Here’s to Kirby’s 2nd No. 1 class

Published 2:45 pm Friday, February 7, 2020

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For the second time in three years, the Georgia Bulldogs have pulled in a No. 1 recruiting class.
When the Dawgs did it two years ago, the excitement was astronomical. It was the best class the program had ever recruited. Seven five stars signed their letters to play. It was a huge, magnificent win for coach Kirby Smart.

Two years later, there is still plenty of excitement about the “offseason championship” as some people like to call it. But there is also a tremendous amount of pressure the fans are now putting on this group of players and coaches (as if they haven’t put a lot of pressure on them before).

Yes, Georgia finished No. 1 in recruiting. But what about No. 1 on the field? I don’t think it’s fair at all to throw that back on the team, considering how close Kirby and crew have already come to achieving it in 2017. In 2018 they were a few bounces away from another trip to the playoffs, and in 2019 the Dawgs ran into the buzz saw that was LSU, who would’ve beaten any squad in the country on any given night.

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It may not be fair, but that’s the level of pressure being put on this team. Just scroll through twitter or the various internet forums and see for yourself. Win now. Forget the coaching and player turnovers. Win now. Forget tragic injuries that knock players out for the better part of a year. Win now.

I’ll say this: The No. 1 recruiting class of 2020 is a hell of a way to start that campaign. There are a lot of question marks about the 2020 Georgia Bulldogs, but with Kirby’s fourth full recruiting class now under his belt, it’s good to know the roster is one of the most talented and capable in the country.

National Signing Day has become less and less dramatic over the years since the creation of the Early Signing Period. As Kirby said himself, it’s more of a chance to fill in the gaps after players have announced for the draft or entered the transfer portal. Nevertheless, it’s a tasty morsel in the dead of winter to get me by.