It is amazing how UGA not only can slow play their current two DT commits that are unsigned but they can even get one of them to help recruit a uncommitted DT that will for all intents and purposes take their spot in the 2018 class forcing one if not both of the current commits to Greyshirt. An here at Miami we have to cojole DT's to come to Miami an be coached by the best d-line coach in college football.
Link
https://www.dawgnation.com/football/recruiting/key-source-indicates-prized-dt-rick-sandidge-does-feel-very-strongly-about-uga
Link
https://www.dawgnation.com/football/recruiting/key-source-indicates-prized-dt-rick-sandidge-does-feel-very-strongly-about-uga
Mom knows: Close to college choice, DT Rick Sandidge feels strongly about UGA
It hasn’t been written anywhere before, but one of the principles behind this daily blog is a desire to avoid the goose chase.
Readers remember. That’s why the aim is to never run stories out there on shaky ground for short-term clicks.
Depth matters. Reporting detail matters. We’re not in the business of getting hopes up about a prospect because there’s a story quota to fill.
Please consider that as we discuss what’s going on with 4-star defensive tackle prospect Rick Sandidge, the nation’s No. 11 DT prospect for 2018.
DawgNation offers up the following summation on his situation, knowing the following to be true:
*The Bulldogs have a pair of unsigned commitments at his position.
*UGA likely has just four more slots left for 2018, minus a greyshirt situation that’s still too hazy to forecast.
*Most of the recruiting industry points Sandidge to South Carolina. That has gained ground over the last two months.
*That scenario has emerged because: 1. South Carolina coach Will Muschamp is an excellent recruiter and deeply involved in Sandidge’s recruiting. UGA coach Kirby Smart is not; 2. The Gamecocks are an up-and-coming program with momentum in several areas; and 3. The Bulldogs have those DTs committed and another signee enrolled in a very stacked class that ranks No. 1 overall.
I’m writing at length about Sandidge in this edition because I had the chance to chat with his mother, Keshia, about where he stands after his official visit last weekend to UGA.
Georgia’s shot at Sandidge does not seem like a wild goose chase. It sounds more as if the 6-foot-5, 295-pound player from Concord, N.C., has the two SEC schools on even ground.
“He’s really just torn,” Keshia Sandidge said. “I can’t think of any other way to explain this.”
Quick things to know about the Rick Sandidge decision
Sandidge comes from a very tight-knit family. He’s known as “Junior.” His parents are plugged in to this daily life.
His mother said this will be the first decision her son will have to make on his own. His inner circle will supply input and suggestions, but he will make the call.
Once he does, Sandidge will call his top schools with the news of his decision.
That’s simply the right blueprint to follow for a choice like this. Sandidge is the one who will have to live that decision through those early morning workouts and physical practices that lead to his dreams of playing on Saturdays.
This seems like a good moment to bring up his mother’s South Carolina connection.
She got her graduate degree in social work from South Carolina. She has Carolina gear on her truck. But it is important to know that those colors and logos were on there way before her son emerged as a national recruit.
It sounds to me like that connection has empowered South Carolina to go all in with this recruitment.
That said, her son still will make that decision on his own. No matter what her car looks like.
What is her response to everyone believing her son is a South Carolina lean?
“I think people feel that way because I’m an alum,” she told DawgNation. “UGA and [South Carolina] have been there through the long haul. They both have an equal shot.”
That sets up the decision. Let’s look at a few big-picture items:
*Keshia Sandidge said the UGA visit gave the Bulldogs a bump. She said she’s had her mind on a certain school for the last few months months. She said she thinks his father remains without a clear preference.
*Look for Rick Sandidge to share his decision privately with the coaches at Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina about two or three days before he makes his public announcement at his school on Feb. 7.
*Her favorite part of the UGA official visit was seeing the coaches in an intimate setting. It was a different window into the “UGA family” than she had seen previously, she said. She said her son enjoyed spending time with the players, mentioning Georgia commit Jordan Davis as one player her son feels very much at ease around.
*Despite the traffic jam with commits at his position and the class in general, she said UGA made them a priority. Offensive coordinator Jim Chaney even made the comment the Bulldogs sure don’t want to face him should he choose another school. “They want and need him to play at UGA,” she said when asked to describe the main message from the team. “Iron sharpens iron.”........
