Prospecting for Prospects

It's that time of year again: National Signing Day. The day when camera crews arrive at unsuspecting high school gymnasiums around the country in hopes of seeing an 18-year-old decide which collegiate hat to put on.

If only the rest of us had that kind of attention when selecting where to go to college.

A perennial powerhouse in the game of football recruiting is the University of Georgia. They owe this in part to their dominance of one of the most fertile soil for young athletes in the country: the southeast. Not only were the Bulldogs able to claim top in-state prospects like RB Washaun Ealey and CB Branden Smith, but they also delved into neighboring states when nabbing Aaron Murray, one of the more highly touted quarterbacks in the nation, out of Tampa, Florida.

Ealey and Murray look to compete for the vacancys at their respective positions left by Knowshon Moreno and Mathew Stafford. The departure of Asher Allen at cornerback may give Smith the oppertinity for early playing time. Although UGA fans are undoubtibly dissapointed that another in-state recruit in CB Greg Reid ultimatly chose Florida State over Georgia, they should feel confidence in the playing abilitiy of Smith. In addition to that, they should be relieved that the electric Reid turned down offers to play at rivals Florida and Alabama.

Also bolstering the quarterback reserves, local signee Zach Mettenberger has possibly got the strongest arm in his class. With senior QB Joe Cox and redshirt-sophomore Logan Gray already in Athens, the compeition to replace Matthew Stafford promises to be interesting. Keep in mind, Logan Gray was that guy returning punts this past year. One of the more overall athletic players on the team, Gray has been compared to former UGA QB D.J. Shockley, now in the Atlanta Falcons organization.

As always, the majority of the Georgia signing class is from the namesake state. Eleven players, out of the total of 17 that signed with Georgia, including Smith, Ealey, and Metterberger, attended high school in the Peach State. The Bulldogs primary in-state competitor is Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets were able to keep 14 players away from Athens.

Georgia was able to sign all of its verbal commits to a letter of intention today. There are still a few players on Coach Mark Richt's wishlist that have yet to select a school. WR Marlon Brown and TE Orson Charles are both considering signing to a UGA scholarship in addition to a few other schools. Charles played at Plant High School with QB Murray.

Of course, all of the analysis and rankings in the world cannot accurately predict how a high school player will transition to play in college. Scouts have become better at it over the years, but nothing is ever certain.

In 1980, Georgia coach Vince Dooley was able to sign the #1 overall rated player in the country to play for the Bulldogs. That player's name was Herschel Walker. He turned out to be pretty good.