Georgia obliterated everyone else in the 2018 team rankings with eight five-star signees as the Bulldogs ran away with the crown and cobbled together one of the best recruiting classes in Rivals history.
That one was easy.
Kirby Smart and his squad came back in the 2019 class and won the team recruiting title again by edging out Alabama by only 26 total points, the slimmest margin between the top-two teams in the team recruiting rankings in company history dating back to 2002.
Winning that one was not so easy.
And so we’re now to the 2020 class, where Georgia currently finds itself in third place in the team recruiting rankings behind Clemson and Alabama. But the Bulldogs are definitely in striking distance at another team recruiting title as just a few pieces need to fall in place.
MORE ASK FARRELL: Which Rivals100 prospects are undervalued?
If five-star running back Zachary Evans rejoins Georgia’s class that could be a monumental piece to propel Georgia back to the top of the team rankings. There is no telling what Evans will do as he’s had one of the zaniest recruitments in history, but the Bulldogs are not giving up as Ole Miss, Tennessee and others stay in the mix.
There are some other targets - possibly some committed elsewhere and others who are not - that could help the Bulldogs back to No. 1 as well.
It’s going to be challenging though. First, keeping five-star offensive tackle Broderick Jones in the class and away from Auburn, Arkansas and Illinois will be the top priority. Teams are also trying to flip four-star offensive lineman Sedrick Van Pran.
Then there is the case of four-star defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson, who could be leaning toward Alabama and that would further solidify the Crimson Tide toward the top of the rankings.
Even with only a few top prospects remaining unsigned, there are still some significant moving pieces to consider when it comes to which team will be crowned the team recruiting champion in the coming days.
FARRELL'S TAKE
We ask Rivals National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell if he believes Georgia will end up winning its third-straight team recruiting title or if Clemson or Alabama could hold off the Bulldogs?
"It all comes down to Zachary Evans, Broderick Jones and whether Georgia has any surprises in place. The Bulldogs are close enough where landing Evans has a chance to put them over the top if Clemson and Alabama don’t do anything crazy, but my gut tells me that this will come down to a surprise by one of those three programs.
"Everything has to go right for the Bulldogs to jump up to No. 1 and right now I’m torn. I’ve bet against them before and that was a mistake, at least under Smart. So, yes, I’ll say Georgia will push to No. 1 because Smart seems to find a way."
