Transfers will account for 10 of the top 50 seniors and three of the top 10 juniors in Georgia this season, according to the 247Sports Composite ratings. Many are finding common destinations. Schools benefiting the most this offseason based on their newcomers’ recruiting stars appear to be Brookwood, Carrollton, Grayson, Valdosta and Westlake. Here are some of the transfers and side notes on some of the more prominent travelers.
*Jake Garcia, Valdosta: When California postponed its fall season, several top recruits there began making calls, especially those looking to enroll early in college. That was the situation for Garcia, who is committed to Southern Cal. The consensus No. 4 pro-style quarterback nationally is now the consensus No. 4 overall recruit in Georgia. Valdosta might’ve had a transfer at quarterback regardless. Amari Jones, a 6-4 junior, had come from Carver in Atlanta, where he got some all-region recognition.
*Aalah Brown, Valdosta: Brown caught 61 passes for 1,164 yards last season at Valwood, a Georgia Independent School Association member. He’s back at Valdosta, where he had 786 yards receiving as a sophomore. Brown is a three-star recruit with offers from several Power 5-conference teams. Also coming to Valdosta to catch balls will be Tajh Sanders, who played with Valdosta coach Rush Propst at Colquitt County. Sanders is a junior with ACC and mid-major offers and will be one of the state’s best return men. As many as a half-dozen transfers are expected to be prominent for the Wildcats.
*Daejon Reynolds, Grayson: Reynolds is the lone AJC Super 11 player who changed schools. He’s coming off a highly productive season at Central Gwinnett, where he had 88 receptions for 1,534 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also had four interceptions on defense. Reynolds is committed to Florida.
*Carlos Del Rio, Grayson: Del Rio and Reynolds are getting an early start together that they hope will flourish at Florida. Del Rio passed for 1,792 yards and rushed for 572 yards last year at McEachern and has moved up in the recruiting rankings in the offseason.
*Marquis Groves-Killebrew, Brookwood: A top-100 national prospect among juniors, Groves-Killebrew committed to Georgia in May. He came from Grayson, where he was the only sophomore to make first-team all-Region 8-7A last season.
*Andrew Stewart, Brookwood: Stewart is teaming up with Groves-Killebrew to give Brookwood the most talented pair of cornerbacks in the state. Both are juniors, and transfers. Stewart also came from Grayson. He committed to Auburn. In fact, Brookwood may have a similar deal at wide receiver as Sam Mbake (four-star from IMG Academy, originally North Cobb, whose leaders are Georgia and Penn State) and Denylon Morrissette (three-star from Maryland, which postponed football) also are in the Broncos’ stable.
*Nathaniel Wiggins, Westlake: Wiggins is the consensus No. 8 cornerback prospect nationally, and all seven 247Sports “crystal balls” have him headed to LSU. In 2019, Wiggins was a two-way starter last year at Grady, where he had 30 receptions for 814 yards and nine touchdowns and three interceptions in 10 games.
*Dacari Collins, Westlake: Collins has been committed to Clemson for nearly a year. He had 39 receptions for 595 yards and six touchdowns last year for McEachern.
*M.J. Morris, Pace Academy: Morris is the No. 2 dual-threat QB prospect nationally among juniors, according to 247Sports, and has offers from Alabama, Georgia and LSU. As a sophomore, Morris passed for for 2,186 yards and 20 touchdowns last year for an 11-1 Carrollton team. Morris is back at Pace, where he attended middle school.
*Chief Borders, Carrollton: The Trojans lost Morris, but they picked up some good ones, too. Borders is one. He’s a linebacker/defensive back, also a tight end, who committed to Florida in December after his junior season at McEachern. He joins a Carrollton defense that also features Georgia-committed linebacker Chaz Chambliss. The Trojans also welcomed running back Christian Lett and defensive end Khristian Zachary from Landmark Christian and linebacker Byron Green of McEachern, all Division-I caliber players.
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