Almost ever since he arrived in Athens, Mark Richt's recruiting M.O. has been to start hitting certain choice prospects early and ensure they're locked down well in advance of National Signing Day. It occasionally makes for a less suspenseful NSD, sure, but it's hard to argue with the results it's produced in terms of freshman talent.
Despite 2012's signing day still being more than seven months off, this past weekend was huge for Georgia recruiting, as no fewer than four players committed to joining next year's class:
- Jenkins County's Jonathan Taylor, currently ranked as the state of Georgia's top player by Rivals. He'll be in the mix to follow another Jonathan, i.e. Jenkins, as a run-stuffing nose tackle in Todd Grantham's 3-4.
- Taylor's teammate James Deloach, a defensive end who was also pursued by Auburn, South Carolina and Alabama.
- Fullback Quayvon Hicks, who reportedly helped sway Taylor and Deloach to the Dawgs.
- Punter Collin Barber from Cartersville, and while kickers don't make for especially sexy recruiting updates, keep in mind the Dawgs are going to have to replace Drew Butler after this season.
According to the Athens Banner-Herald's Marc Weiszer, freshman DE/LB Ray Drew -- who evangelized the Georgia message to more than a few of the blue-chippers from 2011's "Dream Team" -- continues to be one of the program's most effective recruiters: He, too, played a significant role in getting Taylor and Deloach to commit. Knowing Georgia's luck, the NCAA will find some way to penalize the Dawgs for employing too many recruiters, but for now we can at least comfort ourselves with the knowledge that Mark Richt's recruiting efforts don't appear to have fallen off one bit.
Georgia's full 2012 commitment list as of today:
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