It was a star-studded recruiting weekend at Georgia for the Kirby Smart Scavenger Hunt as the Bulldogs hosted top targets in several different position rooms.
The first to decipher the clues and find Smart was a group that included 2026 quarterback commit Jared Curtis and his family. With that, it was a merrymaking weekend in Athens and the Bulldogs will certainly land a lot of these prospects when it’s all said and done.
Georgia’s push for CJ Wiley
“I had fun with the coaches and recruits,” Alpharetta (Ga.) Milton On300 receiver CJ Wiley said. The state champion in the Peach State’s largest class is one of the Bulldogs most coveted players on the board regardless of position.
“What excites me about the opportunity with UGA is that I am a priority and that they want me to be a part of their football program.”
Wiley pointed to the “good coaches and program” when asked what makes Georgia a good fit.
The On3 Industry tabs Wiley as the nation’s No. 16 receiver and No. 153 prospect overall while On3 is much higher, slotting him at No. 6 and No. 43 respectively.
The 6-foot-4, 196-pound Wiley will be back for his official visit the weekend of June 14. LSU may be the Bulldogs biggest challenger but Alabama, Florida State and Auburn are a few others in contention.
Wiley had a terrific junior season, turning 68 receptions into 1,468 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Wiley was one of several elite players that enjoyed it.
The skinny on several more 2025s
The On3 Industry’s No. 1 offensive tackle and No. 2 prospect overall in five-star plus David Sanders Jr. has been checking out his finalists late in the spring ahead of summer officials and made it back to Georgia for this. Ohio State and Tennessee are programs that have had a lot of recent momentum but the Bulldogs have also looked like the front-runner at times in the Sanders sweepstakes. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Sanders back at Tennessee for a third time this calendar year ahead of these June officials that will see him hit Clemson (May 31), Georgia (June 7), Tennessee (June 14), Alabama (June 18) and Ohio State (June 21).
Cleveland (Ohio) Villa-Angela-St. Joseph High On300 running back Bo Jackson was one of four official visitors on campus alongside California receivers Phillip Bell III and Marcus Harris along with Sunshine State offensive lineman Ziyare Addison. As Georgia works to finish with the No. 1 class in the country for a second-straight cycle, Jackson is one they’d like to add to the backfield. One source thought the Bulldogs “moved a ton” with Jackson who said it was “amazing” on social media, and coming into the trip they were already at or near the top of the list. Alabama and Ohio State are the other two front runners.
Georgia still looks like the one to beat for five-star linebacker Zayden Walker, On300 receiver Travis Smith Jr. and On300 defensive lineman Christian Garrett.
“A lot of excitement and energy around there,” Smith said of Athens. “So the culture continues to impress me as they expect nothing but success on and off the field.”
The 6-foot-3, 1/2, 200-pound Smith believes he would be real successful at Georgia. He has a commitment date set for July 13.
“Numbers don’t lie,” he stated. “So statistically we had a chance to see why they win and make it to the next level at a high rate.”
The 6-foot-3, 261-pound Garrett highlighted his time defensive line coach Tray Scott, assistant defensive line coach Dayton Leblanc and Smart.
“What continues to excite me is how they tell me all the time the plan they have for me and that they don’t take me for granted just because I’m close,” Garrett said. “Which they aren’t because they recruit me really hard.
“I’ll also be back for my OV in a couple weeks.”
Georgia is working to hold off South Carolina, Miami and Penn State for Walker.
UGA has the spatula in hand
Georgia remains the favorite to flip Warner Robins (Ga.) On300 edge Isaiah Gibson from USC. I’d be surprised if he signed with the Trojans. Other contenders include Auburn, Florida, Oklahoma and South Carolina.
The Bulldogs had a couple top safeties on campus in Shaker Heights (Ohio) High Trey McNutt and Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson’s Anquon Fegans.
“I had a great time at UGA this weekend,” McNutt said. “The environment showed why they are a winning program and the standard that they hold.
McNutt says he’ll be back on campus after spending a lot time with Smart along with defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson and defensive backs coach Donte Williams.
“I had a great time with Coach T-Rob and Coach Donte Williams and Coach Smart,” McNutt said. “They all let me know that I’m important and what I can do in the program. I know that the Bulldogs are a strong program and you are only surrounded by elite players so being able to have an opportunity to be a part of that is exciting.”
Georgia is looking to make a move on Oregon, Ohio State, Texas A&M and USC for McNutt.
Fegans has always had the Bulldogs on his shortlist.
“The environment was great just for a scavenger hunt!” Fegans said. “What excites me about it is every time I come back it’s starting to feel like home.
Auburn, LSU, Clemson and Ole Miss are some of the other ones in it for Fegans who likes the culture at UGA.
“The way that they compete and do things,” Fegans said. “The feeling around the whole campus.”
Elite 2026 tight end Brock Harris gives the trip high marks
Every cycle Georgia is in on the top player at the tight end position and in the rising junior class Smart, position coach Todd Hartley and the staff have their sights on Saint George (Utah) Pine View’s Brock Harris.
“The environment was great, the staff made it a real fun and enjoyable time,” Harris said. “It excites me to be recruited by one of the top programs in the country and by Coach Hartley.
“I got to have a long meeting with Coach Smart. He’s very upfront and I really like him.”
Georgia has a lot going in the recruitment of Harris who took recent visits to USC, UCLA and Oregon.
“The tradition of winning and putting tight ends into the league,” Harris said. “The amount of usage the tight ends get in the offense is amazing. It’s hard not seeing myself in their system and being successful.”
Five-star WR Dakorien Moore decommits
While the Duncanville (Texas) High five-star Dakorien Moore has been entertaining other opportunities from Ohio State, Oregon and Texas for quite sometime, I think it was still a little surprising to folks in Baton Rouge that Moore decommitted from LSU last week.
And as of right now it look like the Tigers stand at No. 4 in this recruitment and will push for an in-season official visit because the summer trips are locked into Ohio State on May 31, Texas on June 14 and Oregon on June 21. Moore is also expected to commit again prior to his senior season.
The Longhorns seem to be the one many believe have the best chance to land Moore but folks around Columbus and Eugene have always felt they can land the elite pass catcher as well. This will be his third trip of the year to Ohio State for Moore with the last visit being a weekend trip where he and his mother were the only family on campus. Moore has been to Oregon several times and receiver coach Junior Adams has known him since he was in middle school.
Moore has slowed down his communication with college coaches this month to focus on himself and what’s important to him. Things will ramp back up June.
LSU could still sign a terrific receiver class
Even without Moore the Tigers could pull in a potent group.
LSU is in good position for legacy CJ Wiley. They’ll get him back for an official visit the weekend of June 7.
LSU has definitely been rising with Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin receiver Jaime Ffrench. While the On3 RPM favors Ohio State, and while there has been a lot of recent Texas buzz, the Tigers in the end could be the program that pulls this out.
Sachse (Texas) On3 Industry five-star Kaliq Lockett will be on campus the same weekend as Ffrench. Texas A&M, Florida State and Texas are the other three Lockett is high on. He recently added the Aggies to his schedule and has been in College Station more than any other place this year.
Circling back to Moore, programs will continue to recruit him all the way till the ink dries.
The latest on five-star OT Andrew Babalola
Auburn had Overland Park (Mo.) Valley Northwest five-star offensive tackle Andrew Babalola back on The Plains this past weekend for his official visit. A couple sources are starting to believe the Tigers are in the top two alongside Stanford.
Babalola certainly had a great experience.
“My big takeaways were the cohesion of the program and how smooth everything operates,” Babalola said. “It was a great time with the players and coaches. Just spent a lot of time with the players and coaches, learn more about the program and school, get things covered I didn’t get from the last visit.
Babalola has as much upside as any offensive lineman in the class and sees the Tigers program and offensive line coach Jake Thornton as one that can maximize his potential.
“The staff’s plan about how they’re going to develop me over the course of my career,” he said when asked what he likes about Hugh Freeze’s program. “The biggest things for me are relationships and development, and that’s something Auburn showed all weekend. Getting to spend time with the guys was great.”
Upcoming officials for Babalola include Missouri the weekend of May 31, Stanford the weekend of June 7, Michigan the weekend of June 14 and Oklahoma the weekend of June 21.
Auburn hosted a few other key targets
In the end I think it’s going to be hard to hang on to Elba (Ala.) High On300 running back Alvin Henderson who made it to The Plains. Auburn continues to show him he can be very productive in Hugh Freeze’s offense, and those were questions he had earlier in the spring. I like the Tigers in the end.
Also hearing it went well with Leesburg (Ga.) Lee County On300 running back Ousmane Kromah. I’ve been liking the way it’s trending for Georgia, but a couple recent visits to Auburn have been big and depending on what happens with UGA running back recruiting this could really open up for the Tigers.
SMU nets four weekend commits and looking for more
Rhett Lashlee and his staff hosted over 20 official visitors for The Pony Express recruiting weekend and scored four more commitments including DeSoto (Texas) High safety Sael Reyes, McKinney (Texas) High cornerback Zadian Gentry, Corona (Calif.) Centennial offensive lineman Drew Hill and Richland (Texas) North Richland HIlls receiver Xavier Johnson.
The fresh ACC program is up to No. 22 in the On300 recruiting rankings.
Reyes and Gentry will help with a secondary that will need to reload and then offensively after this season they’ll need to rebuild the front and the wide receiver room so Hill and Johnson were big pickups as well.
SMU remains one of the favorites for North Richland Hills (Texas) Richland On300 running back Michael Turner.
“It was cool,” Turner said of the experience, adding “the coaches and the relationships make the Mustangs a good fit.”
SMU is setting the tone in the recruitment of Cibolo (Texas) Steele On300 receiver Jalen Cooper as they battle Oklahoma State among others. I’m going to fire in an On3 RPM in favor of the Mustangs for the four-star.
I put in an On3 RPM over the weekend for SMU to ultimately land Houston (Texas) Cy Falls linebacker Kaleb Burns.
Terrell (Texas) High pass rusher Keiundre Johnson has been on campus several times and SMU is at the top or near the top there as they battle Texas A&M among others.
Seems like SMU is well positioned for Houston (Texas) Heights offensive lineman Devinn Farris. Folks that spent time with him during the weekend felt great about that recruitment.
The headliner on campus this weekend was Mesquite (Texas) Horn On300 offensive tackle Lamont Rogers. All the heavyweights are in on that one, but for SMU it was good for them to get his mother on campus and there was communication about potentially staying close to home on the next level. This recruitment will go the distance but SMU has a seat at the table.
Hearing Frisco (Texas) Lone Star On3 Industry four-star receiver Bryson Jones and Fullerton (Calif.) Troy On300 tight end Vander Ploog had great visits as well.
News and Notes
One source told On3 on Monday morning that Purdue is in it way more than people think for Elkhart (Ind.) High’s On300 defensive lineman Mariyon Dye. The Boilers get the first official visit the weekend of May 31 and they’ll work to keep the state’s No. 1 prospect home as they battle Georgia, Ohio State, Florida State and Tennessee.
Indianapolis (Ind.) Ben Davis On300 cornerback Mark Zackery IV is set to announce his college commitment on Saturday afternoon at 2pm. It can be viewed on the On3 YouTube Channel. Notre Dame is trending over his other finalists in Cincinnati, Florida and Michigan.
The post Wiltfong Whiparound: Georgia’s Scavenger Hunt, LSU WR recruiting, Auburn impressing key prospects, SMU’s Pony Express appeared first on On3.