Georgia Bulldogs

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Instead of going to the beach for spring break, ESPN Watch List wide receiver Dominique Booth (Indianapolis/Pike) spent his break visiting interested colleges across the southeast and east coast. His first stop was to the University of Alabama.

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In January 2012, as DaVonte Lambert (Waynesboro, Ga./Georgia Military College) walked back from Sanford Stadium toward the Butts-Mehre Building, the high school senior pondered what life would be like if he had the opportunity to sign with the University of Georgia.

Although Lambert was not going to qualify to attend college at the FBS level, Georgia coach Mark Richt had a message for the talented defensive end, who had just broken the Burke County (Ga.) High School single-season sack record while helping the team win the 2012 AAA state championship:

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When offer No. 31 came in for Washington (Pa.) running back Shai McKenzie last week, he figured it was time to start cutting his list. It sounds simple, but McKenzie had a harder time when it came to putting pen to paper.

“He struggled to make a list,” Washington coach Mike Bosnic said. “He’s really unsure.”

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ATHENS, Ga. -- For most high school players, the end of practice means they get a break from the incessant nagging and ceaseless instruction of their coaches. They go home, eat dinner, study and enjoy the respite until the whistles start blowing next time. For ESPN Watch List safety Quincy Wilson (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./University School), that is not the case.

Wilson’s father is the defensive coordinator and the defensive backs coach at the University School, so Wilson jokes that he gets no respite.

“Oh no, there’s no break, there’s no break,” Wilson said. “Monday through Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Yeah, I get it at practice, before practice, after practice, in the car, at the dinner table ...”

The talented junior laughed about the nonstop instruction but he also credited his father with making him the player he is today -- one of the most coveted safeties in Florida.

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With the acceleration of the recruiting process, not having an offer in March can lead to panic for some prospects. Here are five offensive players (and two athletes) in Georgia who have yet to pick up an offer from a FBS program.

While there is no way to know just how the process will unfold for these recruits, their talent suggests that interest will continue to grow as more colleges evaluate them on film and in person.

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ATHENS, Ga. -- The last time a running back traveled more than 600 miles to play for the University of Georgia, Knowshon Moreno wound up hurdling defenders and dropping jaws with his combination of balance and speed. After redshirting his freshman season, he played only two years before heading to the NFL draft, leaving Georgia fans wondering what could have been.

Now another top running back from the Mid-Atlantic region is looking at the Bulldogs, and now that Shai McKenzie (Washington, Penn./Washington) has the Georgia offer he wanted, maybe history will repeat itself.

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ATHENS, Ga. -- ESPN Watch List wide receiver Demarre Kitt (Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek) recently cut his mammoth offer list down to a top-15 group of schools that he will consider.

“It got crazy at one point with almost everybody that offered me trying to talk to me,” Kitt said. “So I had to cut my list down to 15 schools. After spring practice I will cut it down to eight or 10. At the end of summer I will do five and then go from there.”

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The Georgia coaching staff might have missed on signing an ESPN 150 offensive tackle in the Class of 2013, but instead of lamenting what could have been, offensive line coach Will Friend is aggressively searching for his next top target.

In the last 24 hours, Friend has extended three offers to talented juniors in the Southeast.

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Buford High School is one of the premier programs in Georgia. The Wolves have won eight championships in the last 12 years, the latest coming this past season after moving up to Class AAA and losing eight Division I players to graduation. College coaches drop in on Buford practices like someone was giving away free barbecue in the end zone. The University of Georgia coaching staff swings by often and it shows -- the Bulldogs have three Buford offensive linemen on scholarship: Dallas Lee, Kolton Houston and Josh Cardiello.

Mark Richt would like to keep the Buford pipeline open, and this time he is eyeing a linebacker.

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Defensive end Arden Key (Lithonia, Ga./Martin Luther King) took in the University of Georgia junior day on Saturday and met with Bulldogs defensive line coach Chris Wilson. The new coach made quite the impression on the young sophomore, as by the time Key left, he was tweeting that he wished he could commit to Georgia.

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ESPN Watch List defensive end Peyton Newell (Hiawatha, Kan./Hiawatha) estimates that he has picked up seven new offers over the last two weeks. His offer list stretches from UCLA to South Carolina and from Texas to Michigan State. Twenty-seven schools so far have extended verbal offers to the 6-foot-3, 270-pound junior, including the Georgia Bulldogs who offered on Wednesday.

“Yesterday I got offers from Georgia and Michigan State on the same day,” Newell said. “So it has been definitely crazy. I think I have gotten an offer from every conference. It is overwhelming and exciting. And I am very blessed to be in the situation that I am in with being able to have my choice on where to go. So I am really excited for next year.”

The Bulldogs’ coaching staff may be the latest offer but Newell has been on Georgia’s radar for a while.

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Last Wednesday, Georgia picked up two additional signees to its Class of 2013 in DeVondre Seymour and Davin Bellamy. The coaching staff had hoped for at least three more top talents to join them but they found themselves in second place all three times.

Instead of licking their wounds on what was a disappointing day, the coaches were on the phones, working toward the 2014 class.

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Five-star linebacker Matthew Thomas (Miami, Fla./Booker T. Washington) is fresh off of a visit to Alabama, but questions linger about whether the nation’s sixth-rated prospect will head to Miami (Fla.) or USC next.

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ATLANTA -- Two of the Peach State’s top outside linebackers recently met in the backfield of the Rising Seniors Bowl game and threw down the West team’s quarterback, Brooks Barden (Cartersville, Ga./Cartersville). Bryson Allen-Williams (Ellenwood, Ga./Cedar Grove) came of the right end and Dante Sawyer (Flowery Branch, Ga./North Gwinnett) crashed the left side and both caught Barden before he could slip away. While it was clear Barden never had a chance, credit for the sack was a highly-contested debate.

“Oh, that was my sack.” Allen-Williams said. “Look, Dante and I had a little bet going on to see who would get the most sacks, so we ended up tying on them. So you know [when] there are two good ends on this field, you’re bound to have a good pass rush every now and then.”

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