Report: Bulldogs Target Says He’d Join UGA ‘Just For Free Chicken’

A prospect playing in the Under Armour All-America Game told a hilarious story about UGA recruiting spending this week. He says the Bulldogs were the top spender when it came to official visits.

Kirby Smart issues official statement on playing Georgia-Florida State Orange Bowl

In fact, he claimed Georgia gave him so many free meals that he’d jump at any opportunity to visit Athens.

“I went there sometimes just for the free chicken,” the unnamed recruit said in a story written by Grace Raynor and Manny Navarro of The Athletic.

That seems to align with the most recent college football financial report, which says UGA “reached $4.5M” on recruiting spending – one-third more than any other school.

Those expenses reportedly “cover transportation, lodging and meals for recruits and school personnel,” and the Bulldogs leading the way is nothing new.

The player, who doesn’t reveal if UGA’s spending helped secure his commitment, was one of a number of prospects from the postseason matchup that were asked the question.

Others that made the list of top recruiting spenders, at least in terms of official visits?

Penn State, Michigan, UCF, UCLA, Texas, Cincinnati, Miami, and USC.

Responses varied, though most said NIL wasn’t the top priority. Instead, they either signed with a dream school or the place that they believed could best prepare them for the next level.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t schools dropping cash at players’ feet in hopes of swaying their signing day decision.

A number of coaches blasted last-second offers from rivals, some of which worked and others that didn’t. Top overall recruit Jeremiah Smith dealt with it firsthand, saying hometown schools like Florida and Miami were “throwing all types of money” at him near the end of his recruitment.

In the end, he stuck with his pledge to Ohio State, much to the relief of head coach Ryan Day.

It’s a new age in the world of college football recruiting. If you’re not spending, you’re not trying.

Where does Georgia Football go from here?

Georgia Football and the rest of college football (outside of Michigan and Washington) are done for the season and look toward the start of spring practice for the 2024 season. It is a slog of time until the Dawgs kickoff against Clemson in Atlanta on August 31st.

Capital One Orange Bowl - Georgia v Florida State

Hopefully, I will still be writing and giving dumb takes online as I have for the 2023 season. But again, it is 7-ish months away, and many things can change. Just like college football, it is going to change as well.

We will probably (hopefully) see the CFB calendar change a bit. I don’t know if the powers that be will change the transfer portal date or signing day. Hopefully, they will change both. But we are also headed to a new age of college football. An age that is starting to reflect the NFL. Which I do not care about, but that is for another blog for another day. So, where does the Georgia program stand as of right now?

I still believe that the Dawgs are the standard in college football. Even though the Dawgs will not win a title in the 2023 season, they just won back-to-back national championships. Michigan and Washington will take a step back after this season, so it is clear who the best program in college football is.

After the semifinal games, it was apparent that Georgia was one of the four best teams in the country. The Dawgs played their worst game at the worst time. But that is how life goes; it is all about timing. Hopefully, the players on this team this season have learned not to put their fate in the CFP committee’s hands because nine times out of 10, they will make the wrong choice (Ie, putting Texas, not Georgia, in the playoff because of the win over Bama in week 2).

The Dawgs are primed to be in the 12-team playoff. If I had the money, I would put my life savings on Georgia making the playoffs next year. Next season’s version of the Dawgs will be better than this year’s team.

What Kirby Smart and the coaching staff have done with the transfer portal and the recruiting class has put the Dawgs in that position. Even though the Dawgs have a difficult schedule, they should be favored in every game they play next season.

So, to all the Georgia fans worried about the one-year title drought going to two years, have some patience. There will be seismic shifts in college football over the offseason going into the summer; do not react to them. Only think about how the changes will affect the Dawgs and how they can stay at the top.