Georgia missed out on a 5-star prospect Jackson Cantwell on Tuesday when he committed to Miami.
Cantwell was a major target for Georgia, with offensive line coach Stacy Searels first offering a scholarship to Cantwell in July 2023. That was long before Cantwell came to be viewed as the No. 1 overall prospect in the class in the 247Sports Composite ranking.
“The staff made a great push, and I love spending time with them. … I had a great time with those guys and they’re great people,” Cantwell said of Georgia following his commitment to the Hurricanes. “I think Stacy Searels has been absolutely one of my favorite people throughout this recruiting process. That was kind of when my recruitment blew up is whenever the Dawgs offered me in July of 2023. And I can’t thank those guys enough for how much time they put into me”
The mammoth offensive lineman becomes the latest high-profile recruitment that Georgia seemed well positioned to win before coming up short.
Last cycle it was Justus Terry. Georgia seemed like the front-runner for the 5-star defensive lineman before Texas made him an offer he could not refuse.
In 2024, Georgia had Dylan Raiola flip just before signing day and lost Sammy Brown to Clemson. In 2023, Georgia focused on Caleb Downs and Justice Haynes as top targets. Both ended up at Alabama.
Many remember those recruiting losses, and the battle for Cantwell will linger long for many.
But over that same span, Georgia has landed multiple 5-stars as well.
In fact, Georgia has landed at least three 5-star recruits in every cycle dating to 2018. When it comes to landing the best prospects in the country, no active coach has been as good as Kirby Smart when it comes to identifying and landing elite prospects.
Following the Cantwell commitment to Miami, Georgia has work to do if it is to land three 5-star prospects in a recruiting class once again.
The Bulldogs already have one in quarterback Jared Curtis. He joined the class last week, picking Georgia over Oregon.
While plenty are getting their jokes off at Georgia’s expense following Cantwell’s Miami commitment, the addition of Curtis serves as a reminder of what Smart and his staff are capable of.
As of Wednesday morning, 17 of the 247Sports Composite’s 32 5-star prospects for the 2026 recruiting cycle are committed to schools. Not all of those committed prospects will remain with their currently committed schools, but most likely will. Cantwell made it pretty clear when pressed Tuesday that barring a coaching change he’ll be at Miami in January.
Of those uncommitted prospects, Georgia has invested considerable time and effort in several. The Bulldogs, as they were with Cantwell, will be in a position to potentially win those recruiting battles.
The biggest fish out there for Georgia at the moment is linebacker Tyler Atkinson. He is the No. 1 prospect in the state of Georgia and the No. 9 overall prospect nationally in the 247Sports Composite.
He also plays linebacker and is being recruited by UGA inside linebackers coach Glenn Schumann. That usually has been a recipe for success in the past. Zayden Walker, Chris Cole, Justin Williams, Raylen Wilson and Nakobe Dean all are examples of 5-star recruiting wins for Smart and Schumann.
Landing Atkinson, though, will be no easy feat.
Even with Jalon Walker helping out with a pitch, Ohio State, Auburn and Oregon loom large in this recruitment. While Georgia has the best track record in terms of development at linebacker, you could make the case it had the offensive lineman track record for Cantwell as well.
The Bulldogs have had multiple offensive linemen taken in the past six NFL drafts. Mario Cristobal has had two O-linemen drafted in total in his time at Miami.
Atkinson hasn’t put a timeline on his recruitment. Neither have 5-star tight end prospects Mark Bowman and Kaiden Prothro. Georgia is well positioned for both players.
With Bowman, Georgia looks to be battling Texas and USC for the California tight end prospect. Bowman is the No. 1-ranked tight end in the 247Sports Composite and has drawn comparisons with Brock Bowers.
Prothro, who is from Bowdon, is much closer to home. But Georgia is having to battle SEC foes Alabama, Florida, Auburn and Texas to land the No. 4 player in the state and the No. 27 player overall in the country in the 247Sports Composite.
Like Schumann, UGA tight ends coach Todd Hartley has proved capable of winning big-time commitments. He signed the No. 1 tight end in the country in Elyiss Williams a season ago and can count Bowers and Darnell Washington as recruiting wins.
Atkinson, Bowman and Prothro are only three of the players that Georgia is recruiting who rank as 5-star prospects right now. The rankings are going to change throughout the cycle, and Georgia could very well see someone who isn’t currently a 5-star rise up throughout the process.
Consider that this time a season ago Talyn Taylor was not a 5-star prospect. He committed to Georgia in June and ended the cycle as Georgia’s first 5-star wide receiver since George Pickens.
For all the worrying about NIL flattening Georgia’s chances at elite prospects, Smart has proved capable of navigating that space.
NIL first became a factor with the 2022 recruiting class. In that time, Georgia has signed the Nos. 3, 2, 1 and 2 recruiting classes. Smart and his assistants have signed 17 5-star prospects over those four classes. Only Alabama has signed more in that span, with 18.
Georgia won’t win every 5-star recruiting battle, especially in a day and age in which a team can make a lucrative offer to a recruit at the 11th hour.
No active coach in the country though has been able to win as consistently as Smart has for top recruits. Even if he can’t win all of them, as is the case with Cantwell, the numbers still paint Georgia in a favorable light.
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