Five-star Tyre West is a Bulldog: "Georgia is the perfect match"
He always spoke high on Auburn. The five-star raved about Oregon and wore Ducks gloves a year ago when playing as a sophomore. Florida had his attention too. As did schools like Alabama, Florida State, LSU and Tennessee, but the Tifton (Ga.) Tift County star has felt something in Athens.
Tyre West has committed to Georgia.
"I just feel at home at Georgia," said West. "I felt that right away, and over time, it just felt stronger and stronger. I started visiting Georgia my freshman year, I was back a few weeks ago, and I feel like I am truly at home there.
"I have visited over 10 times and the people around Georgia is the difference. They make it easy for me. They make me feel at home."
Defensive line coach Tray Scott was the lead recruiter and he made a big impact.
"Me and coach Scott just click. We talk, we relate, and it is like he has been through the same things I am going through. He just makes me feel like we have a real connection. We have gotten to know other as people, not just a coach and a recruit. We talk more like family now. I know he can help me get better as a player, but he can help me as a person too."
Head coach Kirby Smart played a role in Georgia landing the 6-foot-4, 270 pound junior. West sees Smart as more than a coach.
"Coach Smart is just different," said West. "He is like a father-figure to me. He is always going to make sure I am straight, that I am doing the right things, and that I am being the best I can be. He knows when to be full of energy, he knows when to be laid back, and he just knows how to be chill all the time.
"I think coach Smart is a great coach and I know he and coach Scott will take care of me at Georgia. It is going to be fun."
The decision was just revealed, but it has been made for some time. West has known he wanted to stay home and play between the hedges since last year.
"I would say I have known for probably a year or so that I wanted to go to Georgia. The more I got to know them, the more I could tell the Georgia coaches are real. That means a lot to me. During my 10th grade year, I really started talking to coach Scott and coach Smart a lot more, and that is when I started feeling it for Georgia.
"They had been recruiting me before, but we just started talking more and getting more comfortable. The whole staff started recruiting me, I started to get to know them, and it took off from there. They constantly check on me, they care about me and Georgia is the perfect match for me."
West is an elite talent. He is a five-star. He is an All-American. He has offers from the who's who in college football. This was not always there though. It took a lot to get to this point, and that makes this commitment mean that much more.
"Committing to Georgia means a lot to me," said West. "I never knew I would be in this spot. It really kind of happened fast, but it took a lot to make it here. I kept working, I started believing I could do it, and this is like a dream come true for me."