN rankings.

And they are all leaving.

Georgia’s top five prospects in the composite rankings will head across state lines to play college football.

Both Georgia Tech and Georgia had respectable years recruiting homegrown talent. They just couldn’t catch the biggest fish. Out of the state’s top 10 prospects, only two are sticking around, both signing with the Bulldogs.

Milton defensive end Carl Lawson is a case study of how both in-state schools came so close, but not close enough. Lawson is the nation’s No. 2-ranked recruit and had connections to both arch rivals. He grew up a Georgia fan, but the Bulldogs were too slow to show initial interest (they waited until two months after he committed to Auburn last spring to consider an offer).

“We would’ve considered Georgia because that was originally Carl’s favorite school,” said his father, Carl Lawson Sr. “But when their interest never materialized and other options presented themselves, it was kind of hard to get back in the picture. And they didn’t really keep pursuing it aggressively enough to get back into the picture.”

Meanwhile, Tech had inside position with Lawson because his father played football there. Lawson gave the Yellow Jackets serious consideration, as recently as last week, but decided he would have a better opportunity of pursuing his college major of kinesiology elsewhere.

On Wednesday, Lawson signed with Auburn. He was part of a celebrated quintet, including the state’s first national No. 1 (Grayson’s Robert Nkemdiche), to be exported. Here’s a look at the others:

• Nkemdiche, defensive end, (signed with Ole Miss): Years from now, people will still wonder how nation’s undisputed top prospect attended high school 35 miles from Georgia’s campus and never seriously considered the Bulldogs. To Georgia’s credit, it was actually the first school to offer Nkemdiche as a sophomore. The big mistake was something that didn’t seem that big of a deal at the time. Two years ago, his older brother, Denzel Nkemdiche, was a late qualifier out of Grayson. He finally got close to qualifying test scores in late May, and his coaches informed several colleges, including Georgia. However, before the Bulldogs could process and react to the news, Ole Miss rushed Denzel in for an official visit and secured his commitment. That rather forgettable moment two years ago essentially locked up, two years in advance, Wednesday’s landmark recruiting victory for Ole Miss.
• Montravius Adams, defensive tackle, Dooly County (Auburn): Georgia always seemed to be playing catchup with the Tigers and Clemson. In reflection, Georgia lost its best opportunity for Adams when it lost Rodney Garner, the Bulldogs’ recruiting coordinator who was hired by Auburn in December. Garner had developed a close friendship to Adams and convinced him last week to take his final official visit to Auburn. The rest is history.
• Vonn Bell, safety, Ridgeland (Ohio State): Neither Georgia nor Tech ever really had a connection with Bell, who lives just across the state line in Chattanooga, Tenn. He commutes to Ridgeland with his mother, who teaches at the school.
• Alvin Kamara, running back, Norcross (Alabama): Nick Saban somehow convinced The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s All-Classification Player of the Year that joining three other highly regarded recruits at running back for the reigning national championships was better for his future than playing for his co-finalist, Georgia.

While Tech and Georgia both missed on the high-end talent, both schools seemed satisfied with their haul, regardless of the rankings.

Georgia’s award for the team’s top recruit fell upon Newnan safety Tray Matthews, who is rated No. 79 overall in the nation in the 247Sports composite rankings. Camden County quarterback Brice Ramsey, another Bulldogs’ commit, was at No. 100.

“As far as I’m concerned, I think we got the No. 1 class in America,” Georgia coach Mark Richt told reporters.

Tech’s highest rated player is Shamire Devine, at No. 239.

Meanwhile, Tech coach Paul Johnson felt like he may have hit the jackpot with under-rated Lovejoy running back Travis Custis. He’s ranked at No. 654 overall.

“I feel like we got, if not the best running back in the state, it’d be a short list that he’d be on,” Johnson said.