UGASports continues a series we started last spring by 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 are located at the bottom of the page.

We analyze the 20 signees—or Georgia’s second-fewest in the Rivals era (beginning in 2002)—inked by the Bulldogs in 2009. Notably, when Georgia had secured its first 17 signees of the class (prior to late additions Marlon Brown and Orson Charles, both upper four-star receivers, and JUCO transfer placekicker Brandon Bogotay), head coach Mark Richt indicated not one of the signees had waivered in his decision to come to Georgia.

“I’m not all about that drama [on signing day],” Richt said toward the end of National Signing Day on February 4. “I’m about taking care of business in the right way, getting good people, and getting guys that want to be Bulldogs.”

THE CLASS

Georgia’s 2009 signing class ranked No. 6 in the nation—the Bulldogs’ highest team recruiting ranking since a No. 4 spot three years earlier in 2006—including third in the SEC, trailing No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 LSU.

Besides Brown and Charles, the class was headlined by its lone five-star signee, defensive back Branden Smith of Atlanta, the No. 28 overall prospect in the nation, and four-star quarterbacks Aaron Murray of Tampa, Fla., and Zach Mettenberger of nearby Oconee County High School. In the Rivals era, this class remains the only one in which Georgia signed more than one true freshman quarterback. It also marks the only time since 2002 the Bulldogs signed a player rated at zero stars (Bogotay).

Although Georgia addressed its need for quarterbacks, the Bulldogs fell short in signing much-needed defensive backs and defensive linemen. Besides five-star Smith, Georgia landed just two members of the secondary, neither of whom were nationally ranked: Shawn Williams and Jordan Love. At defensive tackle, the Bulldogs did sign Abry Jones of Warner Robins, the No. 95 overall prospect in the country, but lured only one other at the position: unraked Derrick Lott of Kennesaw.

Still, of Georgia’s 20 signees in 2009, remarkably, 12 (60 percent) ranked in the top 200 prospects in the nation. By comparison, of the Bulldogs’ 29 signees in the recent banner class of 2022, 14 (less than half) ranked amongst Rivals’ top 200 prospects.

Also, this class originally had 21 signees before linebacker Dexter Moody, a three-star prospect from the Emanuel County Institute (ECI), was released from his letter-of-intent a month and a half after signing day for “allegedly threatening a teacher,” according to Moody.

Below is the original ranking of Georgia’s 2009 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.

RE-RANKING

Before we highlight our re-ranking of the 2009 class, we want to reiterate these rankings are based solely on the signees’ careers at Georgia—not in college in general, the NFL, etc.

Of Georgia’s 20 signees, four ultimately transferred: Washaun Ealey (also of ECI) eventually transferred to Jacksonville State, Mettenberger to LSU, Lott to Tennessee-Chattanooga, and Love to Towson. Whereas Mettenberger never played a down at Georgia (although he became a record-breaking quarterback at LSU and an NFL draftee), Ealey played in 21 games for the Bulldogs, rushing for 1,528 yards, 5.4 yards per carry, and 14 touchdowns.

Of the 16 signees who played out their careers at Georgia, four were drafted into the NFL. This excludes undrafted Brown, who made 87 receptions for the Baltimore Ravens in three seasons in the league. In addition, four earned All-SEC honors a combined six times, including Murray and Charles who were two-time All-SEC honorees.

Speaking of Marlon Brown, we determined him as the most overrated in the class (excluding transfers). Although he totaled a respectable 55 career catches for 851 yards at Georgia, Brown was the No. 53 overall prospect for 2009, including the top player in the state of Tennessee. Ranked No. 3 in our original rankings, he was positioned at No. 12 in the re-rankings. Also, defensive end Montez Robinson, ranked No. 10 in the original rankings, was the nation’s No. 171 overall prospect including the top player in the state of Indiana. Robinson had a standout performance against Tennessee Tech as a true freshman (two sacks, plus another one-half tackle for loss); however, by the spring of his freshman year, he had been arrested three times and was dismissed from the team.

As far as the most underrated, our choice was rather clear-cut: Shawn Williams. Ranked No. 16 in our original rankings, Williams wound up being a starting safety on the Bulldogs’ 2011 and 2012 SEC East champion teams. For his career, he totaled 209 tackles, including 10.5 for loss, and four interceptions. Williams was a third-round pick of the 2013 NFL Draft.

The re-ranking of the Bulldogs' 2009 class (player listed with number of games played/games started while at Georgia; the one signee who never appeared in a game at Georgia, Mettenberger, is designated as last at No. 20):