Georgia Bulldogs

There will be no shortage of talent, or college coaches, on the field at the Georgia Dome this weekend, as the GHSA football state championships are set to take place. All seven games will be broadcast live on Georgia Public Broadcasting TV, as well as streaming online at gpb.org/sports. Here are some prospects to keep an eye on in each of the seven matchups.

Prince Avenue (11-2) vs. ELCA (12-1): Class A Private, Friday, 2:30 p.m.

The top prospect in the opening matchup of the weekend is ESPN 150 defensive end Isaac Rochell. He committed to Notre Dame over 20 other offers back in June. His teammate, running back Keyante Green, is a ESPN 300 prospect who committed to Purdue during the summer after being previously committed to UCLA. Eagles Landing Christian Academy has two ESPN 2014 Watch List selections to keep an eye on as well in defensive end Andrew Williams and quarterback/athlete Dalton Etheridge. Williams, whose brother Anthony plays defensive end at Georgia Tech, looks to follow Rochell’s path as one of the most coveted prospects in Georgia.

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Georgia’s recent success against Florida has been a long time in coming. The Bulldogs had not beaten the Gators in back-to-back seasons in more than two decades, dating back to 1988-89. Florida has an 18-5 record over Georgia since 1990 so the rivalry has been mostly one-sided. But thanks to some recruiting success, Mark Richt has turned the annual showdown in Jacksonville, Fla., back into one of the most highly contested battles of the year.

And he did it with some ringers from the Sunshine State.

Quarterback Aaron Murray has struggled against the Gators but is 2-1 in his career against them. In his first win he completed four passes to tight end Orson Charles of Tampa, Fla. All-SEC kicker Blair Walsh, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., always said the Florida game was the biggest of the year and he scored 22 points against the Gators in his career. Keeping Murray upright this year was a freshman from Jacksonville, right tackle John Theus.

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GatorNation's Derek Tyson and DawgNation's Kipp Adams look at five key recruiting battles remaining between Florida and Georgia for the Class of 2013.

OL Laremy Tunsil (Lake City, Fla./Columbia)

CONSIDERING: Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Florida State

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The Florida-Georgia rivalry doesn't just take place in Jacksonville. The two schools compete all year long on the recruiting trail around the Southeast. Kipp Adams of DawgNation and Derek Tyson of GatorNation take a look at ten of the top battles for blue-chip players, five from each school's perspective.

Georgia

DT Marcus Stroud (Thomasville, Ga./Brooks County): The year was 1996. Florida was coming off six straight wins over the Bulldogs and to make matters worse, the Gators had a verbal commitment from elite Peach State defensive tackle prospect Marcus Stroud. Gators WR Jacquez Green was Stroud’s host during his official visit to Florida, and he felt Stroud was definitely going to be playing for the Gators. Signing day arrived, and what happened then became one of the all-time recruiting surprises of the past two decades, with Stroud switching his commitment to Georgia. Stroud’s Sports Illustrated cover energized a fanbase looking for any glimmer of hope against their rival in Gainesville. The next year, alongside starting quarterback and future offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, Stroud helped end the losing streak against Florida in 1997. The No. 13 overall selection in the 2001 NFL Draft, Stroud played in the NFL for more a decade, earning three Pro-Bowl/All-Pro selections in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

DT Jeff Owens (Plantation, Fla/Plantation): The 6-2, 265-pound defensive lineman took official visits to Florida, FSU, Georgia, Oklahoma and Virginia Tech, and ultimately chose the Bulldogs -- although his father wanted him to stay in-state and play for the Gators. Owens went on to start 37 games at Georgia, making 102 tackles, five sacks, 13 tackles for loss, two fumbles forced, two fumbles recovered and three pass breakups.

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At the SEC spring meetings back in May, the league repealed the rule that banned its members from hosting recruits at a game held on a neutral site. In other words, going forward, the home team in the Georgia versus Florida contests could host recruits at the annual showdown in Jacksonville, Fla.

As important as recruiting the Sunshine State is for the Georgia program, this would seem like a boon. But right after the rule was abolished, both Georgia and Florida agreed to not host recruits during the game.

"Georgia and Florida have agreed not to do this,” Georgia assistant athletic director Claude Felton told DawgNation in June.

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ESPN 150 safety Tray Matthews (Newnan, Ga./Newnan) readily admits he is torn. He is caught between the weight of his commitment to the University of Georgia and his vow to play college football with his best friend, linebacker Reuben Foster (Auburn, Ala./Auburn), who, after being committed to Alabama for nearly a year, switched his commitment last month to Auburn University.

For Matthews, the most convenient solution would be for Foster to decommit from the Tigers and join him at Georgia.

“That is not going to happen,” Matthews said.

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