Take Two: Is 5-star Kendall Milton a heavy Georgia lean?
Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling an issue in the college football landscape. Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com national recruiting director Mike Farrell and an expert from the Rivals.com network of team sites or a regional analyst.
MORE: SEC 2020 breakdown
THE STORYLINE
Going into his visits for the final four schools involved, the rumor was that Georgia had a steady lead for five-star running back Kendall Milton.
After seeing Georgia, LSU, Alabama and Ohio State, the Clovis (Calif.) Buchanan standout has set a commitment date of July 29.
Milton’s last visit was to Alabama and things went really well there. The Crimson Tide have done a tremendous job recruiting and developing running backs and Milton has definitely taken notice.
LSU has been a long-time contender in Milton’s recruitment and the idea of being the next Leonard Fournette or Derrius Guice - his size matches theirs - could be intriguing.
Ohio State is also still seriously involved and Milton had a good trip to Columbus as well, but it seems like the Buckeyes would be a stretch at this point especially since they’re so focused on landing elite four-star Bijan Robinson.
That leaves Georgia. The Bulldogs have tremendous running back tradition, they’ve produced big-time players at his position and there are a load of them in the NFL.
After all his visits, does Georgia still hold a significant edge for Milton’s commitment later this month?
FIRST TAKE: Jake Reuse, UGASports.com
“Absolutely, Georgia looks best. Georgia has been in the driver’s seat for a while. The big concern was how the Alabama visit would go, but after that, we didn’t hear anything that would make us want to step back from our prediction that he would end up at Georgia. We were at The Opening and he seemed to be hanging out with those guys and got a chance to work with Georgia quarterback commit Carson Beck. Everything is really moving in Georgia’s direction and I’d be surprised to see him anywhere else.
“It would be huge for them because they only took one back in the last class and they want two in this class. To kick it off with a guy like that would be massive. He also brings something into Georgia’s running back room that they don’t necessarily have with his combination of size and speed. He’s a guy who could be a difference-maker for them early in his career.”
TAKE TWO: Mike Farrell, Rivals.com
“I would think the running back tradition at Georgia and the way they are recruiting that position is going to attract kids from all over the country. He seems to feel very comfortable with the staff and liked his visits, so Georgia is going to get another five-star running back.
“It would be their first West Coast one. It just shows if you produce running backs and they go to the NFL and have success like Nick Chubb, Sony Michel and Todd Gurley, you’re going to be able to get them from anywhere.”