The decision came down at a private pep rally. The school community at Harrison High School heard it first. There was a news helicopter flying overhead of all things.
But the decision will quickly echo across the state of Georgia, the Southeast and the college football world.
Justin Fields has now committed to play for UGA. The Bulldogs somehow managed to land themselves their third consecutive 5-star quarterback prospect.
How did it happen? Well, tenacity for starters.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart did not let Fields go without a fight. This story goes all the way back to Christmas Day. That's when Fields was still committed to Penn State.
Smart texted Fields on Christmas Day. He wished Fields and his family Happy Holidays.
Well, that level of “Attack The Day” recruiting paid off. Fields picked out the Georgia cap at a private ceremony Friday morning.
What this means for UGA
The nation’s No. 1 overall prospect will stay home and join his sister Jaiden Fields as a Bulldog. Jaiden Fields, a Class of 2019 softball prospect, has been committed to UGA for quite some time.
He chose the Bulldogs over heavy interest in FSU and LSU. Fields took official visits to both FSU and LSU earlier this season.
Georgia’s recruiting pitch was able to overcome the recent tradition of Heisman Trophy winners by a dual-threat quarterback at both Auburn and FSU, respectively.
This decision should create sizable ripples through the rest of the talent pool in 2018. Fields has told DawgNation he hopes to line up an additional eight prospects to play with him.
A few of those have already committed to UGA, but look for more to follow in the weeks ahead.
But what Georgia has been able to do recruiting elite quarterbacks is worth a quick revisit.
It is no less than an unfathomable feat at the quarterback position in the modern era of college football recruiting. Georgia signed 5-star Jacob Eason in 2016. Jake Fromm, who was also rated as a 5-star QB by some services, signed and enrolled early in the Class of 2017.
Georgia signed 5-star Jacob Eason in 2016. Jake Fromm, who was rated as a 5-star QB by three services, signed and enrolled early in the Class of 2017.
Fields makes that a combined 15 stars on the QB depth chart in Athens. When he enrolls, he will be just the third scholarship signal caller in Athens.
The 6-foot-3, 221-pound prospect won the Elite 11 QB competition this summer. Trent Dilfer, the noted QB coach of that event, felt that Fields took to that specific event with a sense of professionalism that was unmatched in all of his years working with that event.
This decision marks the second time that UGA has signed the nation’s No. 1 overall prospect in the modern recruiting era. The Bulldogs also landed 5-star DT Trenton Thompson as the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit in 2015.
The news today completes a remarkable journey for Fields. He’s evolved from not having any offers at all in May of 2016 to committing to his in-state school as the nation’s No. 1 overall prospect for 2018.
He is now the highest-rated of Georgia’s 15 commitments for 2018. Fields joins North Carolina phenom Zamir White as the second 5-star prospect in the class.
