With the recent commitments of 2019 four-star prospects John Emery, a running back out of Destrehan (La.) High School, and Makiya Tongue, an athlete from Baton Rogue, Louisiana's University Laboratory School, there’s been some talk regarding the uncommonness of Georgia landing recruits from the Pelican State.

As it turns out, it indeed has been rare for the Bulldogs to sign a player from Louisiana—in fact, really rare—which should come to no surprise considering LSU is likely the top major program in the country at keeping in-state talent at home. For example, of the thirty-nine high-four or five-star prospects from the state of Louisiana from 2002-2018, thirty, or nearly 80 percent, signed with the Tigers.

Hunting for, and then pouring over, decades of Georgia football rosters dating back to the 1920s, I discovered who I believe are the very few all-time recruits from Louisiana to sign with the Bulldogs (excludes walk-ons). There have been so few, in fact, when Emery and Tongue make it official, you will still nearly be able to count the number on one hand.

In 1997, second-year head coach Jim Donnan inked Haynesville, Louisiana’s Demetric Evans, marking the first time in more than 40 years Georgia signed a player from The Boot. Considered one of the top defensive linemen in the nation, Evans chose the Bulldogs over LSU and Texas A&M. Despite never considered a starter while at Georgia, he proved to be a valuable reserve for four seasons on the defensive line, totaling 86 career tackles, including six for loss, and 10 quarterback hurries. After going undrafted in 2001, Evans carved out a respectable NFL career, playing for three different teams in nine seasons.

Seeing the rarity of Georgia signing someone from Louisiana, it’s remarkable that just a year after Evans, Donnan lured defensive back Terreal Bierria from Slidell. Playing at 6-foot-3 and more than 200 pounds for Salmen High School, Bierria had been named as a senior in 1997 to the “Super Southern 100” (the top 100 recruits in the South), 14 of whom were from Louisiana. After redshirting a year at Georgia, he became a standout in the Bulldogs’ secondary for the next three seasons, two as a starting safety. From 1999-2001, Bierria totaled 190 tackles, 10 for loss, four interceptions, and 16 passes broken up. After being selected in the fourth round of the NFL Draft, his professional career never got on track, playing just two seasons for the Seattle Seahawks. Unfortunately, things got even worse for Bierria. In 2009, he was arrested for first-degree murder of a man in his hometown of Slidell; however, after mistrials in 2012 and 2013, Bierria was never convicted.

Of course, from New Orleans’ Holy Cross School, there’s the recently departed Michael Chigbu. A three-star prospect rated the No. 60 receiver in the nation for the Class of 2015, Chigbu could never really get in a grove while at Georgia. After starting six games as a sophomore in 2016, he appeared in only six games last year. In three seasons as a Bulldog, Chigbu made 13 receptions for 116 yards and no touchdowns.

Finally, in a way, we come full circle from the latest Bulldog signee from Louisiana to the first—both of whom were graduates of The Big Easy’s Holy Cross School. And, although a native of New Orleans, the initial Louisianian to sign with Georgia arrived via a Mississippi junior college—and amid much fanfare.

Following back-to-back seasons of featuring a struggling passing game, head coach Wally Butts was ecstatic to welcome JUCO-transfer Ken Schulte to his Bulldog squad in the spring of 1956. Schulte had quarterbacked Jones [County] Junior College in Ellisville, Miss., (notably, the same junior college Stetson Bennett recently transferred to) to consecutive postseason appearances in 1954 and 1955 while earning JUCO All-American status both seasons. Seemingly a shoe-in to start under center for Georgia the following campaign, the signal-caller was said to run and throw “with the skill of Otto Graham”—and, he was an excellent kicker, to boot.

Unfortunately, Schulte found it difficult to do much of anything on the gridiron upon his arrival in Athens. Three different Bulldogs made starts at quarterback in 1956, none of whom was Schulte, who played sparingly during the season. After being responsible for 18 touchdowns at Jones the year before, the Crescent City native didn’t even engineer a scoring drive during the season while finishing with only 42 yards of total offense in 15 plays, including an interception thrown against Auburn. Still, Schulte was tremendous during the ensuing preseason and was contending for the starting quarterback spot for '57, before breaking his arm during the last scrimmage of the summer and missing the entirety of his final season as a Bulldog.

Accordingly, it should be evident how notable it would be for Georgia to sign Louisiana prospects the caliber of John Emery and Makiya Tongue, especially considering the latter hails from LSU’s own backyard. Beginning with evidently Ken Schulte—from what I could tell, the lone Louisiana native to sign with the Bulldogs during the first 100-plus years of the program—followed by only a few others, you could say Emery and Tongue would become part of UGA’s exclusive "Creole Connection"—or, more appropriately, the lack thereof.