Recruiting Mailbag: Bell cows and a bumper crop of awesome names

After some delay, it's time to dive back into the recruiting mail bag. It will be Justin Fields-free. Mostly.

Wally Butts In asks, "Is there a potential 2018 version of LeCounte who will be a vocal recruiter for the Dawgs?"

From the outside, it would not appear so. There are some great football players in this class, and there are more likely to join. But I don’t see the "bell cow" in this class yet who can sway the uncommitted and keep the committed in line.

However, it is clear that a lot of recruits have taken notice of Zamir White’s commitment, and several have mentioned favorably the idea of playing with the big tailback from North Carolina. White is a quieter player, but recruits are well aware of what he’s been doing.

And as much as some Bulldog fans are getting a little tired of talking about him, if Justin Fields does choose UGA he is likely to heavily influence the decisions of several major targets in both the 2018 and 2019 classes. If Fields announces for the good guys, I would project Georgia to finish with a top five to top seven class rather than a top ten to top twelve class. Okay, I won’t talk about Justin Fields anymore. Today.

RedCoat’97 emails to ask "Who will be the next UGA commit? It seems like UGA has lost some recruiting momentum lately."

There are really two questions tied up in here. Frankly, when I received the question my initial answer would've been Liberty County defensive lineman Tramrl Walthour. But Walthour has now already committed. So as a backup I would say the next likely commitment is Florida tailback James Cook. Cook has been fairly quiet since decommitting from Florida State but he has made time to visit Athens and will be in town for the Mississippi State game. I’m not necessarily counting on him pulling the trigger, but I would not be too surprised if it happened.

The second issue and that question is the one of UGA's current Recruiting momentum. in fact Georgia has picked up a couple of important commence in the past few weeks. Perhaps the most important was the recommitment of junior college defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt. The 6’4, 300 pound prospect signed for the 2017 class but didn’t get NCAA Clearinghouse approval. He’s now the top JUCO defensive prospect in America and has learned that he’ll likely be able to enroll in Athens for the spring semester and have four years to play three.

Tramel Walthour’s commitment also helps bolster the 2018 class. With Malik Herring the only defensive lineman in the 2017 class, big bodies up front were needed in this class, and that mission appears to have been accomplished.

The other good news for Georgia on the recruiting trail is that the win against Notre Dame went a long way toward convincing recruits that Kirby Smart's Bulldogs may be building something special for the long-haul. Several top recruits for 2018 and 2019 have been squarely in "show me" mode regarding UGA headed into this season. A win in front of a host of major targets this weekend would go even further to build momentum.

The Quincy Carter of Accountants asks, "Are there any potential name of the year candidates?

Rachard Wildgoose Jr. is pretty fantastic. Rachard isn’t so different from Charles….would he consider being known as Chase?"

Chase Wildgoose would be a pretty awesome name. But 2018 does have its share of all-name team candidates already. I'm actually a big fan of Arkansas linebacker recruit Bumper Pool. There’s also Utah defensive lineman Tennessee Pututua. The best part is that these are not just random high school players. Both are consensus national top 300 prospects. Georgia actually recruited Florida speedster Shocky Jacques-Louis, who I assume was either named after a treasured relative or the coffee maker from How I Met Your Mother. He’s now committed to Tennessee.

Until later....

Go ‘Dawgs!!!