UGASports Recruiting Diary Vol. 1: Two top players talk process changes
What's on the mind of the nation's best prospects during a period of unknown in the world of recruiting?
We went to the sources to find out by having top prospects share their thoughts with us.
Today, we check in with two Georgia targets who explain the re-routing of the process and the changes they've already seen in their calendars and approaches.
ENTRY #1: LINEBACKER RANEIRIA DILLWORTH
One of the nation's hottest prospects in terms of attention, Raneiria Dillworth saw his recruitment skyrocket toward the end of the last college football season.
A 6-foot-2, 195-pound do-it-all linebacker with speed to spare, Dillworth had the Bulldogs jump into the race and quickly turn up the attention to ten.
As a result, Georgia made his top five options, along with the likes of Alabama, UNC, NC State, and South Carolina. He put in a trip to Athens less than a month ago.
In his own words...
"I think it won’t change anything. I just have to take a few more visits, and I will make my decision.
I am taking full control over it.
Everything is still on track!
I've been doing (some research on my own), and I've been listing and working out with my trainer. I've talked with a couple of coaches on FaceTime. It’s definitely more communication." - Raneiria Dillworth
DILLWORTH IS SET TO MAKE HIS COMMITMENT ON APRIL 17 WITH A PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT ON MAY 9.
ENTRY #2: WIDE RECEIVER JJ JONES
Another prospect who has seen his stock soar in recent weeks, JJ Jones hails from the South Carolina coast and possesses a combination of size (6-4, 190 pounds), solid hands and breakaway potential.
He called Georgia's offer 'monumental' when he received it, and Jones has had the Bulldogs penciled into his visit schedule since.
In his own words...
"With everything closing down, it really messes up the recruiting process.
When recruits want to go visit schools, they now have to wait for who knows how long until they can.
Personally, for me, this pushes back some of (the thoughts around) my commitment date, because I’m not allowed to visit the schools I’m interested in. Recruits need to visit campuses to get a feeling and see if it’s like a home to them. My family and I had dates set up for visits upcoming, but now we have to look into other dates during the summer, which makes the process a little bit tougher.
As of right now, I’m just ready for schools to open up so I can visit them. I spoke to coaches, and it was pretty much understood I wasn’t allowed to visit.
Bottom line: we have no control over what is happening, so we just have to wait out the process and go from there. At least coaches can still text you, but it’s just not the same when you can’t visit. It’s gonna be tough, because some coaches don’t even know when their schools open or when the dead period is over.
With this time off, I’m now starting to look into roster availability and see the amount of receivers at my position.
I had to cancel visits to Clemson, Georgia, UNC, Virginia Tech, and Tennessee." - J. J. Jones