Mark Richt (AJC)
Does it bother UGA's Mark Richt when a kid flips from the Bulldogs?
This year, UGA had nine kids from its 2015 class who de-committed, although three of them were “re-commits” – meaning they eventually pledged again (and more importantly signed) with the Bulldogs.
On the flip side, UGA was also a beneficiary of all the commitment switching. The Bulldogs flipped seven recruits who were committed to other schools.
That’s enough flipping and flopping in one year to make your head spin.
“Each individual situation, you’re either excited about or disappointed about,” Richt told the AJC. “So it’s just natural that if you lose a guy that you had committed, it’s disappointing — without a doubt.
“But you can’t sit there and act like that’s never going to happen — because it happens all across America. So you’ve got to be prepared for that, but also celebrate the good things that happened as well. There were a lot of great things that happened in this last class.”
For UGA, this year’s number of flip-flopping among commits was at an all-time high. However, the good news was this: The Bulldogs seem prepared to fill the vacant spots almost immediately, unlike in past years after losing a commit late in the recruiting process.
Said Richt, “Sometimes you know it’s coming, and sometimes you get a call out the blue from a kid with like, ‘You know, coach, I just changed my mind again. I want to come back.’
“You just never know how it’s going to happen, or if it’s going to happen. So again, you just recruit like mad until the end. Then when the dust settles, you get excited about the guys you signed. And you concentrate and focus on them, and their future at Georgia.
“You don’t worry about the guys who went somewhere. You know, that’s just the way it goes sometimes in recruiting.”
Here’s the breakdown of UGA’s de-commits, recommits, and flips from 2015:
- Michael Barnett, DE: Surprised everybody when scheduled a ceremony at school to sign financial-aid papers with FSU … and signed with UGA instead. He started classes at UGA in January.
- Tae Crowder, RB: Flipped from Georgia Southern after getting an offer two days before signing day (due to Chris Carson flipping to Oklahoma State)
- Jonathan Ledbetter, DL: This was the big fish. He switched from Alabama to UGA after the Bulldogs signed his brother Joe (who played Div. II basketball) to a football scholarship.
- **Rico McGraw, DB: Flipped from UGA to Alabama, back to UGA.
- Chauncey Rivers, DE: He switched from South Carolina to UGA last year as a junior.
- Jarvis Wilson, DB: He switched from Mississippi State to UGA.
- **Shaquery Wilson, DB: He flipped from UGA to West Virginia, back to UGA.
** denotes a “re-commit” or pledged to UGA for a second time
- **Pat Allen, OL: De-committed after UGA OL coach Will Friend was hired away by Colorado State but picked the Bulldogs again on signing day.
- Chris Carson, RB (signed with Oklahoma State)
- **Rico McGraw, DB: Committed early to UGA, flipped to Alabama, and switched again to UGA on signing day.
- Van Jefferson, WR (signed with Ole Miss): Nearly enrolled early at UGA.
- Christian Owens, WR (signed with South Carolina): Flipped because there wasn't room to enroll early at UGA
- Darius Slayton, WR-DB (signed with Auburn): This one probably hurt the most out of all the de-commits.
- Quincy Vasser, DE (signed with Texas)
- Deontai Williams, DB (signed with Ohio University)
- **Shaquery Wilson, DB: Committed early to UGA, flipped to West Virginia, and switched again to the Bulldogs on signing day.
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