Kirby Smart is going to need a bigger West End Zone for Auburn. Not a bigger boat.
The list of big names calls for a tweak of that iconic line from the movie “Jaws” today.
The neat and tidy way to frame it all up here would be this: DawgNation’s live weekly recruiting show known as “Before the Hedges” always gives a real-time snapshot of the biggest recruiting targets in the 2023 class.
That’s a measure of the elite prospects where there is mutual interest between the prospect and the school and where there is a need to add another talented player at that position.
We expect to see the top five names in town for Auburn. We cannot recall the last time that has ever happened on any given game weekend.
That’s on a list that now only stretches to seven names given that the ‘Dawgs already have 20 commitments for this cycle.
Georgia football: Top 5 targets are in town for Auburn 5. 4-star CB Chris Peal/Providence Day/Charlotte, NC (Unofficial visit) 4. 4-star RB Roderick Robinson/Lincoln/San Diego, Calif. (Official visit) 3. 5-star EDGE Damon Wilson/Venice/Venice, Fla.(Official visit)
Georgia football: Top 5 targets are in town for Auburn 2. 4-star DT Jordan “Big Baby” Hall/Westside/Jacksonville, Fla. (Unofficial visit) 1. 5-star EDGE Sam M’Pemba/IMG Academy/Bradenton, Fla. (Unofficial visit)
That’s pretty special. Especially given the fact that a lot of top talent has also been drawn to Tuscaloosa for the Alabama-Texas A&M game this weekend.
That’s why there might not be as deep of a list of 2024 targets in town.
The game this week, along with Tennessee in November, has been circled and prioritized by recruits.
They can take a look and the schedule and see that this will be one of the best weekends to catch the ‘Dawgs in Athens on a gameday inside Sanford Stadium.
It is going to be hard for the ‘Dawgs to fill out the proper sections of the West End Zone with reserved seating for the priority recruiting targets and their families.
Those Sanford Stadium rows only go eight seats wide in those seats reserved for recruits.
It goes without saying that perhaps the hardest job on Saturday might be the recruiting staffers at UGA that figure out where all those talented players need to sit so they know how important they are to the future of the Georgia football program.
Give Smart time. He’ll probably find a way to get a bigger West End Zone soon.
We have two more objectives across this post this morning.
The first is to share this week’s “Before the Hedges” which outlines the big moving parts of the visitor’s list this weekend.