For the second year in a row, the state’s No. 1 overall prospect will be signing with UGA.
Trent Thompson, the 5-star defensive tackle from Albany’s Westover High School, committed to UGA over Alabama and Auburn on Tuesday.
UGA won the recruiting battle because it was the very first football scholarship offer last year for Thompson, who is rated as the nation’s No. 2 overall prospect via the 247sports composite rankings.
Thompson had always publicly listed the Bulldogs as his leader, and has admitted that he almost committed twice last year.
“He’s the No. 1 player in the state, and that carries a lot of weight,” 247sports.com’s Rusty Mansell said. “For UGA to get the No. 1 prospect out of the state of Georgia, that’s a really big deal. They’ve (UGA) have done a really good job recruiting South Georgia, and this keeps up the momentum with landing a 5-star prospect.
“UGA offered him early, and it was a big deal in talking with him. The early offer was really a big deal for him. Trent felt ‘wanted’ from the start.”
Unlike this past year’s No. 1 prospect out of Georgia who signed with UGA (Norcross High School’s Lorenzo Carter), Thompson opted to not drag it out until signing day to maximize the personal attention and publicity. Thompson was encouraged by his high school coach to go ahead and reveal his decision so he could focus on his senior season for Westover.
UGA now has 19 commitments for 2015 (including former WR signee Gilbert Johnson).
How good is Trent Thompson? His coach thinks he’s a “future first-round NFL Draft pick.”
Mansell had this opinion: “(UGA defensive coordinator) Jeremy Pruitt wants guys who can get off blocks and make tackles, even from the defensive line. They’re not going to be only asked to take on blockers. They want playmakers there, too. Trent is definitely a quick-twitch guy with big body that is so rare. There’s only a few each recruiting class that have his combination of size, quickness, and strength. That’s guys like Trent are such a commodity.
“Everybody talks about the differences between the SEC and the other conferences being in the trenches — with the offensive linemen and defensive linemen. Trent Thompson is one of those examples of what makes the SEC the SEC.”
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