Twist ending
WR George Pickens stuns in flip from Auburn to Georgia
The Georgia Bulldogs wound up snagging two topfive national receivers for their 2019 signing class after all.
George Pickens, a fivestar recruit who had been committed to Auburn since July 2017, pulled a national signing day stunner Wednesday, when he flipped and signed with Georgia. The 6-foot-4, 190-pounder from Hoover, Alabama, is rated by 247Sports.com as the nation’s No. 4 receiver and the No. 24 overall prospect.
Pickens visited Tennessee last weekend and stopped by Auburn on the way home, which added to the shock value of him selecting the Bulldogs.
“They have everything I’ve always wanted,” Pickens told reporters after his announcement ceremony at Hoover High School, near Birmingham. “They’ve got a family feel and a chance at a championship. I just thought it was the right fit for me.”
The Bulldogs also received a signature from three-star tight end Brett Seither, a 6-5, 228-pounder from Clearwater, Florida. Georgia lost two tight ends last month who had eligibility remaining, with Isaac Nauta declaring for the NFL draft and Luke Ford entering the NCAA transfer portal before heading to Illinois.
Seither had 42 catches for 630 yards and six touchdowns as a Clearwater Central Catholic senior.
Pickens, who has some academic hurdles to clear before arriving in Athens, would join a position group in flux after the departures of Terry Godwin, Mecole Hardman and Riley Ridley from last season’s team. Ridley and Hardman elected to forgo their senior seasons for the NFL draft.
“George was a kid who visited over here multiple times and came to our game against Auburn,” Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart said Wednesday on ESPNU. “He had a great time, and I thought we had a tremendous official visit with him a couple of weeks ago when we didn’t have a lot of other kids here.
“It was a case of staying alive and continuing to keep working, and he felt like it was the best fit for him.”
The Bulldogs had two topfive receivers committed for months until this past October, when Jadon Haselwood from the Atlanta suburb of Ellenwood opened up his recruitment. Ranked No. 1 at his position, the 6-3, 196pound Haselwood committed to Georgia in March 2017, committed to Oklahoma last month and signed with the Sooners on Wednesday.
Staying true throughout the process was Dominick Blaylock of Marietta, Georgia, the No. 4 receiver nationally who committed to the Bulldogs in July 2017 and signed in December. Blaylock is the stepson of Chattanooga Lookouts co-owner John Woods.
Georgia missed out Wednesday on cornerback Kaiir Elam, the nation’s No. 48 overall prospect who picked Florida over the Bulldogs in a ceremony televised by ESPN2. The 6-1, 182-pounder from North Palm Beach, Florida, first revealed a Georgia hat at his announcement ceremony before putting on a Florida hat.
“I just tried to weigh all the pros and cons with each school,” Elam said, “and I felt like Florida had the most pros and the least cons for me.”
Elam is the nephew of former Gators defensive back Matt Elam.