Since the end of the Georgia Tech game the coaches have had one primary objective: the Dream Team. The rumblings about the Dream Team started back last summer as the coaches picked up one commitment after another and garnered interest from the most talented players in the state. Then the season started and the Dawgs went four months without picking up a commitment. A slew of early games made it tough to have visitors all season. A terrible season didn’t make things any easier.
The misery of the 2010 season finally came to an end. There was nothing that could be done to fix it. There was little that could be done to guarantee success in the future. Except recruit.
Contrary to what some fans think, even a top 5 class won’t change the program in a day or a year. But recruiting is the lifeblood of a program and though it may change things slowly it will change them.
In early January the commitment drought finally came to an end. After being stood up by Xavier Dickson and Quan Bray the Dawgs finally got a pledge from a relatively unknown receiver out of Albany, Sanford Seay. Then they started rolling in. Damien Swann was the first big name in months. Then Ramik Wilson committed unexpectedly. This last week things really started to pick up. Another unexpected recruit, Cootie Wilson, Isaiah Crowell’s best friend, committed just days after getting an offer. Valdosta teammates Jay Rome and Malcolm Mitchell were the most recent pledges last Thursday.
National Signing Day is now ten days away and the biggest fish are still left to fry. The in-state players everyone has wanted from the beginning are still uncommitted plus a few more. The Dream Team idea is still alive and well. In the next two weeks we’ll know whether it’s a reality.
Here are the few names to know in the next two weeks if you haven’t been keeping up all along:
First and foremost, Isaiah Crowell. He’s the standout RB from Columbus who has offers from everyone but is supposedly down the Dawgs and Bama. He’s waiting until Feb. 3rd to make his pledge. It doesn’t take a genius to watch our ground game and figure out why he would be a great addition. He’s just the type of player the Dawgs can’t let leave the state.
Just a hair behind him in importance is Ray Drew, another five-star in-state kid who could rush the passer very well in Grantham’s defense. Drew has made almost no effort to narrow his list and seems to enjoy toying around with fans more than any recruit in recent memory. He’ll be announcing Friday.
The player the Dawgs might need most is a JUCO nose tackle by the name of John Jenkins. At 6’4″ and 340 pounds he could take up a lot of space on the defensive line. Everyone hopes he could be our Mt. Cody or Nick Fairley. There is ceratinly no guarantee he’ll be that good, but he’s more likely to be a dominant nose tackle than anyone on the roster now.
The last one is Kent Turene, a current USC commit who visited Athens last weekend and could very well make a switch soon. He’s not an impact player on the level of the previous three, but would just go to show the momentum the coaching staff has picked up if we can land him.
There are a few others that could end up Dawgs as well, but there is a lot to look forward to in the next 10 days. The future could look much brighter than it seemed December 31st in Memphis. Or we could lose them last minute and the heat could turn right back up.
Only time, ten days, will tell.
My prediction (with absolutely no insider info): the Dream Team lives. I think we land Crowell and Drew. I’m slightly less confident in Jenkins. Even less so in Turene. But I really do think this staff has been zeroed in on recruiting, has the mojo and will finish the drill.
