Nate McBride (Randy Schafer/Special to AJC)
Heading into UGA's Dawg Night prospect camp, the Bulldogs trailed Alabama for Nate McBride. That changed after his visit to UGA.
McBride, a 4-star LB from Vidalia High School, now lists UGA and Alabama as his co-leaders.
“They are the same in my book,” McBride told the AJC. “Both have stuck out the most to me because of the way they recruit me and the coaches and players are similar to me.”
The state’s No. 4 overall prospect for 2017 had a chance to meet with UGA coaches this past weekend, and they let him know that he is a wanted man in Athens.
“I talked to (inside linebackers coach Mike) Ekeler and he said he really wants me badly,” he said. “He really likes the way I play. I also talked to (defensive coordinator Jeremy) Pruitt and he said they don’t let players slide — it’s strictly business. Coach (Mark) Richt just talked about life and asked how our lives were.”
His conversation with Ekeler resonated with the 6-foot-2, 220-pounder. McBride can see the UGA assistant as his coach one day.
“I can definitely see myself playing for him because when you get tired or make a bad play, he will be right there so he can pick you back up,” he said. “He brings a lot of energy to the table and that’s how I like my coaches.”
Besides his co-leaders of UGA and Bama, McBride lists Oregon, South Carolina, Notre Dame and Florida State as his top schools.
As of now, he has “no clue” of what will make one school stick out more so than the other.
The No. 42 overall prospect in the class of 2017 will attend the Oct. 3 game between Alabama and Georgia.
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