Here is the Feb. 6 edition of The Daily Recap presented by JFQ Lending.

Luke among the top 25 recruiters

For the 2021 cycle, Rivals named Georgia offensive line coach Matt Luke in its top 25 recruiters. In the list, Alabama’s Charles Huff won recruiter of the year. But plenty of praise was given to Luke for his role in Georgia’s class.

“Georgia was unable to pull off a fourth straight recruiting rankings title in 2021, but the Dawgs did sign the nation’s sixth-best class, which featured a ton of top talent,” Josh Helmholdt wrote. “Top-ranked among the prospects headed to Athens is five-star offensive tackle Amarius Mims, the No. 4-ranked prospect overall in 2021. Offensive line coach Matt Luke was responsible for delivering Mims for the Bulldogs, and he did not stop there, landing big offensive tackle Micah Morris, who is the fourth-highest ranked prospect in this Georgia class, and four-star offensive guard Dylan Fairchild. Three-star offensive guard Jared Wilson rounds out Luke’s offensive line recruiting haul in this 2021 class.”

UGA leads for Fegans

Class of 2022 cornerback Trequon Fegans (Oxford/Oxford, Ala.) named Georgia his leader when it comes to his recruitment. Fegans said that’s part due to his affinity for the defensive scheme.

He also noted that he’s developed a bond with the UGA coaching staff thus far.

"UGA is standing out. It's about the relationships that I have with multiple coaches, not only my position coach. It's been great talking to Coach Kirby (Smart)," Fegans said. "It's his personality, how he enjoys talking to his players, and how he make the recruitment fun."

Hardman is still pinching himself

Former Georgia receiver Mecole Hardman has had a very fortunate beginning to his NFL career.

In each of his two seasons, he has reached the Super Bowl. Many players go their entire careers without playing in the NFL's premier title game. Yet here’s Hardman, earning two trips in two years.

“Every time I think about it, I’m like, man, that’s messed up,” Hardman said. “All the veterans tell me, ‘Bro, don’t get used to this.’ Even last year, my first year, guys were telling me, don’t get used to this. I went 10 years before I played in my Super Bowl, things like that.”

Normally, Super Bowl week involves a lot of fanfare and activities but this year has obviously been different due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Even so, Hadman is making sure to stay in the moment and enjoy the process.

“I’m just grateful; I’m grateful for the opportunity to play in two Super Bowls, so I’m going to enjoy it while I’m here,” he said. “I’m having fun. I hope to have two rings, and hopefully, two more after that. I’m just happy, man, having fun—just grateful for everything.”

Smart meets with signees for first time

Smart said he was only recently able to meet many of this year’s early enrollees for the first time in person due to the traveling constraints that resulted from the Covid-19 pandemic.

"I met them all by Zoom, obviously, but I met a lot of them in person for the first time,” Smart said. “We were not able to get to see these guys. looking down the list, they weren't able to come to games this year, so we weren't able to sit down and visit with several of them.”

Smart noted that this year proved to be challenging since the coaches were limited in the method of contact they could have.

“It’s just different, because on the official visit, you feel like you get to know their families and so many things about them,” Smart said. “We didn't get to do that as far as time on the phone and time on Zoom. I think those same selling pieces convinced them.”

Staes decommits

Class of 2022 tight end Holden Staes (Westminster/Atlanta) decommitted from Penn State and has reopened his commitment to five total schools. Penn State is still in the mix, with Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Texas in consideration.

With Georgia, tight ends coach Todd Hartley has been the point man in Staes’ recruitment.

"That is what's next for me," Staes said. "Hopefully in April, we will be allowed to take visits again, and I will be able to get out and see different schools. That is what I want to do.

"I want to get on campus and find the best situation for me."

Baseball: Different role for Webb

Now that pitcher Ryan Webb will be a weekend starter instead of working out of the bullpen, he said he has looked back on how former Georgia standout Emerson Hancock approached the mound.

“Watching Emerson these past few years, he was extremely confident, but also very humble. I think him having that quiet confidence and going about his business was definitely an eye-opener for me,” Webb said. “I’ve always been a guy who's very brash and very emotional—and watching Emerson being very confident and calm, it's almost like maybe the team needs me to be that fiery guy. But they also kind of need me to be that calm, level-headed guy sometimes.”

Hoops: Georgia gaining confidence

With two consecutive wins, Georgia is feeling a bit better about where things stand heading into Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt.

“I think confidence is extremely important, and I think it comes because you work hard, you play together, and things go right for you,” head coach Tom Crean said. “There’s a camaraderie​ that we already have that just builds and becomes even stronger.”

Oddly enough, good positioning for the SEC Tournament is still up for grabs. Outside of Alabama’s 10-0 conference record, and even Missouri’s 5-3 second-place, only two games separate teams standing from third though 12th at the moment.

"We are definitely focused on the next game. Something some guys are trying to say is, 'Be 1-0 today.' Even if it's practice, even if we don't have a game; you have to be 1-0 today. Make sure you attack today and win today—especially with practice, or if we have an off day, not just when we have a game—being 1-0,” guard Justin Kier said. “I don't think we're worried about our future as much as we're worried about what is going on right now. We all have goals and things like that. Hopefully, we'll continue this run we've been on. We must attack the day, day by day. If you attack it day by day, I feel like you'll continue to see better days. We're attacking every single day as hard as we can."

Ha!

He’s fast

He’s back

Outside the Vent

An inside look at Davis Mills preparing for the NFL draft.

Grading the new coaches on their first national signing day.

The Rose Bowl’s move to Texas due to Covid-19 has led to a lawsuit over naming rights.

The Big Ten announced some minor tweaks to its 2021 schedule.

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