Weekend review: UGA recruit explains Auburn visit

CB Tyrique McGhee of Peach County (AJC/Special)

McGhee has been committed to UGA since February, and he got an offer from Auburn about a month after his pledge to the Bulldogs.

“It was just an invite,” McGhee said, explaining why he went. “I didn’t want to turn down an invite when it came from a group of guys who are coaches. You don’t want to turn that down.”

And what did Auburn’s coaches tell McGhee on the visit? “They told me the typical things, about how I fit the system and how badly they want me at Auburn,” he said.

McGhee said UGA’s coaches knew about the visit. In fact, he talked to defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt last week about it.

“He knew I was going, and he talked to me for a while. He wasn’t too happy about it. He didn’t want one of his commits going somewhere else. At the same time, I guess he was … I don’t know if he understood, but he said it was my decision ultimately. And he supports me.”

Let’s get right to the bottom line: Where do things stand between McGhee and UGA? “I’m still committed to Georgia. There’s no chance of things changing there. I was a Dawg when I committed, and I will be a Dawg when I sign. I’m a Dawg for life.”

McGhee is also hearing from coaches from Florida, South Carolina, Ole Miss and Mississippi State, among others. He is going to try to visit UGA within the next week or two, and then return on July 18 for Dawg Night prospect camp. No other trips are planned.

Elijah Holyfield (AJC)

Here are the rest of the five other stories people are talking about from over the weekend:

2. UGA's search for 2016 RBs: UGA will probably have its best shot later this week to win over Woodward Academy's Elijah Holyfield, who is generally considered to be the state's No. 1 prospect at running back. He's the son of boxing great Evander Holyfield. Auburn is considered to be the frontrunner for Holyfield after a hot-and-cold relationship with UGA. Do the Bulldogs have a chance? Holyfield talked about it RIGHT HERE.

3. Follow on UGA 5-star: Former UGA defensive coordinator Todd Grantham was the only college coach to reach out to 5-star defensive tackle Julian Rochester the day after he committed to UGA last week. Said Rochester, "He was like congrats on your commitment to Georgia, but I'd still like you to come visit us at Louisville. You can see different things, and you never know what you may like." So what did Julian think of that? "I may go up there because I have two former McEachern players that play up there. It's probably worth a shot." Rochester was also asked what he thought about a couple of media outlets leaking the news about his UGA commitment before he tweeted it out on Thursday night. "That was disappointing. I don't really want to talk about it. It is what it is. I've moved on." And what about that tweet? He almost got the entire UGA staff to gather with him in a picture that he tweeted out with his commitment news. "That was what I wanted to use to tell everybody I was committing to Georgia. They (the coaches) were happy to do it." Rochester said he will return to UGA for a 7-on-7 tournament this month with his teammates from McEachern High School.

4. Inspiration: One of this year's most inspirational stories in recruiting is Dante Sawyer, the defensive end from North Gwinnett High School. CLICK HERE to read about it. He signed with South Carolina in February 2014, and he wasn't anywhere close to qualifying. But Sawyer made an amazing turnaround in the classroom, going off to a junior college early and earning his two-year degree in just over a year (which may start a trend). Sawyer reported to South Carolina this weekend.

5. DE has surprise leader: It has been hard to follow the recruiting of Grayson High School defensive end Mykelle McDaniel because he can be challenging to reach. McDaniel holds offers from UGA and Florida, among other SEC schools, and you'll be surprised who he says is his leader in the below video: