Commitment! Georgia Gets Huge Pledge From Peach State’s Top Player

Kirby Smart picked up a verbal pledge from arguably the top player left on the Bulldog board this afternoon with the commitment of Cochran (Bleckley County) offensive tackle Amarius Mims.

Every recruiting cycle includes a handful of players with legitimate next-level talent. Mims is one of those guys. We’ve talked about the big guy before in this space, but to review, the 6’7 1/2, 315 pound senior has the frame to play in the SEC right now, with a solid lower body, great arm length, and almost no bad weight. In fact Mims could easily add 20 pounds without shedding quickness. He’s already quick enough to have played tight end and defensive end as an underclassman, and often gets out to the second and even third level blocking. Mims is the prototype for the large, mobile offensive linemen Matt Luke and Todd Monken are focused on recruiting.

Due to a basketball injury that kept him off the field and prevented him from working out following his freshman season, Mims was a relatively late bloomer. But it was obvious to anyone who saw him in person during his 2019 junior season that Mims had incredible physical gifts.

None of these gifts has escaped the notice of college football recruiters and recruiting services. 247Sports’ composite rankings currently rank Mims the #1 prospect in the state of Georgia for the class of 2021, the #2 offensive tackle, and the #6 player regardless of position. He is the highest ranked prospect in the UGA recruiting class, surpassing Prince Avenue Christian quarterback (and Mims’ fishing buddy) Brock Vandagriff.

Mims’ commitment is the 16th for the class of 2021 for the Bulldogs, and vaults the ‘Dawgs from the 14th slot in 247Sports’ rankings all the way up to 7th. In the process they pass Tennessee (which has 25 commits) and Florida (with 24). Assuming the Bulldogs sign something like 23-25 players in this cycle there’s every reason to think they will once again lap the SEC East competition in the recruiting rankings.

Mims is Georgia’s fourth commitment on the offensive line, and it’s possible they may be nearly done at the position. There’s not a single senior offensive tackle on the UGA roster, and Jamaree Salyer is the only junior. But there are nine freshmen and redshirt freshmen, including several who are seeing significant playing time, even starting.

But in today’s college football world you are never very far from being thin at any position, and you absolutely cannot have too many truly elite offensive linemen. Mims was a legitimate blue chipper hailing from the heart of the Peach State, which combined to make his a true must-get prospect. You never want to bet against Kirby Smart in that kind of situation. Welcome aboard, Amarius. And . . .

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

• Full disclosure. Your author, a former (albeit much smaller) Bleckley County Royal offensive lineman, is happier about this commitment than just about anything that has happened in the year 2020.