Georgia Bulldogs prepare for big recruiting weekend

By all accounts, the Georgia Bulldogs will have three official visitors in Athens for the LSU game this weekend. Just as important,  the Bulldogs will have dozens of unofficial visitors in town for the nationally-televised SEC game.

It is, coach Mark Richt acknowledged, probably the biggest recruiting weekend the Bulldogs will have this fall.

“Oh it will be big,” Richt told me this week. “I don’t know what I can say about it really. About all we can do is acknowledge who we’re recruiting. But it’ll be the most [recruits in number] this year.”

Actually it was going to be even bigger at one point. Scheduled to be in town on official visits are three elite prospects from Florida: WR Chris Dunkley of Pahokee, CB/WR Terrence Mitchell of Tampa and CB Cody Riggs of Ft. Lauderdale. All three are rated as 4-star recruits and have firm offers to sign with the Bulldogs in the Class of 2010.

Originally Georgia had hoped to also have linebackers Jeff Luc and Deon Rogers of Port St. Lucie in the house. Luc is rated as the No. 1 linebacker in the nation and Rogers, his teammate at Treasure Coast High, is already committed to the Bulldogs. But they have decided to come instead on Nov. 14th, the weekend of the Bulldogs’ game against Auburn.

The Orlando Sentinel has reported all week that WR Kenny Shaw of Orlando is making his first official visit to Georgia this weekend. But coach Dave Salapa confirmed to me this morning that Shaw has also decided to visit on Nov. 14.

Here’s a brief synopsis on the three recruits that will be campus:

• Dunkley: This four-star prospect is relatively small for a wideout at 5-10, 164, but blazing fast with 4.4 speed. Of the three visitors he’s the hardest to get a read on in terms of possible leanings. He still lists more than a dozens schools on his recruiting profiles, including all the Florida teams and teams from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Big East and Pac-10.
• Mitchell: Another speedy player, the 5-foot-10, 165-pounder from Hillsborough Senior High could play either wide receiver or defensive back on the next level. A four-star prospect, most recruiting services label him as a Florida State lean.
• Riggs: One of the top uncommitted cornerbacks in the country, this 5-foot-9, 156-pound, four-star prospect stars for St. Thomas Aquinas. He has openly admitted Florida is his leader.

In the meantime, dozens of unofficial visitors are expected at the game, including several of the top uncommitted senior prospects such as North Gwinnett offensive tackle JaWuan James and Stephenson defensive tackle Mike Thornton.

Coming here at 1 p.m. today, Georgia’s Richt and Georgia Tech recruiting coordinator Giff Smith talk about the importance of official visits in modern-day recruiting.