(upbeat music) (wind whipping) - This one look real good too, but that ain't my choice.

(audience murmurs) This one look real good too.

I'm gonna save that for later.

I like this one.

It fit me well, but that ain't who I want to go to.

(audience roars) They always been on my mind.

But check me out, Ma, throw me that hat.

(audience roars) (audience cheers) (wind whipping) - Welcome to "GPB Sports Recruiting 2021" on national signing day, where the world of recruiting has officially changed.

We've had our moment.

Let's see, how did we describe it when we were leading in?

It was the moment where folks got to see color television for the first time in 1965, from black and white, it was where Christopher Columbus landed on these shores with three ships.

Welcome to the new world, Matt Stewart.

- It is the Cracatoa- - East of Java.

- Of college football recruiting.

There has never been (Jon laughs) a more seismic shift in the college football recruiting landscape than Travis Hunter, the number one prospect in the entire nation, committed to Florida State since his sophomore year, on national signing day, flipping to Jackson State.

He's flipping the Deion Sanders.

That's where he's flipping to.

- That.

- And Jackson State just happens to be the place where Deion Sanders is the head coach.

Maybe we should have seen the red flags, if you want to call them that, or the indications, when he said that he wanted to be the next Deion Sanders.

Well, what better way to be the next Deion Sanders than to be coached by Deion Sanders?

We really all got stunned today.

We, all of us just got flabbergasted today by this.

Nobody saw this coming.

Had he flipped to Alabama, had he flipped to Georgia, had he flipped to any other school, we would have said, "Wow, that's really big."

But he flips to Jackson State, and that's a game changer.

- Well, if you go back to one of Deion Sanders' media appearances, and he has a traditional media appearance on "Barstool Sports," he admitted coming in to national signing day that they were going to shock the world.

And Deion Sanders did not tell a fabrication there.

He did not lie.

His nose did not grow.

(Matt laughs) This was something that was seismic in nature.

He shocks the world here and, you know, you sit there and it's like, oh wow.

So, okay.

So now, remember flashback time here on Football Fridays in Georgia, Travis Hunter actually mentioned Deion Sanders with the interviewer of the stars.

Do you remember this?

(wind whipping) - Why did you choose to take your talents to FSU?

- I'm fixin' to re, go ahead and rebuild a program like Deion Sanders did when he went there.

I'm going to go and make a statement and show everybody that I can go anywhere and play any, any football, which is like something I always wanted to do is play for Florida State.

(wind whipping) - Well, not going to play for Florida State, but he is going to play - But- - For Deion Sanders.

- Because number two is number one.

And we found that out too.

I just literally, when you're, this is one of those moments where you sit there and you go, you remember when, - Yeah.

- When it comes to signing day and the landscape has officially now changed with NIL, national image, name, image, and likeness, all of that stuff.

It is a different world now.

- And that's the key.

The key here is the NIL.

This makes this possible.

Without the NIL deal, this really isn't possible.

Now, the details of what that NIL deal is going to be and when it was established, now that remains in question because you're not supposed to be able to use the NIL as an inducement to sign.

- Right.

- So, I'm sure there's going to be a lot of conversation about that in the coming weeks, but that's not what we're going to talk about right here, because we don't have any evidence about anything other than he has committed to Jackson State and that is the stunner.

- There are elements of this that you can readily think that are going to be a part of this process.

And that's why we've introduced NIL to this discussion, for one of the stellar athletes, not just in the State of Georgia, but in the United States.

- [Matt] Number one overall prospect, number one cornerback in the country, but you see him here as a wide receiver, stellar season.

This was from the state championship game, just on Saturday night when they defeated Milton for the 7A title right here on GPB, over 150 yards receiving in that game, GPB Sports All State, GPB All Finals Team, GPB All World Team.

- Yes.

- [Matt] I mean, he is the most amazing or one of the most amazing high school football athletes I have ever seen play.

And he's never disappointed when I've had eyes on him.

- Both sides of the ball, and you see what he's been able to do here, amazing stuff.

And we had to go to one of our experts to break it all down with the impact.

(wind whipping) Joining us now, recruiting guru extraordinaire, our own Rusty Mansell hanging out with us.

So Rusty, I'm just going to ask it this way.

On the seismic scale, how much of a Richter scale moment was what we saw with Travis Hunter?

- Well, it pulled me over on the side of the interstate to watch a YouTube Live link.

And I don't know that I've ever done that in 12 years, because I had to hear it myself to believe it with Travis Hunter flipping from Florida State to Jackson State to go play with Deion Sanders.

And you know, about an hour before that happened, I started getting some texts like, "Hey," you know, I text the Collins Hill staff and I said, "Hey man, is there anything to this?"

And the response I got back is, "Man, this is getting wild."

And I knew right then you better take this thing serious.

And ultimately, you know, the man had to step up to the podium and pick Jackson State and he did.

- Blindside block.

That's what this is.

(Rusty laughs) Nobody saw this coming, man.

We all got de-cleated.

- Sure.

- What does this mean for college football recruiting in the future, the ramifications of this decision?

- Well, it means everybody's in the game.

You know what I mean?

There's NIL stuff.

Obviously, there's going to be some NIL stuff tied to this and what, you know, later on that'll come out, what kind of deal potentially he has, you know, Deion Sanders has done a tremendous job at Jackson State selling out games and doing all these other things.

But I think, with this, it shows you everybody's kind of in the game right now, literally because the NIL deal, it can equal things up pretty quick.

He had zero chance of signing a Travis Hunter two years ago.

But now, with something like this, you just look at the Texas offensive line.

Texas offensive line are getting 50,000 a piece for breathing oxygen.

So, everybody's in the game.

It's all new to all of us.

I just think it kind of opens up some avenues for everybody.

- And Florida State, as the Florida state alum on this show, Florida State got absolutely caught flat-footed in this.

This is, for me, and I was talking to Matt about it.

I said that this is the moment where Christopher Columbus came to the new world and Deion Sanders brought the Nina, the Pinta, the Santa Maria and Jackson State along with it.

- I tell you what, man, you got to wake up this morning and all Florida State had to do was get that piece of paper with his signature on it.

They've had this young man, (Jon laughs) they've had this young man for a long time.

Me and Matt talked about it this weekend.

We've talked about it before.

Jon, you've heard him say it.

You've interviewed him yourself.

He's been Florida State, he's been Florida State, and he's been Florida State.

The only thing he had to do, and this was their guy, was put that signature to paper and they didn't get it done today.

- This was quintessential primetime Deion Sanders though.

He's been pulling this kind of stuff ever since he was a high school kid and signed with Florida State.

He's been turning the world, whatever world he was in, he's been turning that world on its head.

And he did it again today.

- I mean, he said yesterday, I mean, I had to go back and watch it.

And on "Barstool," an interview, you saw it on Twitter.

He said, "I'm going to shock the world tomorrow."

And I'm telling you right now.

He said, "Mark it down.

"Everybody is, every major news outlet is going to say "that we shocked the world," and buddy, at 12 o'clock today, every major news outlet in the world is talking about Jackson State, Deion Sanders, and Travis Hunter.

- You are not kidding.

Let's take a tour around the rest of the state here really quickly, obviously, Georgia back and forth, depending on the hour of the day, you're sitting there and it's like, okay, are they one, two or three?

They're one, they're two, they're three, they're one.

Georgia, once again, part of the SEC, just going to the front of the line when it comes to this day.

- Yeah, doing a really good job.

Mykel Williams, Maliki Starks, Gunner Stockton, all those guys getting their, you know, getting their things in early this morning, big keys, Jalon Walker, a five-star linebacker out of the Charlotte area, big piece of the puzzle, CJ Washington, all these guys that are, you know, in the fold, they've big committed for a long time.

Now, they had some things to finish up this afternoon.

We'll see how those things go.

But when you start thinking about what Georgia does, the majority of their work was done walking into the day and they just had to get this like this Florida State with Travis Hunter, you got to get the signatures and Georgia got what they needed this morning.

- The transformation of this program under Mark Richt, they did a good job.

Under Kirby Smart, it's phenomenal.

They have become the number one power in college football recruiting, along with Alabama, maybe Texas A&M jumps in there before the end of this cycle.

But just the transformation, how has Kirby done it?

What has he done to take Georgia to that next level, to a level they've never experienced before?

- Their very first press conference.

The very first press concert from Kirby Smart.

He said, "We've got to get bigger.

"We got to get bigger on both sides "of the line of scrimmage."

He's been at Alabama, he's played Georgia.

He knew what Georgia was missing.

He knew when he walked in that stadium in 2015, when that, oh, by the way, Georgia was a favorite.

And they got ran, shot out of Sanford Stadium.

By what?

25, 30 points.

He knew it was a mismatch walking in there.

Well, he knew when he took that program, you look at the guys they've had through and you look at now, particularly with Georgia defensive line, the guys they've got, that offensive line, now, it's the five-star after five star, after NFL guy after NFL guy.

So, I think what Kirby Smart, I know he's done a lot, a really, really good job defensively, we can talk about quarterback, at the end of the day, they got to figure out what's going on with quarterback.

But it's not for lack of putting bodies in the room 'cause he signing five star quarterbacks.

But I'll tell you this.

The line of scrimmage is where he has changed Georgia and made them be able to compete with the big boys.

- Well, Rusty, man, so, we know that this is one of your busiest days of the year.

Thanks for carving out some time with us here on Recruiting 2021.

Thanks for being a part of the GPB family.

On one of the busiest days of the year, we know your day is far from over.

Thanks, my friend.

- Thanks, guys.

- And we will revisit Travis Hunter coming up in just a little bit.

Rusty's conversation drifted us into Athens.

- Right.

- I mean, we could really do an entire show on Travis and we'll revisit that later.

But Athens, once again, as we mentioned, right there in the national discussion, 1, 2, 3, all afternoon long, and they were signing the guys that Rusty was talking about.

- Yeah, five stars loading up and able to go into other states.

And we'll see this as we go throughout this show, able to go in other states and get the top prospects, just take them right out of that state's backyard.

And the state school left saying, what happened?

You know?

So, Georgia has become a program that recruits on a national level.

They clean up the State of Georgia, which, you know, every coach will tell you, you got to guard the borders.

And we start with Malaki Starks, five star.

He's the highest rated prospect in the Bulldogs 2022 class, 247 Sports now has him rated the number one ranked athlete, the number two overall prospect in Georgia and the number four overall national recruit, played quarterback and free safety for the Jefferson Dragons, saw him in the state finals a year ago.

Unfortunately, they got knocked out early this year in the playoffs.

He committed to the Bulldogs back in March, over 14 other offers, including his eventual other two in his final three, which was Alabama and Clemson, but a sparkling athlete that can do so many different things.

- [Jon] And now let's focus on one of the bigguns that we got to see.

- [Matt] Yeah, Hardaway five-star defensive lineman, Mykel Williams, he committed to the Bulldogs class of 2022 in October when he flipped from Southern Cal.

And of course, today he did sign.

The 247 Sports composite number five defensive lineman in the country had been committed to Southern Cal in June, but that changed when he decommitted two months ago, after the firing of Clay Helton.

We're going to talk to him.

He's now the head coach at Georgia Southern.

We'll hear from him later in the show.

- There you go.

- [Matt] He immediately committed to Georgia upon his decommitment.

6' 5", 265 pound Hardaway star visited Georgia twice over a three week period there in the fall.

That kind of solidified things in with the Bulldogs.

- [Jon] And Rusty mentioned record-breaking quarterbacks.

For this one, we go to Tiger.

- [Matt] Yeah, Rabun County four star, Gunner Stockton.

You've heard of him, rated the number seven quarterback in the country in the 247 Sports composite.

6' 1", 220, committed to Georgia back in January after originally committed to Southern or rather South Carolina, I should say, finished his career breaking Deshaun Watson's all-time touchdown record, Trevor Lawrence's all time passing touchdown record and fell just short of Trevor's all-time passing yards record.

It'll be interesting to see where Gunnar Stockton fits in the quarterback competition in 2022.

- [Jon] Next name on the list is someone we're still keeping an eye on because nothing is officially official.

- [Matt] He has not yet signed yet.

That doesn't mean anything other than the papers aren't in yet.

Four star corner back Marquis Groves-Killebrew, 6', 180 pounds senior, rated the number 13 corner in the nation in the 247 Sports composite.

He had committed to the Georgia Bulldogs in May over 32 other offers, including Texas A&M and Michigan.

Now, the fly in the ointment is this.

He's a guy that has kind of been on flip watch - Yes.

- During the fall because he visited College Station a couple of times.

- Yep.

- [Matt] Mike signed with the Aggies.

That's the speculation.

He did injure his knee late in North Cobb's season, was not available for their playoff run.

So, we don't know what's going on other than no official word yet as to whether Marquis Groves-Killebrew is in the fold.

- [Jon] Next one, a matchup problem out of West Forsyth, heading to Athens.

- [Matt] Four star and the nation's number two or number one rated tight end, dependent upon which rankings you're looking at, and started his career, zero offers at the beginning of his junior season, that was 15 months ago.

Delp chose the Bulldogs over 32 other offers, eventually, including his other three final four, Michigan, Clemson, and South Carolina.

6' 5", 225 pounds, senior continuing Georgia's tradition as tight end at university.

His signing means the Bulldogs have now signed at least a four-star tight end or better in each one of their last five recruiting classes.

See Brock Bowers, probably the best tight end in the country, I thought, this year.

- [Jon] Wait a second.

Georgia didn't get everybody?

- [Matt] Did not.

You know, if you were watching recruiting 2021 over the last couple of weeks, this should not come as a surprise to you.

Tift County four star defensive lineman, long time Georgia commit Tyre West flips to Tennessee.

He had been committed to the Bulldogs for a year, but he flipped the Vols today and signed with Tennessee.

Former Georgia Bulldogs' D-line coach Rodney Garner, who's now on Josh Heupel's staff, he was involved in this.

- Yeah.

- Recruited Tyre West very heavily.

So, Tennessee just looked like a better opportunity for him.

Georgia's loaded.

They've got five stars coming in.

Tyre West may have looked at that and said, "You know what?

"Tennessee's the better opportunity for me."

He flipped to the Volunteers today.

- When you see a log jam in front of you at a certain position group and you want to play and you want to play now, then you have what you see with Tyre West, where you head to a place like Knoxville.

And that is just only a sampling of what's been going on here around the state, the rest of the state, top 10, and we celebrate Flipmas as a national holiday here in the month of December.

And we had a merry Flipmas, at least the folks in College Station might have.

- Well, you got to get used to that.

I mean, with coaching changes and just everything that can happen, and this next story we're going to talk to you about is the result of a coaching change.

And this is Oconee County four-star Jake Johnson.

He signed with Texas A&M today.

And could his brother Max soon follow him?

- [Jon] I'm thinking.

- He's the only tight end of the country rated higher than the aforementioned Oscar Delp in the 247 Sports ranking.

He's one, Delp's two, or Delp's one and he's two, depending upon, again, what rankings you're looking at.

He committed to LSU over 13 other offers, but that all changed with his brother Max, who was the sophomore starting quarterback for LSU, entered the transferal portal, following the hiring of new coach Brian Kelly.

And of course, you all know the lineage here.

Jake's dad is former Florida State and NFL Superbowl quarterback, Brad Johnson.

His uncle is former Georgia Bulldogs coach Mark Richt.

So, Jake Johnson going to the Aggies to play for Jimbo Fisher, and speculation, of course, one leads to two, Max Johnson might end up there as well.

You might think.

- Well, and considering that Zach Calzada has officially portaled, - That's right.

- Adding to that particular equation as well.

Package deal, perhaps, heading to College Station and Kyle Field.

We'll keep an eye on that.

But Matt's math I think is pretty close to being accurate.

At least we can go in that direction, where one plus one equals two when it comes to- - And things change quickly because we were talking about this over the weekend.

And at that time, the thought was they were going to South Carolina, but today, it's Texas A&M for Jake.

Will tomorrow it be Texas A&M for Max?

- And we'll keep an eye on that as well.

One other athlete that is on our radar here in the top 10, we've gotten the chance to see him for the last handful of seasons here on GPB and on Football Fridays and also in the last game of the year.

- [Matt] Yeah, no, Isaiah Bond, what a super athlete and excited to see he lands at Alabama.

He's going to end up being a wide receiver there for the Crimson Tide, listed as an athlete corner or wide receiver.

He really stood out.

Close to 40 catches this year for the Buford Wolves as they won their third straight state championship.

And really a dynamic athlete, even as great as the Buford program has been all these years, really a cut above from the athletic standpoint.

And really excited to see what Isaiah Bond's going to do in Tuscaloosa.

- [Jon] And when we discuss you, sometimes we actually get to catch up to you.

And so, that's what we did right here.

It's Matt and Isaiah Bond.

(upbeat music) (wind whipping) - First of all, Isaiah, congratulations on signing with the University of Alabama this morning.

The obligatory first question, why the Crimson Tide?

- Really, legendary school, great relationship with the coaches.

And really, when you get an opportunity to play for a program like this, you really can't turn it down.

- Your recruiting was a little bit different.

You had been committed to Florida and then they fired the head coach.

So, a little bit of a curve ball for you late in the process of your senior season.

You took an official to Alabama.

How difficult was what happened to you a month out from national signing day, you know, forcing a pretty quick turnaround in your decision?

- Yes, sir.

Like you said, I was committed to Florida.

I was all in for Florida, but then when the head coach left and got fired, it really wasn't too hard a decision.

I already had in my mind where I was going and I already knew what it was.

- But let's start with Coach Nick Saban, how intimidating or not intimidating is to meet him?

- Yes, sir, it really is, I would say it's more of like a star struck moment, just seeing someone of that stature, you really gotta keep your cool on camera, you just can't really show like too much emotion, but inside, you're like, wow, that's really Nick Saban next to me.

So, it's really, it's a wholesome moment.

- Yeah.

This is Nick Saban, and I'm on a job interview.

So, I better be at my very best.

Right.

So, what is Alabama talking to you about as far as what position you will play once you get to the Crimson Tide?

- Yes, sir.

I'll be going to Alabama to play wide receiver.

- Wow.

I mean, you really put on a show.

You had a great season.

you were GPB All State playing as a wide receiver.

We got to televise a number of your games.

I called three of your games this year.

You put on a show at wide receiver.

Talk to me about how comfortable you are at that position.

Looks like you've really kind of embraced it.

- Yes, sir, I really, coming off my sophomore season, they said they were going to need me more on the opposite side of the ball.

And I took on the challenge during the off season, got training and results gladly showed off.

- Jake Pope had one of the most spectacular catches you'll ever see in that state championship game victory against Langston Hughes.

And he'll be joining you in Alabama.

Did you and Jake have any conversations about being a tag team going to Alabama or was it pretty much a separate decision?

- Yes, I really, always, soon as I got the offer, even when I was committed to Florida, he was always just like, "Come on, join the bus, "join the bus."

So it's all been great, great feelings from him.

- Hopped on the bus.

Before we go, tell me about this state championship season, three consecutive state championships.

So your sophomore, junior and senior year, you win state titles.

Can't beat that.

You were also named GPB All State for your performance.

And congratulations on that.

What was your senior season like with the Buford Wolves playing for Coach Bryant Appling?

- You know, so, it really just finishing the job, what we started coming in to Buford High School.

You know, we also, our hands were being boosted a lot, saying that we're the best class to ever come through and the coaches, they try to make sure that happens, so they like, they pushed us real, very hard, but like you said, just finishing the job that, coming in, like you said, we won it our sophomore year and to finish out with a state title and also three of them in a row, it's just a great feeling.

A great, really great feeling.

- Well, Isaiah, it's been a pleasure to watch you play the last three years and we wish you continued success with the Alabama Crimson Tide.

- Appreciate it.

- So, takeaways from your interview with Isaiah Bond, one of the great GPB All Staters here in 2021?

- I think he's going to have a great career at Alabama.

Think he made a great choice.

Obviously, when the coaching change came at Florida, you needed to find more stable ground.

He already had Alabama back in the back of his mind, having visited them in the summer.

That was kind of going to be his fallback position, not a bad fallback position to have.

- (laughs) Yeah, Tuscaloosa, never a bad fallback position in the SEC.

Couple of other names that we want to run through here in the top 10, when it comes to the talent here in the State of Georgia.

First stop is going to be Leesburg and finding out the update on Jaron Willis.

- [Matt] Yeah, another flip here.

And again, not one that was unexpected, 6' 2", 228 pound four-star, had been committed to Georgia Tech since May over 27 other offers, but then he decommitted within the last week.

So, you knew something was going to happen there other than Georgia Tech.

He did visit Ole Miss during the fall.

Plus took officials to Florida State and Arkansas in June.

Today, he does sign with the Ole Miss Rebels and Lane Kiffin.

- [Jon] Next stop is East Paulding and we end up with initial interest from Auburn and Justin Williams is going someplace else.

- [Matt] Yeah, Justin Williams, four-star running back East Paulding signed with Tennessee today.

This, after he had decommitted from West Virginia in November, after receiving an offer from the Vols, he had been committed to the Mountaineers for four months until the Vols entered the picture, and you're right.

Auburn was also in the mix.

He visited the Plains for the Iron Bowl.

Ultimately though, Tennessee wins out and Tennessee's picked up a lot of kids today.

Tennessee's done very well in this recruiting cycle.

- [Jon] Hanging on the edges and making sure that they don't see anyone get past them.

Next stop, North Cobb, Sam Mbake.

- [Matt] Yeah, four-star Sam Mbake, 6' 3", 205 pound senior, 27 offers.

At one point this fall, he was considered at Mississippi State and/or Ole Miss were, can be considered his leaders.

But today, he does sign with Sam Pittman and the Arkansas Razorbacks.

You'll know that he played his sophomore season at North Cobb, went to IMG.

COVID hit, he came back, played at Brookwood last year.

He was part of the four guys who transferred to North Cobb, finished up with a solid senior season.

Sam Mbake going to be a Razorback.

- [Jon] Last name on our list is on the GPB most overlooked and never should have been list.

- [Matt] Well, he got GPB Sports All State honors, and he was All Finals as well.

So, he might've been overlooked for a while, but not any more.

Asani Redwood, three-star edge rusher, state champion Collins Hill, signed with West Virginia today and good luck to him.

- No doubt.

- He had not been offered by a power five until Vandy stepped up semi-final week, West Virginia stepped up after that.

And now Asani Redwood, who his coach Lenny Gregory predicts, one day will play in the National Football League, a kid who's only been playing American football for two years 'cause he was a soccer kid back home in his native Jamaica.

Good for him.

- Could you imagine him at center back in Morgantown for the West Virginia men's soccer team?

I'm looking.

- Some guy's going to get injured.

- I'm looking forward to that.

When we come back here on GPB Sports Recruiting 2021 on Signing Day, we'll take you to Athens and we'll take you to Tech.

We'll take you to State and Southern, all the places.

More coming up just around the corner.

(steady music) - [Narrator] Georgia Farm Bureau members stand together for the values that make our state special.

We stand for faith and family.

We stand for protecting Georgia's agriculture industry.

We stand for family owned businesses.

We stand for products grown in Georgia.

We stand for keeping our promise.

We stand together.

♪ We are our farm bureau ♪ (tense music) - Regions Bank has committed to building more inclusive prosperity.

We're proud to work with Georgia Public Broadcasting to level the playing field, so more people can succeed and our communities can thrive.

(chiming music) - [Narrator] Where manufacturing roars and goods dazzle, Georgia commerce is electric.

Georgia's EMCs work to keep the electricity going for businesses that keep the economy growing, lighting up good business, so business is good.

Georgias EMCs, so much more than electricity.

(upbeat music) ♪ Take a second look and you'll see ♪ ♪ There is no one like me ♪ ♪ There is no one like me, like me ♪ (wind whipping) - Welcome back to GPB Sports Recruiting 2021 on National Signing Day, brought to us by our friends at Farm Bureau Insurance, always the home team.

He's Matt.

I'm Jon.

It's been a very busy day for a lot of different reasons.

We'll get in back into the number one reason with Travis Hunter in a little bit, but we're going to take the tour around the state and we'll start in Athens.

- Yeah, let's start with the Georgia Bulldogs.

Again, I think you hit the point earlier with Rusty.

Depending upon what rankings you're looking at, and it's kind of a fluid situational National Signing Day, those rankings go up and down.

Right now, I think Georgia is in at the number three spot in the 247 Sports team rankings, could end up number one or two or three, somewhere.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter.

Ultimately, it matters what you do with that talent and how that translates to victories on the football field.

- And one of the guys that you know that you need to hear from on a day like this, other than Matt Stewart, is the guy in charge in Athens, Kirby Smart.

And here's what Kirby had to say, the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs, about today and the guys that are coming to Athens.

(wind whipping) - All those things, I'm excited about this group.

It's been one of probably the funnest to recruit.

It was, you know, kind of the half COVID recruiting class because they didn't get to come on campus, I guess until June 1st, maybe, and everybody came, came through, it was a wild time with everybody trying to come at the same time.

And our staff did a tremendous job.

Our recruiting staff did a tremendous job.

I feel great about the guys we got, we got a couple of guys with great size.

We got a couple of guys with great upside, kids that we think are gonna be really good players that maybe haven't played football for a long time, but I love the core group we got and we've got a good group here and a good nucleus here on campus.

It's every class.

It's consistency in messaging.

It's consistency in communication.

It's the number one overall quality that I want to be known for in recruiting is consistency in performance, consistency in messaging, continuity, like our staff and our program.

We want out a lot on that because you know, a lot of folks by default had things change and we didn't have a lot of change.

(wind whipping) - Well, I think one of the things that jumps out here is how busy everybody is.

But you think about how busy Georgia is.

They're getting ready for a national semi-final.

- Right.

- You throw in recruiting.

- Right.

- Where 80% of the prospects are going to sign today.

- Right.

- Also, you got graduation and finals and all that kind of stuff.

- Heard of those, yeah.

- Yeah, it's minor stuff.

Right?

No, no one cares.

No, but seriously, loaded up this time of year.

That's why I think there's a push, and Rusty and I talked about this on Saturday.

I think we might transition back to the old way and get out of the early national signing period eventually, because there have been so many unintended consequences - Yeah.

- From this early signing period that nobody could have foreseen, but now we're starting to say, "Well, you know what?

"Maybe this isn't the best idea."

- And we'll see how many of these different lanes of traffic we all get to navigate going forward.

So, let's talk about some of that core group that Kirby Smart was talking about that have made their way into Athens today.

First name on the list comes out of Jacksonville.

- [Matt] Nation's number five corner, Jaheim Singletary signs with Georgia today, Jacksonville River star, Riverside High School, five-star decommitted from Ohio State in August.

Picked the Bulldogs among his 29 total offers including Florida and Miami, had taken an official visit this summer to see the Bulldogs.

His connection to Georgia really kind of dates back to Coach Will Muschamp.

And that was reportedly a huge factor in his decision, a connection that dates back to Muschamp being the head coach at South Carolina.

Third corner in the Bulldogs class, by the way.

- [Jon] And once again, this goes into Georgia taking a lot of folks from a lot of other states.

Next stop Salisbury, North Carolina.

- [Matt] Yeah, this was kind of what I was referring to earlier, Jalon Walker, four-star out of Salisbury North Carolina High School, number three ranked corner in the nation.

Number two overall prospect in the Tar Heel State.

Mack Brown and North Carolina, they are the state school and Georgia just goes in there and takes him.

- They just came in here and took our player.

- [Matt] They did.

He picked the bulldogs over 29 other offers, just a super, super sign for the Bulldogs today.

- [Jon] How about the one name players, like Bear?

- [Matt] Bear, I mean, that's all you're going to need to know going forward is Bear.

Bear Alexander, he's out of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, but he's really from Texas.

He had committed to the Bulldogs last national signing day.

Then he decommitted.

Now, he's back on board, - This is not fair.

- [Matt] And he signed with the Bulldogs today.

Get this.

6' 3", 3 bills plus 25.

325 pounds.

- I think it's north of three and a quarter.

- [Matt] Yeah, he's a four-star number six rated D-lineman in the country.

Number 42 overall national prospect.

- [Jon] Branson Robinson, come on down.

- [Matt] What a name.

- [Jon] Branson.

- [Matt] He just sounds tough.

- Branson from- - And he is.

Running back out of Germantown High School in Madison, Mississippi, number three running back in the state.

And again, - Madison Maverick.

- [Matt] He's the number one prospect in the State of Mississippi and Georgia just went in there and took him out of that state.

- Right?

- Number 48 overall national prospect.

Branson Robinson- - Pick him up and put him down.

- [Matt] Adds to an already deep Georgia Bulldogs running back room.

- [Jon] Next one on the list, (wind whipping) Julian Humphrey.

- [Matt] Yeah, here's a guy.

He kind of telegraphed things.

He went on a visit to Georgia while he was committed to Florida and said, told to the coaches, I'm coming to the Bulldogs.

I mean, all it took was a a weekend visit to go see the Bulldogs play football.

He's out of Houston Clear Lake.

- [Jon] Houston Clear Lake.

- [Matt] 6' 1", 185, corner, got great size for a corner.

They grow the corners a lot bigger now than they used to.

(Jon laughs) They used to be 5' 8", - [Jon] Everything's big in Texas, sir.

- [Matt] They used to be 5' 8", 5' 9" squirts.

Now they're all 6' 1" plus.

Julian Humphrey, four-star number rated corner in the entire nation.

Number 16 in the State of Texas, and now he's a Bulldog.

- [Jon] So Florida, North Carolina, IMG, Mississippi, Texas, and Carlton Madden.

- [Matt] Carlton Madden, now, we had him on recruiting 2021 back during the fall.

Our five star Hannah Gooden did the interview with him.

And this guy is totally underrated, played for Cedar Grove.

They won the state championship again.

He's underrated because coming into the season, he did not have any stars.

Nobody really, because he didn't get to play last year.

- Right, that's right.

Yeah.

- And he was a transfer to Cedar Grove and he was ruled ineligible.

So, he didn't even get to play his junior year.

You know what that means?

That means you've got no video from your junior year to post on your huddle or to show coaches.

So he was kind of an unknown flying under the radar, quickly, he was on everybody's radar.

The three-star is kind of a misnomer.

He's really probably more of a strong four star candidate.

Carlton Madden signs with the Bulldogs.

- [Jon] Fancy TV graphic time.

Let's take a peak at the recruits, the top 10.

We talked about a lot of these folks.

Run them down one more time.

- [Matt] Malaki Starks, the five star athlete, going to Georgia from Jefferson, just a 20 minute hike down the road for Malaki.

He'll get to go home and eat mama's dinner every once in a while, no doubt about that.

He's going to play safety for the Bulldogs.

Jaheim Singletary, so we talk about Singletary.

We just told you about the kid from Houston Clear Lake too.

Great corners coming in this freshmen class, Mykel Williams, he's a beast.

He's going to be a game changer for the Bulldogs.

At least, that's what everybody seems to think.

- Right.

- [Matt] I could not disagree.

A five-star out of Hardaway.

Jalon Walker out of Salisbury, North Carolina and Big Bear - Bear Alexander.

- [Jon] From IMG (laughs).

- [Matt] You want an interior defensive lineman named Bear.

You really do.

- You do.

And then you've got Branson Robinson.

We talked about him from Madison High in Mississippi.

Gunner Stockton, talked about him earlier out of Rabun County.

Oscar Delp, the perpetual matchup problem.

Julian Humphrey from, where is he?

Houston?

- Clear Lake.

- There you go.

And then the MGK we're still waiting on the final word.

- Now everybody in the world knows about, no one knew about, what's a Houston Clear Lake?

Now every, because we talked about Julian Humphrey it seemed like every show this fall, the continuing saga of Julian Humphrey, saga no more, he signed with the Bulldogs.

- As the Clear Lake of our lives continued.

So, that's what the answer right now with Julian Humphrey.

So, as we transition from Athens, we're going to come back down Georgia 316, come back in here to the 30318 zip code and talk about our friends at the Flats and Geoff Collins now.

- Yeah, Geoff Collins, you know, obviously not a big secret.

They got a lot of work to do coming off the season that they just had and some heat turned up, they fired some coordinators, some assistant coach, in particular, the running back coach left.

He's gone out to join Lincoln Riley out there at Southern Cal, Tashard Choice, who played at Lovejoy, and obviously had a great career going.

He'll continue it out on the West Coast.

So, there's no question, you know, I mean, Georgia Tech's got a lot of work to do.

And I know, on recruiting day, it's kind of like spring training in baseball (upbeat music) in that, you know, everybody's a champion in spring training.

Well, I really think Georgia Tech had a good recruiting class.

They really got some quality.

And we'll talk about this in a moment.

But Antonio Martin, we saw him play in the 6A state championship game here on GPB on Saturday night, just a man with the football in his hands.

I mean, he went for 120, Langston Hughes comes within seconds of upsetting Buford for the state title.

Love Antonio Martin.

Can't wait to see what he does in a Georgia Tech uniform.

- [Jon] And somebody that we've seen here on GPB ever since he was a freshman.

Out of Camden County, Jamie Felix sticks with Georgia Tech.

- [Matt] Yeah, last time we saw him here on GPB against Parkview in the state playoffs last year, he nearly willed the Wildcats to an upset victory.

He's a super, super running back.

So, that's two great running backs right off the top of here in this conversation.

We're talking about going to Georgia Tech and it's quite timely because Jahmyr Gibbs just left.

So, it's good that- - And Jamious Griffin too.

- No, he came, I, - Oh, he came back?

- Just came back.

- Okay.

- [Matt] Just broke in the news today that he's coming back out of the portal, - Okay.

- Much like Tanks Big- - So he un-portaled?

- Yeah.

Just like Tank Bigby, Auburn.

He's un-portaled.

He's back practicing with the Tigers.

- Okay.

- Same thing, Jamious Griffin, which is great news for Georgia Tech.

And now you add Jamie Felix.

You add Antonio Martin to the mix.

You like what Georgia Tech's got going on in the running back room.

- [Jon] And another guy that you really liked that we got to see on Football Fridays, he's out of Dacula High School.

- [Matt] I've always been a big fan of Kyle Efford.

This guy made a big splash his freshman year when he almost single handedly, it seemed, beat Valdosta in the semi-finals.

This guy could play linebacker.

This guy could play running back.

He's going to be a linebacker at Georgia Tech.

- Cracking down the- - I just love the ferocity and intensity - Yeah.

- [Matt] With which he played.

He rushed for 20 yards, I think, against Buford.

- Right.

- In the final game of the regular season here on GPB, that was like 300 yards.

I mean, he worked, he worked for like 300 yards and got 20 against that stout Buford defense.

He was pretty incredible.

- [Jon] All right.

Let's take a look at the rundown.

Fancy TV graphic time, breaking down Georgia Tech.

And we talked about Efford, we'd talked about Martin, Jaylin Marshall out of Fort Lauderdale comes north.

- [Matt] Yeah, if I'm not mistaken, Jaylin Marshall is the highest rated from the number standpoint signing in the Tech class, - Yeah.

- The safety out of Fort Lauderdale.

Interesting pickup for them.

It'll be interesting to see what he does with this team.

Zach Pyron, quarterback out of Pinson Valley, Alabama.

I think that's a big pickup for Georgia Tech.

Kind of, he is, you know, he's really a pro-style quarterback.

He got some running capabilities, as almost every running back has to do these days, kinda like Sam Horns.

- Yes.

- [Matt] A pro style quarterback, but can run.

- Yeah.

- [Matt] I think Zach Pyron kind of fits into that mold as well.

And then KJ Miles, the three-star defensive lineman out of New Jersey.

- [Jon] St. Peter's Prep takes us to page two.

We've talked about Jamie Felix, Tyler Gibson out of Johns Creek as well.

- [Matt] Yeah, we saw him play here on GPB in that great, epic overtime game against Cambridge.

He's a really good one.

He's going to fit in well up there on that offensive line for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

Also, they got the offensive lineman, Brandon Best out of Milton as well.

- Yep, they did.

- [Matt] On that offensive line.

Horace Lockett, we saw him play at Westlake and it'll be interesting to see where Horace Lockett plays.

He is a defensive lineman projected, but they used him a lot on the offensive line this year and DJ Moore, a young man, who's recovered from a serious knee injury to have a great end his career at Archer, signs with Georgia tech as well.

- [Jon] So let's get the low down on what's going on at Georgia Tech.

(wind whipping) Now it's time to catch up with life on the Flats here for National Signing Day.

Joining us, the head coach of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

It is Geoff Collins.

Coach, Jon here, Matt going to be here in just a sec.

Congratulations on National Signing Day, from 30,000 feet, what are some of your takeaways from today?

- Yeah, just, just really appreciative of all the hard work our recruiting staff and our coaching staff did to bring this class in.

We had a small senior class, so it wasn't a lot of quantity in the guys that we signed today, but a whole lot of quality to bring to the Flats and really excited about the guys that are in here.

- Coach, you hit the nail on the head.

Quality is the word I would use.

We saw a number of these kids that you have signed right here on GPB this season.

In fact, Antonio Martin for Langston Hughes, incredible monster performance in the 6A final that we televised here on GPB.

So impressed with him.

He's an absolute beast.

Tell us what you like about Antonio Martin.

- Yeah, he just runs so hard.

He's physical, runs with passion, runs with an edge, and you know, can make people miss too.

And just, just is a workhorse and just, you know, wants the ball, wants to move the ball up and down the field for his team and just a tremendous competitor.

And when you get to know him, a great young man too.

- And at the same time, Coach, while you did get some folks here in the Metro Atlanta area, one name in particular that I want to talk to you about, Jamie Felix, out of Camden County, down in Kingsland, we've gotten to see him here on GPB since he was basically a freshman making an impact for that program.

Now, you get to see him on the Flats.

- Yeah, a tremendous worker.

You know, he's another guy that could just make so many plays so many different ways.

A competitive kid, runs really, really hard and just has the energy and the competitive nature that we really desire here and just fired up that he's part of it.

- Again, continuing with the quality theme and another guy that we saw play since his freshman year, Kyle Efford at Dacula.

You probably have him slotted at linebacker.

If you ever have a need, he can get in there and run the ball.

You know that already.

And a great kid.

I know, when his coach, Casey Vogt, showed up for his first day of work, Kyle Efford was the guy that met him there at 6:00 AM to help him with the move-in boxes.

- Yeah, and he was the very first signee of the day.

I think it was 7 o'clock and 30 seconds when he sent his stuff in and had over 150 tackles in the season, had over 1,100 yards rushing and just competitive nature, leadership qualities, all of those things.

He's a special young man.

- Well, Coach, once again, we talk about quality over quantity.

You certainly had that today here for National Signing Day.

Thanks for hanging out with us here on Recruiting 2021.

Good luck as we keep an eye on what's going on down there at Georgia Tech.

- Absolutely.

Go Jackets.

- Also, one other name on the list, they picked up a kicker out of Kennedale High School, Kennedale, Texas, Aiden Burr that you can add to the list for Geoff Collins this year.

- Just like you to mention the kicker.

- Special teams, baby.

It's about offense, - It's important.

- Defense, and special teams.

- It's important.

- Sir.

- If you were watching the finals this past week on GPB, it's important.

- Important.

- You got to get one.

- Yes.

Next up on the list is someone that we think is just a really cool story.

Someone that kind of flew below the radar because this, the team that he plays for didn't make it to the postseason.

- [Matt] Yeah, and we certainly expected big things out of GAC, but they were a very, very young team this year, very uncharacteristic, disappointing season from a team standpoint for the Greater Atlanta Christian Spartans.

But from an individual standpoint, Will Hardy jumped off the page.

So much so that he was named to our GPB All State team.

- [Jon] And so, that means that you get to catch up with today's interviewer of the stars, Matt Stewart.

(dramatic music) (wind whipping) - Congratulations, Will, on signing with the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Always the first question, why UNC?

- Yes, sir.

So, I think UNC has been a great fit for me since day one.

I think it took a lot of different changes and different movements for me to figure that out.

But I love the coaching staff.

I love the high academics of the school and then the culture they're building.

It's just, it's amazing.

And I think I fit great into that.

- Recruiting is not an exact science.

You had been committed to Virginia, coaching change with the Cavaliers, now you're going to North Carolina.

How much of a curve ball was that for you late in the process?

And was that difficult to navigate after being committed to Virginia?

- Yeah, it was really difficult for me.

I'd been committed to Virginia for about five, six months and I was ready to go.

And so, the coaching change surprised me a lot.

It was pretty unexpected.

And so, after that happened, I really opened up all opportunities, but UNC had been recruiting me through the entire process.

And so, I think the coaching change at Virginia sort of reset the table for me.

And I got an equal look at both schools, it was a good visit in North Carolina this past weekend.

And it was exactly what I thought it was.

And so, I'm excited.

- Well, like coaches always say, like your dad, who was your head coach at GAC, it's not how you start.

It's how you finish.

So you finish up with North Carolina.

How difficult will it be to be parting ways with GAC and no longer being coached by your dad?

- Yeah, it will be different for sure.

I think he's set me up the past couple of years to be able to be coached by anybody.

So, I'm excited.

I'm excited to broaden my horizon, to go somewhere else, but it's also, you know, it's going to be a little different leaving home.

- Well, it was an extraordinarily different kind of season for GAC.

I not, I know from a team concept, not the way you guys wanted to finish up, but you had a spectacular senior season.

You were named GPB All State for your performance in the Spartans' defense.

Kind of take me through your season as a senior, not getting what you wanted to from a team standpoint, but having a great final season.

- Yes, sir.

This season was difficult.

It tested me in different ways than I've been tested in the past couple years.

So, we started off the year with a tough schedule, out of state games and state games.

And with a young team, that's really hard sometimes.

And so, early on, you know, you can feel down, but I was playing pretty well.

And so, throughout the season, I just kept working.

I kept doing my best part to lead the team and then perform on Friday nights.

And so, yeah, the team was young this year.

I'm excited to see what they do in the next couple of years.

I think they've got a lot of young talent, but for me, I felt like I had a great season individually.

And I think it's going to set me up well for college.

- Well now, you get to come back and stand on the sideline as one of the proud alumni, one of the college guys.

So, looking forward to that.

Congratulations on a great career at GAC and best of luck continued success with the Tar Heels.

- Yes, sir.

Thank you so much.

- One of the cool stories coming out of GAC, heading to the ACC.

When we come back, next stops, State and Southern.

GPB Sports Recruiting 2021 National Signing Day Special brought to us by our friends at Farm Bureau Insurance continues after this.

- [Narrator] DBHDD's Red Ribbon Campaign is about all the Georgians standing together for substance abuse prevention, staying in the game and live drug free.

Learn more about healthy alternatives and living a drug-free lifestyle at garedribbon.org.

- [Narrator] Georgia's EMCs proudly support high school athletics statewide, illuminating the work behind each perfect basket, completed pass and high flying toss.

For athletes, these moments are the real game changers.

Georgia's EMCs, official energy provider of the GHSA.

(gentle music) - At Regions Bank, we're here to listen to your needs and we'll customize a plan to help you reach your financial goals.

Our service to Georgia goes beyond banking, to creating more inclusive prosperity in our communities.

From education to financial wellness, to economic development, we're working to level the playing field, so more people can succeed and our communities can thrive.

(chiming music) - [Narrator] Half of the nation's opiod overdoses happen right at home because people don't understand the dangers of taking an Oxy or perc with a glass of alcohol for stress or to sleep.

Learn how to protect your family from opioid overdose at opioidresponse.info.

- [Narrator] GPB Passport, where you can binge many of the latest shows and catch up on your favorites, anytime you want, anywhere you are.

- There's literally nothing like this in the world.

- [Narrator] Visit gpb.org/passport to get started today.

(wind whipping) - Welcome to GPB Sports Recruiting 2021, National Signing Day edition brought to us by our friends at Farm Bureau Insurance, always the home team.

Next stops with Matt and Jon are State and Southern.

And we had a coin toss in the break, and we're going to stay here downtown and going to go to State first and catch up with Shawn Elliott.

But what you, what are your some of your takeaways from the Sun Belt today?

- Number one, Georgia State is coming off their best season in program history.

It's just their 12th year, but they had really big breakthroughs this year, seven regular season wins.

That's the most they've ever had in the regular season.

Get a chance to pick up a school record eighth win with a bowl victory on Christmas day.

They've really built a solid foundation at Georgia State, be it's interesting to see, the impact of this probably not going to be seen for a couple of years, but they're already making great inroads in building a contender for the championship.

That's the next step for them, contending for the Sun Belt championship.

You could argue they're the third best team in the conference this year.

- And they did a bit of a unique combination of ways to get their players that signed under the contracts today, under the fax machines and all the paperwork, they went the JUCO route.

Let's take a look at some of the players that Shawn Elliot gets to bring in.

The first one comes from Mississippi Delta CC and South Delta out of Anguilla, Mississippi.

- Yeah.

- Jeremiah Johnson.

- [Matt] Jeremiah Johnson.

They made a movie about him one time.

Robert Redford, no, that's something else, but yeah, you get the idea.

5' 11", 190 pound- - Saw that coming.

- [Matt] Cornerback number eight rated cornerback in the JUCO world.

And number 12 prospect out of Mississippi, he chose the Panthers over eight other offers, including teams like Akron, Central Arkansas, Eastern Michigan, Northwestern State.

Jeremiah Johnson signs with the Georgia State Panther.

- [Jon] And also, expanding their footprint, which we'll talk about with Coach Elliot in just a little bit, next stop, Ocala Vanguard for a corner.

- [Matt] Izaiah Guy, 6' 2", 180, athlete, cornerback, whichever you want to call him there.

Chose the Panthers over 11 other offers, also took an official visit right before National Signing Day to Yale.

- Oh wow.

- And they don't just let anybody to come and take official visits to Yale.

- [Jon] I didn't take an official visit to Yale.

- [Matt] No, you got to have a brain on your head.

- [Jon] Don't have one of those.

- Brain in your head.

- Nope.

- [Matt] Or whatever.

- Don't have that.

- Head on your shoulders.

- Nope.

- Also, Arkansas, Coastal Carolina, FIU in the mix.

Izaiah Guy signed today with the Georgia State Panthers.

- [Jon] Next stop, the Southern Crescent for a real talent for Jonathan Gess.

- [Matt] PJ Simmons, three star safety, 6' 2", 190 pounds, chose the Panthers out of ELCA over offers from East Carolina, who he was originally committed to before decommitting and signing with GSU.

App State was also in the mix, Arkansas State, Buffalo.

So, you're seeing the Panthers beating peer programs out of the MAC and out of the Sun Belt on these players.

And that's a great sign for that program.

- [Jon] Let's take a look at the top recruits for Georgia State.

We've talked about Johnson and Guy and Simmons.

Two other names on this list, one local, one out of Tallahassee, Godby.

- [Matt] Yeah, Michai Hill is out of Newnan, three star linebacker.

I know the Cougars did not have the season that they were hoping to have and anticipated, but this guy had a great senior year.

That's a great pickup for the Georgia State Panthers.

- [Jon] Chauncey Kamakea, the three-star interior lineman out of Tallahassee, Godby, Page two gives you one of the better names, D'icey Hopkins out of Northeast Macon.

- [Matt] Yeah.

Now, Northeast Macon was a great program this year.

We had them in our top 10 all year long.

Three-star cornerback out of that program in Middle Georgia, great pickup, and then you get two out of Columbia, South Carolina, If you know Shawn Elliott's history, of course, he was the interim coach at South Carolina after Steve Spurrier bailed on him in the middle of the year.

I always liked to say that, but he was a longtime assistant coach with the Gamecocks and he's got great ties to the State of South Carolina.

And you're always going to see, in the Georgia State roster, players out of the Palmetto State.

- Two out of Great Collegiate Academy.

And so, let's talk to the man in charge, Shawn Elliott.

Now it's time to catch up with the head coach of the GSU Panthers, Sean Elliott, as he's in Camellia Bowl preps, getting ready for his bowl game in Montgomery, but taking time to hang out with us here.

From 30,000 feet, Coach, first and foremost, congratulations.

What are some of your takeaways?

- Well, you know, first of all, what an exciting day, you know, you got bowl preparation, you got graduation, and then you have signing day.

What an amazing day it's been.

I think we've met all our needs in our recruiting effort.

We still have a few more to announce, but we're very pleased.

- How did the season that you guys had on the football field this year, record seven regular season wins, going for eight in the bowl game.

How did that help you in signing day this time around?

Or is that on down the road?

- Yeah, I think that's on down the road.

I think the body of work that we've done as coaches and players through the first four years that we've been here has really kinda set the tone for our recruiting efforts.

You know, now, we're getting just a ton of, I guess, interest in our football program.

We can go across the Southeast and you mentioned Georgia State and our football program and people recognize the name.

They recognize the Panther logo and that's making for recruiting to be a lot easier.

- And Coach, you're able to do that.

And you've been going to some programs this time around with some great pedigrees.

Eagle's Landing Christian and Valdosta come to mind, bringing in guys like PJ Simmons and Isaiah Holland.

- Yeah, you know, anytime you can get the best of the best here in the State of Georgia, you're going to have that great opportunity to build a really firm foundation here and I think, when it's all said and done, we're going to sign seven from the great State of Georgia here, that's going to really help our football too.

Those two young men right there are outstanding, coming from winning football programs.

And I think that pays huge dividends for us in the future.

They've been trained to win up under great coaching staffs there in high school and coming in with that same mindset, we can get to work and get them on the field very, very quickly.

- Nate Fuqua did a great job with your defense this year.

That was one of the big storylines as you guys went on that great successful run in the back half of the season.

What does a guy, like Isaiah Holland from Valdosta, bring to your program?

And realistically, when you bring in a guy, how quickly can they contribute?

- Well, you know, first and foremost, you have to look at the individual athletically and you know, they have to mature and they have to really grow.

If they come in physically mature, ready to play, it's going to be a great opportunity for them to step in.

And we do understand there's a lot of maturing that goes into it from a mental standpoint.

I don't make really, I don't wanna foreshadow anybody coming in and doing one thing or the other.

I just see how they progress, see how they come in with a great mentality and the physicality from a high school to a freshman.

And then I kind of make a determination.

"Hey, can they help us?

And how quickly can they help us?"

- Well, Coach, thanks for hanging out with us here on Recruiting 2021, here on early national signing day.

Big day for you there at GSU.

Good luck in the Camellia Bowl.

Thanks for hanging out.

- I really do appreciate you guys, and go Panthers.

Thank y'all very much.

- Christmas in Montgomery for Georgia State.

- They said they're going to exchange gifts or something similar to that, have a big Christmas tree there in the conference room and then go play some football.

- I might actually go see that game on Christmas because I will be in the area and it's going to be a fun one on Christmas.

- It's in the old Blue-Gray, it just replaced, - It's in the Cramton Bowl.

- Remember the old Blue-Gray game.

It was a staple on Christmas day.

You open the presents, you have dinner, then you watch the old Blue-Gray All Star game.

This just replaces it.

- And so, that is State.

Let's talk about Southern and what's going on in the Boro.

It has been a very busy couple of months.

Clay Helton now in charge.

- Yeah.

Clay's done a great job in a short amount of time.

If you looked on their 247 Sports website, you know, maybe just a week or two ago, they had like three commitments.

They finished with 20, 17 in the State of Georgia.

And he flipped in the last 24, 48 hours.

He flipped a couple of really, actually three really good players in this state that were committed out of state, Western Michigan and South Alabama, to really kind of put a finishing touch on this recruiting class.

- Let's take a look at some of the players that are going to be heading to the Boro.

First one, MVP of the weekend.

- [Matt] Yeah, Omari Arnold.

He was our offensive player in the GPB All Finals team, set a state championship record, broke Herschel's record with 320 yards rushing in the state championship game and Brooks County's victory over Irwin County.

And he scored five touchdowns in this game.

And they were big touchdowns too.

I don't know whether we're going to have the video of the one that just really turned everybody's heads.

These were the ones just straight up the middle.

And then it's like a bolt of lightning right through the hole.

- That's gone, gone.

That's not just gone.

- Absolutely.

- That's gone, gone.

- But the last one he had, I think, - This one!

- [Matt] Yeah, this is the one that everybody's still talking about.

Guys got angles on them until they didn't anymore.

- [Jon] They got angles, but they don't got the speed.

- [Matt] Everybody was freaking out about that run by OJ Arnold right there.

- [Jon] Next on the board is a quarterback that we'd seen on Football Fridays, he's out of Raider Valley.

- [Matt] Yeah, he's the highest rated prospect in the Georgia Southern signing class.

The three-star out of Walton got hurt late in the year, didn't get to finish the playoff run after getting hurt in the second round game against Archer.

But this guy is a dual threat quarterback.

And not only that, he's a great kid off the field, right around a 4.0 GPA.

Coach Daniel Brunner says, "Look, counselors in the school "and teachers in the school "that he doesn't even really know that well, "come up and tell him how great a kid this guy is."

Great leader, great addition to the Georgia Southern program.

And there's going to be quarterback competition in this class.

- [Jon] The Zak attack heading to the Boro.

Oh, you mentioned quarterback competition, I believe.

- [Matt] David Dallas and the Dallas boys, playing for their dad, and this is Josh Dallas, the wide receiver, and David Dallas is the quarterback.

- [Jon] It's a two-for-one highlight.

- [Matt] So yeah, you get two highlights in one with these guys, Josh Dallas and David Dallas.

They're almost one in the same, except they're two separate individuals and a great team pickup there for, and here's David, but the other highlights were David too.

This is the long touchdown pass to Aaron, - [Jon] The David exclusive highlight.

- [Matt] Yeah, this is the exclusive David Dallas.

That's the touchdown pass to the Florida commit, the junior Aaron Gates.

He was also named all GPB finals team.

So was David Dallas, spectacular playing for their dad at Trinity Christian.

And now, they get to go to the Boro.

They were going to Western Michigan and the whole Dallas family is extremely happy.

Instead of having to go to Kalamazoo to watch the boys play, they only have to go to Statesboro.

- [Jon] We mentioned Zak, we talked the Dallas boys, Ashton Whitner out of Greenville, South Carolina's a part of it.

Pichon Wimbley out of Newnan as well.

That is heading to the Boro.

You also mentioned guys on the back page, we talked about OJ Arnold.

Jacob Hammonds also from- - That's a nice pickup.

That's a nice pickup from the Griffin Bears.

Three-star linebacker, he's going to do a lot of damage there for the Eagles.

- So, let's hear it from the new guy in charge, Clay Helton.

(wind whipping) Now joining us from the Boro, the head coach of the Georgia Southern Eagles, Clay Helton.

Clay, it is Jon and Matt here in Atlanta for Recruiting 2021.

Congratulations on your first signing day that happened in a hurry.

- (laughs) Thank you guys.

It did happen in a hurry.

I tell ya, it's a special group and I appreciate the relationships that we've built and being able to have this special day, a group that's gonna really help us, propel us towards a championship.

- Amazing building of relationships over a very short period of time.

Although I know you have ties in the State of Georgia from your previous head coaching jobs, but 17 in-state players.

That's a phenomenal number.

Want to start with Omari OJ Arnold, had the great pleasure of calling his state championship game victory.

I know you guys were really excited to see what he did in that state championship game win for Brooks County.

- Yeah, I tell you what.

As an entire staff, we were watching that game and I felt like a sixth grader all over again I was cheering so hard.

He just had one of those special nights and that, that's who he is.

He's a difference maker.

He's a program changer, and you know, he literally put a team on his back and carried them to a championship.

And that's what you want from great players that they have their best performances when the lights are shining the brightest and really proud of him and the job that he did.

That was a special night.

It was some electric, electric runs that night.

- So let me stick in Single A and go to the private side with you, Coach.

You got some folks that are now coming that are going to create a bit of a family affair for you.

The Dallas family is going to be coming from Trinity Christian, pitch and catch combo, going to go hang out with you now in Statesboro, two talented players there as well.

- Yeah, definitely.

You know, there's an example of, and I really thought our athletic director, Jared Benko, and our president, Kyle Marrero, have given the opportunity, you know, to be here, you know, three weeks early in the last three weeks of the season and start building some relationships down the stretch, allowed us to, you know, really garner some really talented kids and, you know, David and Josh are two of those kids, another group that went on to win a state championship and really lift their team up.

So, proud to have those two boys, you know, their family is really special, so, excited for their dad.

How awesome is it to win your first - Yeah.

- Championship game and to do it with your sons?

I mean, that's a special moment for a dad.

- No doubt about it.

And just your ability to flip guys, guys that were committed to go other places, in a lot of situations, out of region, and you were able to come in and give them that in-state option with Georgia Southern, a guy like Zac Rozsman at Walton, who we had a great pleasure to watch play quarterback over the last couple of years.

- Yeah, definitely.

We believe here in competing and that's what we're always going to do until the last final second.

And there were some really great battles down the stretch.

Zak was one of them at the, and David Dallas, like I said, another one, two quarterbacks that are really going to help us in the future.

And you know, those type of, that type of attitude, that type of mentality that we're going to come in there and not take no for an answer, build relationships and compete is going to garner you some really unique talent.

And Zak's a great example of that.

There's a guy that, you know, has thrown for a lot of yards in high school, about 50 touchdowns in his high school career.

Really proud to have Zak with us.

- Well, Coach, thanks for hanging out with us here on Recruiting 2021.

Congratulations on your first Georgia Southern signing day.

We'll be keeping an eye on what's going on down there at Eagle Creek.

Thanks for hanging out.

- Thanks so much guys.

Take care, hail Southern.

- And Matt, one of the other things that I think was really important, keeping Coach Whit around.

- Yeah.

- Kevin Whitley.

- Kevin Whitley, who had been the cornerback coach and then got promoted to interim head coach is going to stay on staff.

And I think that was real important in being able to recruit this State of Georgia.

- We'll take a look at the national scope when recruiting 2021's look at national signing day continues just around the corner, brought to us by our friends at Farm Bureau Insurance, stick and stay.

We got more.

- [Narrator] Georgia's EMCs understand that how you power your day matters.

We share the power of solar and other renewables with members interested in our clean energy portfolio, working to help you power on in good conscience.

Georgia's EMCs, so much more than electricity.

(gentle music) - Regions Bank is committed to building more inclusive prosperity.

We're proud to work with Georgia Public Broadcasting to level the playing field, so more people can succeed and our communities can thrive.

- [Narrator] DBHDD's red ribbon campaign is about all Georgians standing together for substance abuse prevention, staying in the game and live drug free.

Learn more about healthy alternatives and living a drug-free lifestyle at garedribbon.org.

- GPB is free to all citizens of Georgia, across nine television stations, 18 radio stations and innovative education and digital divisions.

For over 50 years, GPB has grown with the community, highlighting the very best of Georgia, challenging, educating, documenting, rejoicing, delivering quality PBS and award-winning local productions to 98% of Georgians.

Show your support by visiting gpb.org.

- [Man] Hi, television neighbor.

I'm glad we're together again.

(wind whipping) - Welcome back to GPB Sports Recruiting 2021 brought to us by our friends at Farm Bureau Insurance, always the home team.

It's the bit of the home stretch for us.

We're going to kind of look at the national scope of things.

Still have a couple of questions, but a lot of talent from the State of Georgia going to places outside the Southeast.

- Yeah, and you know, you can look at it as Georgia's been raided or whatever, let's face it.

There's just not enough opportunities at the FBS level for some of this talent.

I mean, they can't all go to Georgia.

Can't all go to Georgia Tech, Georgia Southern, Georgia State.

- Well, they can.

They'll just be in a log jam.

- There you go.

So, there's always going to be opportunities outside of the State of Georgia for a lot of kids.

And sometimes, the only reason they're choosing out of state is because that is where the best opportunity lies.

- [Jon] First QB on the board, Sam Horn, two sports star to Columbia.

- [Matt] Man, yeah, he's great.

And you know, we saw him on Saturday night, lead Collins Hill to that first state championship.

And I think one of the things that was really important was what we saw from Sam Horn this year is Lenny Gregory said he was the X-Factor.

When Travis Hunter was hurt, everybody thought we were going to fold our tents and our season was over and Sam Horn did not let it go.

The other factor is his running ability.

He's a pro style quarterback who can pick it up and put it down.

He can beat you with his legs as well.

And he throws a main fastball.

That's why he's going to be on the baseball team with the Missouri Tigers as well.

- [Jon] If not a first round draft pick out of high school, and you can look at that way.

Now, this is what we think, but not what we know.

- [Matt] Currently committed to Texas A&M at last report, the papers weren't in yet on Dayon Bouie.

Remember he was committed to the Georgia Bulldogs this time last year.

And then things opened up after COVID, all the restrictions were eased up and kids started visiting in June.

Then he decommitted from Georgia, committed to Texas A&M, no indication to believe that he's going anywhere else.

Still committed to Texas A&M, still waiting to hear what happens with Deyon Bouie.

- [Jon] Paperwork not in yet.

Next stop is with a quarterback, a tall drink of water heading to Miami.

- [Matt] Jacurri Brown, unfortunately, they got derailed in the quarter finals by the eventual state champions, but what a career Jacurri Brown put together at Lowndes High School and Jamey DuBose coming in as his head coach the last couple of years, I think really helped him in his development as a quarterback, a guy that could do what you just saw right there, could get the ball down field with his arm.

Prior to that, I think he was seen more as an athlete playing quarterback.

I think now people look at him as an athletic quarterback.

- [Jon] Next stop, Lambert and the big 10, 12, 14.

- [Matt] Kojo Antwi, four-star signed with Ohio State.

Good for him, got an opportunity to talk to him this year and a breakthrough season for Lambert.

They had really been down, but with guys like Kojo Antwi on the roster, bringing Tommy Watson in as the head coach, good season for Lambert, they made the playoffs this year.

Glad to see that for Kojo, excited to see what he does at Ohio State.

And he made no bones about it.

And when we talked to him and said, "Why Ohio State?"

He goes, "They put wide receivers in the league."

And so that's what he's got his eyes on.

Smart kid, talented kid, going to get the ball a lot playing in Columbus.

- [Jon] And now, in a quarterback rich state like the State of Georgia, let's go to the coast and someone we saw on the weekend.

- [Matt] Holden Geriner, four star quarterback, Benedictine, - (laughs) A War Eagle, sir.

- [Matt] Man, he put together a performance in the 4A state championship victory, signed with the Auburn Tigers today.

Threw for nearly 400 yards in their victory over Carver-Columbus.

- [Jon] So let's hear from said quarterback who had a conversation with the man standing to my left.

- First of all, Holden, it's great to see you here on National Signing Day.

I see you already have your Auburn Tigers tie on, looks like you're ready for game day at Jordan-Hare Stadium already.

So, that looks wonderful.

First question always to the signees is, why the Auburn Tigers?

- I mean, Auburn just felt like, it just felt like home to me.

From the moment I stepped on campus, I really just fell in love with the coaching staff and just the atmosphere in Auburn.

I mean, going to games there is just, it's so, you know, the family atmosphere and just everything about Auburn is just home feeling.

And I mean, I really want to go in there and just make a big impact early, so.

- There's not one of the signees that we- - [Jon] With that one, - That did not have some kind of curve ball pretty late in the recruiting process.

That happened with you when Mike Bobo was let go by the Auburn staff.

And I know you were close with Coach Bobo and we've known Coach Bobo for quite some time.

How big of a problem or issue was that for you to kind of navigate through, to maintain your decision to stick with the Auburn Tigers?

- Sure, I mean, like you said, I mean Coach Bobo and I were pretty close, we talked pretty often, but I mean, I, that's why you commit to a school and not only just a coach, I mean, I'm, I like Coach Bobo and wish nothing but the best for him, but I mean, I really trust Coach Harsin and the entire coaching staff at Auburn.

And I really like Auburn as a place and as a university.

So, I'm really excited to go there, not only for football, but really as a school.

So, that's really why I stuck with them.

- So what, for what it's worth, Coach Bobo had nothing but glowing things to say about you.

I think the admiration between the two of you is mutual.

What do you see as your strengths?

We saw your strengths in the 4A state championship victory over Carver-Columbus here on GPB.

What do you consider your strengths as a quarterback entering in to your freshmen season with the Auburn tigers?

- Yes, sir, I would, I mean, I really consider myself, obviously more of a pocket passer, but I really have been, you know, doing everything I can to get my speed and agility up, which I mean, I feel like that's been shown time in and a time out just, you know, climbing up in the pocket and just, when it's man coverage and nobody's open, just taking off running.

So, that's really one of my bigger strengths nowadays.

And then just being able to fit the ball in tight windows and down the field, really, really push the ball all over the field is one of my biggest strengths.

And another one is just being a big leader, a big, strong, vocal leader is what I really take pride in as well.

- Well, we know that arm strength is not an issue.

We saw you dropping bombs out of the fog to Justin Thomas and Zaquan Bryan in your state championship victory.

How special, how gratifying was that for you guys at Benedictine to wrap up your senior season and for your senior class to win the program's third state championship?

- Yes, sir.

I mean, it's incredible.

I mean, we lost, we were so close last year, so, we just kept preaching every single day that we're going to go in there and we're going to win that thing this year.

And that's what we did.

So, to be able to do that was definitely a, definitely paid off all the hard work.

So, it was incredible just to do it with all these guys that we've been working so hard together with.

- Well, it was certainly fun to watch and to call on GPB, and Holden, we wish you nothing but continued success with the Auburn Tigers.

And thanks for being with us on national signing day.

- Yes, sir.

Thank you so much for having me.

- And I know that the boss, at least in my household is very happy about Holden Geriner signing with the Auburn Tigers.

I've got some, another couple of players that we need to mop up on before we get toward the end of the show.

What's, what else is going on?

- Marvin Jones, you remember his dad, the great pass rusher NFL player out of a Florida State.

Marvin Jones, Jr signs with the Georgia Bulldogs today, five star edge rusher out of Fort Lauderdale and American Heritage.

- Look out.

- That's a big signee for the Georgia Bulldogs.

Just another great pass rusher for the Bulldogs.

You know, they just keep loading up.

When referencing back to the Rusty Mansell conversation we had at the top of the show an hour ago, how Georgia has changed the dynamic and the recruiting process.

They get five stars on the offensive and defensive line.

And that's been the big separator during the Kirby Smart era.

And Marvin Jones is another five-star coming to the Georgia Bulldogs, not to his dad's Alma Mater.

Sorry, Jon, more bad news for Florida State there.

And Enai White, - Yeah, no surprise.

- Another guy that had been in the mix for the Georgia Bulldogs did announce just a few minutes ago and he's out of Philadelphia and he is going to sign with, and actually has signed with Texas A&M, another five-star, the number two rated edge rusher in the country.

- All right, usually at the end of Recruiting 2021, we usually get the kind of loosen the arms up a little bit, kind of get the, make sure that the throwing motion's good to go.

We get the trumpet fanfare ready.

We have one for this particular show.

We're going to go ahead and wind it up and let you know that you should (upbeat music) make that kid an offer and what I'm going to do, I'm going to take a little bit of the set here.

- Okay, yeah.

- Because it has to do with this particular school - That guy.

- And a running back and the two way star that we saw on the weekend.

This guy!

- Yeah.

We'd be remiss if we didn't wrap up our national signing day show with a make that kid an offer because this kid really does deserve to get an offer.

Big play, Fred Perry, the athlete out of Warner Robins, he was voted the most outstanding two way player on the GPB All Finals team, rushed for over 240 yards.

- And out of gas, they still made it.

- [Matt] And he was gassed because he never came off the field.

- No.

- That did not keep him from making nine tackles on defense, rush for 240 yards, also scored two touchdowns, big play, Fred Perry.

- Right said Fred, make that kid an offer, people - Yeah, and he's, and I noticed, I looked him up today, 247 sports stuck three stars on him after that performance, but he still doesn't have an offer.

So, hopefully, as you know, this is, it's not over until it's over.

- No, it's not.

- And this isn't over.

National signing day, there will be another one the first Wednesday of February.

- February 2nd.

- By the time we come back for that national signing day, hopefully, we're going to tell you where Fred Perry's going to school because he's going to get an offer.

He's going to get a bunch of offers.

- No doubt.

And he should.

And obviously, the top story of the day, the landscape is officially different when it comes to days that are identified like this national signing day.

Travis Hunter, the merriest of Flipmas holidays, to an FCS school, specifically to their coach.

- Yeah, and I think the key here is, and nothing against Jackson State.

Let me tell you, but like Rusty Mansell said, when we spoke to him, this isn't happening two years ago.

- No.

- There's two components in this story that changed the way college football recruiting could be.

Number one is Deion Sanders.

He's not going to Jackson State unless Deon Sanders is there.

- True.

- Also, the NIL deal, unless they have the NIL in place, as they have now got it in college football, probably not happening either.

It's going to be interesting to see over the next coming days and weeks when we start to find out what's involved here and exactly how it came about, - Yes.

- Because we've seen all kinds of conversation out there already about, well, you can't do the NIL deal as an inducement to sign and that's in the NCAA rules.

So, it's going to be interesting to see how that all unfolds.

But as of right now, he is committed to Jackson State, don't know yet that he's officially signed, but he did rock the world, just as Deion Sanders told Barstool yesterday, - (laughs) Yeah.

- He was going to rock the world, going to change the world, and he did.

He's really effectively changed the world of college football recruiting.

Does this have ramifications beyond Deion Sanders?

That I don't know, but Deion Sanders is making a change.

- One more look at what Jackson State could be getting in Travis Hunter.

You get someone who can play both sides of the ball.

And honestly, if Jackson State didn't have full stadia at Veterans Memorial and oh, by the way, what's the next football game for Jackson State?

- Celebration Bowl.

- Where is the Celebration Bowl?

- Right here in Atlanta.

- And where did Deion Sanders play his football, at least some of it when he was a pro?

- In here in Atlanta.

- And what did he say that he wanted to do when he got to the football field?

- Step on the football field.

- Take one step.

So, what say, he takes that one step.

What say?

That, you know, maybe takes that one step with, that Travis Hunter takes.

- With Travis Hunter right there by his side.

So, it'll be interesting to see what happens, but that is no doubt about it one of the biggest stories, I can't think of a bigger story in my lifetime of covering college football recruiting than Travis Hunter, today, committing to Jackson State, tossing aside the Georgia Bulldogs hat, tossing aside the Florida State hat and putting on the Jackson State gear.

- And we want to thank each and every one of you for hanging out with us all season long on Recruiting 2021.

Obviously, we'll be back in early February to let you know what's going on with signing day 2022.

For the best crew in the business that you do not see, but they are all behind the scenes in two separate rooms that make everything happen, I want to thank each and every one of them for doing what they do every single week, not just here at Recruiting 2021, but on Football Fridays.

And I want to thank you, partner, for having a great season.

- Love it.

- Enjoy your holidays.

We'll be back before you know it.

That's life here on GPB.

(rock music) - [Narrator] Georgia's EMCs are lighting up lives in your local community.

Our co-ops manage an expansive utility distribution network.

And since we're member owned, we work for you.

Here to serve, here to stay.

Georgia's EMCs, so much more than electricity.

(gentle music) - Regions Bank has committed to building more inclusive prosperity.

We're proud to work with Georgia Public Broadcasting to level the playing field, so more people can succeed and our communities can thrive.

(chiming music) - [Narrator] Half of the nation's opiod overdoses happen right at home because people don't understand the dangers of taking an Oxy or perc with a glass of alcohol for stress or to sleep.

Learn how to protect your family from opioid overdose at opioidresponse.info.

- [Narrator] For more than 30 years, Ken Burns has been telling America's stories.

Now, for the first time, you can stream the Ken Burns Collection with PBS Passport.

From intimate portraits of exceptional Americans to the epic sweep of a nation at war, from our pastime, to our music, our darkest hours, to our national treasures, more than two dozen films, the Ken Burns Collection.

(chiming music) - [Narrator] Stay connected to your team like never before with the GPB Sports app.

Watch featured live games, access up to the minute scores, get the latest news and so much more.

Download the free GPB Sports app from Apple and Android stores now.