6/30/2021 football Edit

Revisionist history: Re-ranking UGA’s 2005 class

Patrick Garbin • UGASports

Team & Research Writer

UGASports is looking at previous Georgia recruiting classes and re-ranking the individual signees based on how their Bulldog careers transpired. Links to our previous revisionist histories, including last week’s 2004 class review, are located at the bottom of the page.

Continuing from the inception of the Rivals Rating (6.1, 6.0, 5.9, etc.) in 2004, we analyze the mere 17 recruits signed by Georgia the following year. According to our research, the 17 signees in 2005 remain an all-time annual low for the Bulldogs going back to the 1950s, if not before.

Notably, this class was initially regarded as consisting of 19 signees. However, Jamar Bryant, originally a 2004 signee, enrolled at East Carolina following a year at Virginia’s Hargrave Military Academy. In addition, linebacker Jamar Chaney was denied admission by UGA after his SAT score was flagged, and enrolled at Mississippi State. Regardless, whether 17 or 19 signees, the reported reason for Georgia’s lowly number of recruits inked was the fact the Bulldogs had apparently lost only eight scholarship players from their 2004 team—six seniors and two underclassmen.

Dubbed “The Charlotte Connection” by local media, quarterback Joe Cox (left) and receiver Mohamed Massaquoi (right), teammates at Independence High School in Charlotte, N.C., were a pair of Georgia’s 17 signees in 2005.

THE CLASS

Georgia’s 2005 signing class ranked No. 10 in the nation—the Bulldogs’ lowest in team recruiting since ranking No. 13 four years before in 2001, Mark Richt’s first year as head coach. Still, Georgia’s ranking was the second-highest in the SEC, only trailing No. 4 Tennessee.

Of the Bulldogs’ 17 signees, nine were out-of-state prospects, including their top five signees: 1) receiver Mohamed Massaquoi (Charlotte, N.C.); 2) defensive tackle Kade Weston (Red Bank, N.J.); 3) athlete C.J. Byrd (North Augusta, S.C.); 4) defensive back Bryan Evans (Jacksonville, Fla.); and 5) defensive tackle Jeff Owens (Plantation, Fla.). Beginning in 1978 (the initial year the NCAA limited scholarships) through 2021, 2005 marked the second of only three occasions when Georgia signed more out-of-state than in-state recruits (1981 and 2019 the others).

Whereas the Bulldogs flourished in out-of-state signees, they floundered when it came to in-state recruiting. The highest-ranked player from Georgia signed by the Bulldogs was linebacker Darius Dewberry (Fort Valley), the No. 7 prospect in the state.

After two years of not signing a single defensive tackle, Georgia inked three: Weston, Owens, and Brandon Sesay. On the contrary, after signing a combined 16 offensive linemen the previous three years (2002-2004), the Bulldogs landed just one in 2005: offensive guard Ian Smith. Evidently, Georgia had come very close to signing offensive tackle Duke Robinson; however, the four-star prospect from Atlanta opted for Oklahoma instead.

Despite the apparent shortcomings of this class, defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner commented on Signing Day that every one of Georgia’s signees was an “A-list guy, targeted from Day One,” and the Bulldogs “never got to a B-list kid.”

Below is the original ranking of Georgia’s 2005 class (player listed with position according to Rivals). Note: To rank those signees with identical Rivals ratings, the recruits’ rankings (overall, position, and state), along with the opinions of our recruiting writers, were considered.

UGA's Class of 2005—original ranking

Rank	Signee, Pos.	Rivals Rating
1	Mohamed Massaquoi, WR	6.0
2	Kade Weston, DT	6.0
3	C.J. Byrd, ATH	6.0
4	Bryan Evans, DB	5.9
5	Jeff Owens, DT	5.9
6	Darius Dewberry, LB	5.8
7	Marcus Washington, LB	5.8
8	Brandon Sesay, DT	5.8
9	Roderick Battle, DE	5.8
10	Mike Moore, WR	5.8
11	Corey Moon, DE	5.7
12	Ian Smith, OL	5.7
13	Joe Cox, QB	5.7
14	Tavares Kearney, LB	5.6
15	Donovan Baldwin, DB	5.6
16	Antavious Coates, DB	5.6
17	Tripp Chandler, TE	5.5

RE-RANKING

Before we highlight our re-ranking of the 2005 class, we want to reiterate these rankings are based solely on the signees’ careers at Georgia—not in college in general, the NFL, etc.

This class began to diminish even further when Dewberry, Sesay, and defensive end Corey Moon didn’t qualify academically. In addition, defensive back Antavious Coates would soon suffer his second of three serious knee injuries. Coates was one of four signees in this class never to set foot on the field in a Bulldog uniform.

In re-ranking the signees, UGASports decided on Massaquoi for the No. 1 slot followed by Owens. Massaquoi, the only player of the 17 signees to ultimately earn All-SEC honors, finished his Georgia career ranked fourth all-time in school history in receptions (158), receiving yards (2,282), and touchdown receptions (16). Owens had more career starts (37) than any of the other signees, and, along with Massaquoi, was selected in the NFL Draft. Weston, whom we slotted No. 3 in the re-rankings, was the only other signee to be chosen eventually in the draft.

Notably, although only five of the 17 signees saw playing time as true freshmen (four of the top seven in the original rankings, plus tight end Tripp Chandler, who was ranked last in the original rankings), more than half (nine) would ultimately be regarded as at least two-year starters for Georgia.

As far as who could be perceived as the most overrated signee in the class, we really have no choice but to go with Sesay. The four-star defensive tackle from Atlanta, who was No. 8 in the original rankings, never played a down for the Bulldogs. Yet, after not qualifying academically at Georgia, Sesay eventually was a two-year starter at Texas Tech before recently concluding a decade-long arena football career.

As far as the most underrated, Chandler certainly deserves some consideration. As mentioned, the tight end from Woodstock was the least touted in Georgia’s 2005 class, yet he was one of the leading receivers on the Bulldogs’ No. 2-ranked squad of 2007. And say what you will about Joe Cox and his and Georgia’s 2009 season. Still, only the 13th-ranked player in the original rankings, Cox wound up having a 9-5 record as a starter whose respectable 137.54 career passer rating ranks as the sixth-highest in Georgia history.

The re-ranking of the Bulldogs' 2005 class (player listed with number of games played/games started while at Georgia; the four signees who never appeared in a game at Georgia are all designated as tied for No. 14):

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