OXFORD, Alabama—The high school tenure of Clay Webb, the football player, is certainly distinguished. The five-star center has been recognized for his hard work, speed, and agility, to name only a few of his athletic skills. However, little has been reported about him beyond the sport that elevated him to No. 1 prospect in the state of Alabama.

Accordingly, when the gym at Oxford (Ala.) High School erupted just after Webb’s announcement that he’d be attending and playing football at the University of Georgia, UGASports sought a couple of individuals who know him best—and beyond the playing gridiron.

“It’s just so surreal,” said Webb’s mother, Dana Webb, a teacher at Oxford High School for nearly 30 years. “It’s a dream come true for him, and I’m just glad to know he’s being rewarded with something he’s worked so hard for. It’s Clay’s next step [in life].”

Dana then recalled the first step, you could say, in Clay’s recruiting process approximately five years earlier. As a middle school student, he and his mother took recruiting trips to both Mississippi State and Auburn.

“On our way back from Auburn, I said to Clay, ‘Look, you’re only in eighth grade, and you won’t be in the ninth for about another four or five months. Let’s pretend like this (the recruiting interest in an eighth-grader) isn’t happening and wait until you’re in high school,’” Dana recalled. “No offense to those schools, but at the time, we didn’t know what kind of man Clay would turn out to be. And we had no inkling of how good he could be at football. But then Alabama offered, and other schools followed. So it was then, I was like, maybe there’s something to this.”

Finally, Webb narrowed his school choice to four—Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, and Georgia—and selected his commitment announcement for last Monday, December 8.

“Clay’s the type of person who's only going to choose the place that most suits him,” said Jeremy Tapley, Oxford’s offensive line coach for more than 20 years, including the last five as Webb’s position coach. “He weighed the options to what suits him and his family best before what anyone else thought. Most everyone else’s preference for him was probably Alabama. In fact, I’m an Alabama fan. But I want what’s best for Clay, and the best for him appears to be Georgia.”

It’s an oddity for Georgia—or any other school outside the state of Alabama, for that matter—to land a prospect with the caliber and location of Webb. In fact, of the 134 four- and five-star prospects from the Cotton State from 2008 through 2018, more than 80 percent signed with either Alabama (48.5 percent) or Auburn (32.0 percent).

“It was a hard decision for him all along,” Dana said. “But one by one, Clay first decided where he did not want to go—and we’d then tell each of those schools, ‘Thank you, we’re grateful for the opportunity, but we’ve decided to move on to something else.’ From there, he took interest in which schools would develop him to be the best athlete and person Clay could be.”

Webb would become only the fifth prospect from Alabama to sign with Georgia since the beginning of the Rivals era (2002). According to his coach, why did Webb ultimately decide on the Bulldogs in the first place, especially considering the nearby presence of Alabama and Auburn?

“Clay has known for some time that Georgia would be a great situation for him,” Tapley said. “By going to Georgia, he knew he would have a great opportunity to play, for a great program, and for a great position coach—Coach [Sam] Pittman—and Clay is no doubt going to go a long way with all of that.”

Still, beyond the football field, the question arises, what exactly are Georgia and the Bulldog football program “getting” from Webb, the person?

“The personal side of Clay is that he’s really a great kid,” Tapley said. “He’s got a genuine heart, he loves others, he’s there to make you happy, and he'll do everything you ask him to do—and will do it to the best of his ability. Clay is not only exactly what you want out of a football player, but out of a person—a man—as well.”

Considering, perhaps, mother knows best, we posed the same question to the individual most familiar with Georgia’s most recent commitment.

“What is Georgia getting in Clay? Well, of course, I’m going to be a little biased,” Dana said. “But, seriously, he’s just trying his best, making his way, and he really wants not to only be the best football player he can be, but more so, the best man he can be. Clay strives to do well in everything he does.”