Georgia’s in-state recruiting efforts trending to be worst of Smart’s tenure

Georgia rolled out the red carpet for 4-star defensive back Chance Gilbert. The East Coweta High standout was one of the Bulldogs’ top targets, in addition to being one of the best players in the state.

That made his Monday night commitment to Auburn sting all the more for Georgia’s 2027 recruiting class. Gilbert is the No. 57 overall player in the class and the No. 4 player in the state per the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Georgia will continue to pursue Gilbert, but it remains to be seen if it will be able to flip his commitment.

And if the Bulldogs can’t do that, it spells even more trouble when it comes to landing the top players in Georgia for the 2027 recruiting cycle.

After Gilbert’s commitment, 17 of the top 20 players in the state, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, are committed. Just one has pledged to Georgia: offensive tackle Kelsey Adams, the No. 10 player in the state.

Adams, though, is far from locked in with Georgia, as he visited LSU this past weekend and is slated to take a trip to Mississippi State this weekend. If he were to flip his commitment, Georgia would not have a single commitment from a top 20 player in the state.

For someone who puts as much effort into recruiting as coach Kirby Smart, this would be a significant blow.

A year ago, Georgia signed two of the top 10 players in the state and five of the top 20. Those two in the top 10 — Kaiden Prothro and Craig Dandridge — impressed during spring practices for the Bulldogs.

“We think he’s a mismatch. He’s really an elite catch radius guy,” Smart said of Prothro after Georgia’s spring game. “He put that on display today. And that kind of summed up his spring in his ability to go make plays on the perimeter. He’s a matchup problem.”

In every recruiting class dating back to 2016, Smart’s first in Athens, the Bulldogs have signed at least two of the state’s top 10 prospects.

But there have been some lean years during Smart’s decade-long run in Athens on the in-state recruiting front. In 2016, 2019, 2020, 2024 and 2026, Georgia signed just two of the top 10 prospects in the state.

If you expand it to top 20 in-state prospects, the 2019 and 2020 recruiting classes stand out. Georgia signed just three of the top 20 in-state players in 2019 and two of the top 20 in 2020.

It is worth mentioning, however, that in those two cycles, Georgia did land an in-state 5-star prospect. Defensive end Travon Walker was the crown jewel in the 2019 cycle, while the Bulldogs landed Broderick Jones in the 2020 cycle. Both players went on be key contributors on Georgia’s national championship teams and first-round NFL draft picks.

For the 2027 recruiting cycle, the state of Georgia has two 5-star prospects. Defensive end DJ Jacobs is committed to Ohio State, and safety Kamarui Dorsey has pledged to Texas A&M.

The Aggies are taking advantage of Georgia’s current struggles, as coach Mike Elko’s team has commitments from four of the state’s top 20 prospects. Nebraska, Florida and Clemson all have multiple commitments from top 20 players in the state.

Rankings will change between now and national signing day, so perhaps the numbers will end up looking better at the end of the cycle. Georgia has seven in-state commitments, with linebacker Joakim Gouda being the school’s next-highest in-state commitment at No. 22.