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. This will be the next-to-last class we analyze, with the final group of signees, the 2018 class, coming in a couple of weeks. Links to our previous revisionist histories are located at the bottom of the page.

After Georgia inked only 20 signees the year before, the Bulldogs signed just 19 recruits in 2010. During the Rivals era (2002 to present), only once has Georgia lured fewer prospects in a single year (17 in 2005).

Primarily blamed on the Bulldogs taking a while to hire a new defensive coordinator, Todd Grantham, and secondary coach, Scott Lakatos, the team lost out on one-time defensive commitments B.J. Butler and Deon Rogers, both of whom signed with Louisville, and Nickell Robey (Southern California), the nation’s No. 111 overall prospect. In addition, five-star receiver Da’Rick Rogers, the top player in the state, made a late decision to de-commit from Georgia and sign with Tennessee.

THE CLASS

Georgia’s 2010 signing class ranked a lowly No. 15 in the nation, including sixth in the SEC, trailing No. 2 Florida, No. 4 Auburn, No. 5 Alabama, No. 6 LSU, and No. 9 Tennessee.

After the Bulldogs signed 12 of the top 200 players in 2009, they lured just five: No. 40 Alec Ogletree, No. 45 T.J. Stripling, No. 76 Brent Benedict, No. 79 Garrison Smith, and No. 145 Mike Thornton. This excluded Georgia from landing the nation’s No. 2 JUCO transfer, defensive back and high four-star prospect Jakar Hamilton.

Although the Bulldogs inked four prospects from the state of Florida, their in-state recruiting suffered as they signed just two of Georgia’s top six prospects (Ogletree and Stripling).

Worthy of mention, Georgia’s 19th and final signee was 6-foot-6 receiver Lonnie Outlaw of Rochelle. Outlaw, who was regarded as a low two-star prospect (a 5.2 Rivals Rating), remains one of only three UGA non-kicker signees to have received as low of a rating (along with Kelin Johnson in 2004 and Nathan Theus in 2011).

Notably, after signing what appeared to be an overall lackluster class, head coach Mark Richt was asked by a fan during his question-and-answer session at the Butts-Mehre building whether his staff became complacent on the recruiting trail.

“This staff is not complacent by any stretch,” Richt declared.

Below is the original ranking of Georgia’s 2010 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 2010 class, we want to reiterate these rankings are based solely on the signees’ careers at Georgia—not in college in general, the NFL, etc.

As lackluster as Georgia’s 2010 class first appeared, the signees’ collective careers as Bulldogs may have been even more disappointing. Eleven of the 19 signees did not play as true freshman, including linebacker Demetre Baker, who was soon dismissed from the team (although he would lead South Alabama in all-purpose yardage as a freshman running back), and Jalen Fields (transferred to Louisiana-Lafayette) and Outlaw (Miles College), both of whom were denied admission. Two others, 6-foot-7 defensive end Dexter Morant, who would eventually leave the program because of “academic considerations,” and Benedict, who would eventually transfer to Virginia Tech after rehabbing a knee for two years, also never set foot on the field as Bulldogs. In addition, Hamilton left Georgia after a season for South Carolina State, Derek Owens departed for Alabama State after two years in Athens, Ken Malcome for Southern Illinois after three years, Alexander Ogletree left the Bulldogs after three seasons because of “undisclosed medical reasons,” and Brandon Burrows left following the 2013 season after appearing in just three career games.

Finally, Kolton Houston, a three-star offensive lineman from Buford, eventually became a three-year starter for the Bulldogs—but not until he was finally cleared as a 22-year-old after unjustly serving an NCAA suspension lasting three-and-a-half years when he continued to test positive for a banned steroid.

In the end, Ogletree was the only Georgia player from this class to both earn All-SEC recognition and be drafted into the NFL.

We determined Stripling as the most overrated in the class. The No. 4 player in the state and No. 4 weakside defensive end in the country, he finished his Bulldog career with only 17 tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble. Still, comparatively speaking, Stripling should probably be commended for sticking it out at Georgia for his entire collegiate career. As far as the most underrated signee, our choice was rather clear-cut: Kenarious Gates. Ranked next-to-last in our original rankings as a low three-star offensive lineman, Gates wound up being the Bulldogs’ starting left guard for a season and starting left tackle for two seasons.

The re-ranking of the Bulldogs' 2010 class (player listed with number of games played/games started while at Georgia; the five signees who never appeared in a game at Georgia are all designated as tied for No. 15):