Georgia looking to add a few more elite targets to No. 1 recruiting class

Georgia‘s dominance on the recruiting trail in the 2024 cycle continued on Monday night, as the Bulldogs beat out Oregon for Five-Star Plus+ linebacker and national top-10 football prospect Justin Williams.

Kirby Smart and Co. were behind the Ducks for most of the spring heading into Williams’ unofficial visit to Athens in May, but after that, the momentum turned in UGA’s favor. And his official visit last month all but sealed the deal on the Bulldogs landing the country’s top linebacker for the third time in six years.

Williams is Georgia’s fourth five-star commitment this cycle and their second Five-Star Plus+ pledge, signifying a five-star rating by all four major recruiting services. The Bulldogs have also built a comfortable lead over Ohio State for the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class, but a couple of their biggest fish are still out there as we head toward the end of July.

With a few commitment decisions upcoming, Georgia has a chance to build an even bigger lead and potentially push for the No. 1 recruiting class ever by the time December comes around. On3 Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons helps us break down where things stand with three major UGA targets.

On3 5-star RB Nathaniel Frazier

School: Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei
On3 Industry Ranking: No. 42 (#15 in the On300)

Expert’s Take: “One guy to watch one that could commit in the coming weeks but no set date is Nathaniel Frazier. Similar to Justin Williams, it’s Georgia against Oregon there. Texas A&M and Alabama are other schools in the mix, but Oregon again is the main competitor. After his unofficial back in June, Georgia again has some momentum there, and he’s looking to take an official visit there in the fall. A commitment could come at any time, but I think he’d like to get things over with before his senior season starts.”

Five-Star Plus+ safety KJ Bolden

School: Buford (Ga.)
On3 Industry Ranking: No. 8

Expert’s Take: “KJ Bolden has his commitment date set for August 5 and will announce live on On3’s YouTube channel. Georgia has been believed to be the team to beat from the beginning, but Ohio State has a connection there with the family. They’re very much involved, and he goes to Auburn later this week.

… Florida State was his dream school growing up, and you can’t ever rule a team like that out. They’ve had more buzz around them in the past few weeks, as has Alabama, but Georgia still has at least a good shot at this point of landing. What Georgia is doing on the field speaks for itself, it is close to home, and Fran Brown, Will Muschamp, Kirby Smart, and numerous staffers are involved in this recruitment. This really could go a few different ways, but Georgia is deep in this.”

Five-Star Plus+ DL Williams Nwaneri

School: Lee’s Summit (Mo.) North
On3 Industry Ranking: No. 3

Expert’s Take: “The On3 Industry Ranking’s No. 3 player, Williams Nwaneri, doesn’t have a date set and confirmed to me he isn’t announcing August 1. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see this end soon after. Georgia is the team that has kind of come out of this summer as the team to beat. Going into the official visits in June, it looked like a Tennessee-Oklahoma battle. But the Vols have faded. And now it’s really looking like a three-team race between Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma.

… His connection with Chidera Uzo-Diribe at Georgia and their background and their shared heritage really played a big role in that connection in Georgia, kind of making a move there. Missouri is much more of a factor than a lot of people are giving them credit for, though. And he has probably the best connection with the coaching staff at Oklahoma of any place. This is another one where it really could go a number of different ways still.”