That Bainbridge boy up in Athens sure is doing the Dawgs proud and making the future look brighter than ever before.

Anybody who cheers for the Georgia football team has at least heard the news on the Bulldogs’ recruiting efforts, which have been the best the program has ever seen.

The secret? Kirby and co. are keeping those Dawgs at home. Fourteen of the Top 25 recruits in Georgia are committed to be Bulldogs, including two of the Top 5. Those are numbers the previous coaching administrations were never able to achieve.

The No. 1 recruit in the state is stud 5-star safety Richard LeCounte III is high on the Dawgs. Jake Fromm, a pro-style quarterback from Houston County with the second highest career passing record for a Georgia high schooler (12,745 yards), is the No. 3 recruit and dead set on Georgia.

These two guys have been running around the state, spreading the good word and persuading as many guys as possible to jump on board. Over the Christmas break, Nate McBride, DeAngelo Gibbs, Tray Bishop and Markaviest Bryant, all 4-star defensive beasts, committed to the G. LeCounte and Fromm definitely had a hand in scooping these guys up. Whatever they are doing, whatever they are saying, it’s working. There’s an excitement with this class of Savages (a name they have coined for themselves), and they want to hear “Glory, Glory to Ole Georgia” echoing through the country.

One of the last pieces of the puzzle is Aubrey Solomon. Those of us who were at Bainbridge’s season opener against Lee County remember him well. This 5-star defensive tackle gave the Bearcats fits on offense, busting off the line of scrimmage and making things difficult for Bainbridge quarterback Brett McLaughlin (who handled the pressure and hits quite well that night).

Solomon was committed to Michigan, but a letter was mailed his way thanking him for attending a Wolverine barbecue that he never even went to. Solomon, offended (as he should’ve been) de-committed that day. Now it has come down between Alabama and Georgia for the defensive lineman, and he says he won’t decide until signing day on Feb. 1.

Fromm and LeCounte: GET THIS GUY TO BE A DAWG! Imagining him at one tackle and Trenton Thompson at the other make me giddy. Them on the front line with a disgustingly good, albeit young, secondary getting some good experience right away is what Georgia’s defense will be built on in 2017.

On offense, with a lineup of returning skill players and an offensive line of 4 and 5-star freshman, the Dawgs should be able to put points on the board more consistently while further developing whichever quarterback earns the starting job come the fall.

Eason is the truth, and I’ve been a fan of him since hearing word of his commitment a couple years ago. But Fromm, an early enrollee, will undoubtedly give him a run for his money when they step foot in that new indoor practice facility for the first spring practice. I think it will be like when two golfers at the top of their game are paired together on the final day of a tournament. Each one forces the other to play better, topping each other every stroke and making shots that inspire the fiercest competition between them.

Eason and Fromm will push each other to compete their hardest, which is what Dawg Nation needs.

Here’s to an awesome 2017. Go Dawgs!