Georgia keeps five-star OL Amarius Mims home
Alabama was his favorite school growing up. Auburn, Clemson and Florida had his attention at one time, but it came down to Georgia and Tennessee in the end, and the race was extremely tight over the last two months, but the home-state Bulldogs prevailed.
Cochran (Ga.) Bleckley County five-star offensive tackle Amarius Mims committed to the Bulldogs over the Vols
"Man, it has been crazy and back and forth for me," said Mims. "It was really tough for me, but when I sat down, really thought about it hard about two weeks ago, I knew it had to be Georgia for me.
"I went to Athens one weekend, then to Knoxville the next weekend, and I would go back and forth multiple times to make sure. I wanted to make sure I knew how I felt on each campus because it was that close.
"Location did play a role in my decision. I also just have a better relationship with the coaches at Georgia. I like the guys at Tennessee, but my connection with the Georgia has been there longer, I know them better, I trust them 100%, and I believe in them.
"The decision was hard for sure, but I know Georgia is a great school with great people and I see it is as the right place for me. I just have that different feeling about Georgia. It is home for me and I feel very comfortable there."
Mims admitted he was very close to committed to Georgia late in 2019. He has a special connection with Sam Pittman, and before he left to take over as the Arkansas head coach, he had changed Georgia's offensive line room drastically.
When Pittman left, Kirby Smart brought in Matt Luke. The former Ole Miss head coach made Bleckley County his second stop after taking the job and he made Mims feel like a priority right away.
Luke put a lot of time into getting to know Mims, and that played a role, but it was the head coach staying consistent and building on the relationship that may have been the deciding factor.
"Me and Kirby know each other well and we have talked a lot. I trust him, I believe in him and he is just a coach I listen to. We talked for about an hour last week about the specifics at offensive tackle. He was real with me about what they have, what they want, what they need and I trust what he says.
"I have gotten to know him so well. He is a great head coach with energy, but he is easy to talk to. I call him, he calls me, and I just feel comfortable with Kirby coaching me at Georgia."
The bond between Mims and Luke has grown too.
"It was very tough for coach Luke to come in behind coach Pittman for me to be honest," said Mims. "I just to go to Athens just to sit down and talk to coach Pittman. I am not sure I will have a relationship with any other coach like I do with him.
"Coach Luke is a great guy too. We have talked a lot. I like him. We have built a strong relationship. He is such an easy person to talk to, we can talk about anything and he is a coach that really cares.
"Coach Pittman and I still have that deep connection and it did hurt Georgia with me when he left, but coach Luke came in, he started getting to know and we are in a great place now. We are close to that connection that me and coach Pittman have. I know coach Luke can help me a lot."
After Pittman left for Fayetteville, Georgia was not Mims' top school. Auburn was up there high. Clemson was always a school of interest. Florida stayed in his mind too, but Alabama was the childhood favorite, and over the summer, before the Crimson Tide went on that run of offensive line commits, Nick Saban almost got that call.
"I was very close to committing to Alabama. I think it was in June, maybe early July, I thought about it hard. Then they got all those commitments from offensive linemen, and that kind of made me think more about it. I know they still wanted me, and Alabama is a great school, but I just didn't know how I would fit in there.
"I took a little more time, I took a deeper look at Alabama, and after I looked at the main options I knew I was serious about, I came to the decision it would be Georgia or Tennessee. That is when I started visiting Athens and Knoxville more because I knew Alabama was out and my decision was coming soon.
"I grew up an Alabama fan and I still like Alabama, but I feel Georgia is just the best fit for me overall."
Mims said he has visited Athens over 30 times since his recruitment started a couple of years ago. He has gotten to the know the Georgia staff, the people around the town, a lot of players and numerous recruits.
The feeling there is like no other.
"I just feel good when I am Georgia," said Mims. "It is not that I don't like being at Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn, or wherever, but Georgia is a different feel for me.
"I have always felt like a top priority when I am there. The coaches have always done a great job recruiting me. They have gotten to know me. They have made me feel comfortable.
"I feel good there as a football player and a regular person. It is just different there for me. I have been there so much, and I have seen everything, so that home feeling is big for me at Georgia."
There has been a lot of talk about Mims' connection with Brock Vandagriff, a five-star quarterback that lives just a few miles from the Georgia campus. Many times they two have hung out, they have gotten to know each other on a different level, and that connection helped Smart and his staff land this elite lineman.
"I would definitely say my bond with Brock played a role in this decision," said Mims. "I know him so well, we are close and he helped me. Brock and I would talk Georgia some, and he definitely recruited me, but we got to know each other better than that.
"We talked more about life, we got to be great friends, we would go fishing, and we just hung out as kids more than anything. Of course he would slide in there that he needed me in Athens after talking how we would be friends even if I didn't go to Georgia, but we just have a great relationship. It will be fun playing on the same team as him."
Nothing is ever final in recruiting until the papers are signed. Mims is set to graduate in December and enroll at Georgia in January. He feels strong about his decision or he would have pushed the date back.
On his 18th birthday, Mims made his commitment to Georgia public, and after the long journey through the recruiting process, he is excited about what he's accomplished.
"It is a great feeling committing to Georgia," said Mims. "I am from a Georgia Bulldog town, a lot of people will be happy for me and it is a great feeling.
"Knowing where I came from, and knowing the work I have put in to get here, this is a special feeling for me. The whole process was crazy for me, and here we are now, committing to a school like Georgia.
"I went from playing tight end and defensive end to becoming a top offensive tackle recruit and committing to Georgia over Tennessee and Alabama. It is a very exciting time for me and my family.
"I am going to enjoy it now and let it soak in, because it is a couple of months I will be at Georgia and it will be a different kind of love."