Georgia signed 20 student-athletes on Wednesday to join early enrollee Jacob Park in the incoming 2014 class. The group was rated #7 nationally by Rivals.com, #12 by Scout, #9 by ESPN, and #8 by 24-7. As usual, a Top 10 class in the SEC means that you’re only keeping up – ESPN had 7 SEC schools among its national Top 10.

The class met some important needs – the tailback depth looks fantastic, the QB pipeline is replenished, the tight end position got some needed attention, there’s another outstanding pass rusher, and there is a much-needed injection of talent at cornerback. Georgia even took the interesting opportunity to sign a player specifically targeted as a return specialist.

It was a relatively small class (no SEC school signed fewer), but we expected that given a light graduating senior class. In fact, Georgia oversigned slightly and will have to have some attrition to meet the NCAA limit of 85 scholarship players. Mark Richt wasn’t concerned about that problem, and the numbers always work themselves out. 21

There wasn’t much drama on Signing Day – at least as far as the big announcements went. Georgia got their most important Signing Day target, defensive end Lorenzo Carter, and they missed out on another uncommitted prospect with whom they became involved with late.

While Signing Day itself was fairly calm, Georgia had a flurry of activity in the 10 days leading up to the big day. Georgia added nearly a quarter of its class during this late push.

• On January 27th, Tucker defensive back Dominick Sanders committed.
• On February 3rd, Shaquille Jones announced his flip from Louisville to Georgia.
• Georgia added three more to the class on Signing Day.
  • We had heard about return specialist Isaiah “The Human Joystick” McKenzie earlier in the week, and he put speculation to rest early on Wednesday.
  • If there was one big Signing Day Surprise, it was the unexpected flip of in-state tight end Hunter Atkinson from Cincinnati. Atkinson is a big, physical tight end who has the frame to develop into an offensive lineman (Adam Meadows for those old enough to remember), but Atkinson has the receiving skills to be an imposing tight end at his current size.
  • The announcement of Lorenzo Carter was the most anticipated of the day, but most pundits felt confident in Georgia’s chances. The uncertainty about Georgia’s defensive staff gave Carter a reason to seriously consider LSU, but the hirings of Jeremy Pruitt and Tracy Rocker were enough to keep Carter in-state.

Those hirings helped to smooth over what could have been a very rough time for the staff. Despite turnover of the entire defensive staff, it didn’t cost Georgia a single commitment. Not only that, the newcomers to the staff solidified Carter’s preference and helped to sway Jones and Sanders at the 11th hour. Some additional effort didn’t bear fruit, but it shouldn’t go unrecognized that the new staff made up tremendous ground with a handful of additional defensive prospects.

When you have a small class, there will necessarily be areas that come up short. That’s most evident up the middle of the defense. Georgia signed one defensive tackle, one interior linebacker, and its only safety commitment signed with Marshall. That would be a concern if those positions needed immediate help in 2014, but they don’t. It does make those positions a little more important for the 2015 class, and top defensive prospects like DT Trent Thompson become high priorities.