Georgia Bulldogs

ATLANTA -- Georgia lost its only outside linebacker commit in Naim Mustafaa when he decided to enroll early at Oklahoma State a few days ago. The Bulldogs are also losing two starters at the position as well with Jarvis Jones heading to the NFL a year early and Cornelius Washington graduating. With no immediate help on the horizon, the Georgia coaches will turn to some of the Class of 2014 standouts.

One player whose recruitment is on the verge of taking off is defensive end Dante Sawyer (Suwanee, Ga./North Gwinnett). The 6-foot-3, 245-pound junior has already received verbal offers from Ohio State and North Carolina, with many more possible.

“I am hearing from Ohio State, Clemson, UCLA, Georgia -- every now and then -- and Alabama,” Sawyer said. “Florida is starting to talk to me a little bit, so I’m looking forward to hearing from some more schools sooner or later.”

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Georgia's Class of 2013 early enrollees were introduced to the rest of the team Sunday after meeting as a group earlier in the day. Eleven prospects and two signees will start classes Monday at Georgia and try to acclimate themselves to the rigors of college life. They will get a chance to learn and compete in spring camp starting in March, which should help the Bulldogs’ severely depleted roster.

One recruit that was expected to join the other Georgia commits was conspicuously absent at the meeting. Defensive end Naim Mustafaa (Alpharetta, Ga./Alpharetta) called DawgNation from the airport in Oklahoma City on Saturday to say that he would be enrolling early, albeit not at Georgia. Mustafaa had decided a “few days ago” to flip to the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

“I had to keep re-evaluating my decision and do what was best for me and I thought that with my body type, I would fit better in a 4-3 defense as a defensive end,” Mustafaa said.

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ATHENS, Ga. -- Naim Mustafaa will be an early enrollee after all, but it appears as if it will not be at Georgia.

A four-star defensive end, Mustafaa (Alpharetta, Ga./Alpharetta) plans to early enroll at Oklahoma State and intends to start classes on Monday.

“I had to keep re-evaluating my decision and do what was best for me and I thought that with my body type, I would fit better in a 4-3 defense as a defensive end,” said Mustafaa, who at 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds probably profiled as an outside linebacker in Georgia’s 3-4 scheme.

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Editor’s note: Over the next several weeks, we’ll take a look at each position on Georgia’s depth chart and project how it might look in the future. Today we examine Georgia’s outside linebackers.

Current two-deep depth chart:
Jarvis Jones (Jr.), Ramik Wilson (So.)
Jordan Jenkins (Fr.), Josh Dawson (Fr.)

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Editor’s note: Over the next several weeks, we’ll take a look at each position on Georgia’s depth chart today and projecting how it might look in the future. Today we examine Georgia’s defensive ends:

• Current two-deep depth chart:
Garrison Smith (Jr.), John Jenkins (Sr.)
Cornelius Washington (Sr.), Ray Drew (So.)

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ATHENS, Ga. -- The Georgia coaching staff was on the road Friday, as usual, checking in on commits and targets alike. In what had to the most fortuitous turn of events of the day, tight ends coach John Lilly and inside linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti just happened to be stopping by Auburn (Ala.) High School right after the nation’s No. 1 inside linebacker, Reuben Foster, decommitted from Auburn University. Both coaches met with Foster, who reopened his recruitment, citing reports that his mentor Trooper Taylor had been let go at Auburn.

Later that night, another coach would also prove lucky as defensive line coach Rodney Garner was on hand to congratulate Montravius Adams (Vienna, Ga./Dooly County) after the top-ranked defensive tackle won the chance to play for the Georgia Class A championship.

Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and running backs coach Bryan McClendon were on hand to see the Bulldogs’ top tailback target, Alvin Kamara (Norcross, Ga./Norcross), win his semifinal game as well. Alabama’s Kirby Smart was also there, and the battle for Kamara is still neck and neck.

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ATHENS, Ga. -- Georgia has the nation’s second largest recruiting class with 30 prospects verbally committed to for the Class of 2013, despite having had four decommitments in the last year. The Bulldogs are hoping to add six more targets and to sign the largest class Mark Richt has ever had. But will the 30 recruits verbally committed to Georgia stick? Recent history says no.

So who could flip? That is tough to gauge but we thought we would examine a few players that have been rumored to be looking around.

CB Shaq Wiggins (Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek) -- The No. 5 ranked cornerback is also Georgia’s highest rated commitment. Wiggins has been a tireless recruiter for the Bulldogs, trying to help Georgia sign as strong a class as possible. He would seem like the most solid recruit Georgia had but additions to the class have the Under Armour All-American worried.

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On Saturday, defensive end Naim Mustafaa (Alpharetta, Ga./Alpharetta) took his first official visit -- not to the University of Georgia where he has been committed since June -- but to Tennessee. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound senior was excited to see the Volunteers' defensive coordinator in action for the first time.

"I have been there a few times, but I have not been able to see Coach Sal [Sunseri] in an actual game," Mustafaa said. "I love Coach Sal and how intense he is and I also love their stands and their stadium."

The day before his official to Tennessee began, Mustafaa was on the phone with his recruiter of record for Georgia. As the two talked, Mustafaa says there was no sense of worry on the other line.

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DawgNation is here to take you Inside the DawgHouse -- a confidential look inside Georgia football recruiting for DawgNation subscribers only. As it will be every week, everything reported Inside the DawgHouse stays on The Pound forum. We are providing this information for our subscribers and hope that you help keep this information protected by keeping it here.

In this week's update:

• Prospects flock to Athens
• Spots filling up

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After racking up 50 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, and eight sacks as a junior and earning more than 25 scholarship offers, Naim Mustafaa (Alpharetta, Ga./Alpharetta) knew he would have a target on his back in the season opener Friday versus Milton.

“We knew I would not have my biggest game because they were looking for me, so I got triple-teamed pretty much every play,” Mustafaa said. “I feel like I played all right. I got off the ball well and jacked the offensive tackle up. I just have to step up and be a leader for my defensive line because we are young.”

Although the Raiders were not able to pull out a win, the four-star prospect has high goals for the season.

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While the summer months are considered downtime, the Georgia Bulldogs have continued their torrid recruiting pace this summer, picking up several commitments from prospects in several states. With the ability and, arguably, the dire need to bring in more than 30 signees for the 2013 class, the Bulldogs have been aggressive with offers. That has paid off with a group that already dwarfs that of the freshman class now on campus. As football season approaches, DawgNation takes a look back at the goings on and decisions made in the past few months, along with a look ahead at what to keep an eye on this fall.

Commitments piling up
As school let out across the country, prospects seemingly lined up to make their commitments known to the Bulldogs. ESPN 300 wide receiver Uriah LeMay (Matthews, N.C./Butler) committed to Georgia on June 1. The 6-foot-2, 197-pound wideout picked the Bulldogs over Clemson, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Ohio State, among others. Two days later, another ESPN 300 receiver secured a spot, as Reggie Davis (Tallahassee, Fla./Lincoln) verbally committed. The 6-foot, 162-pound four-star prospect is considered one of the top deep threats in the always-loaded Sunshine State. Less than a week later the Bulldogs picked up their top outside linebacker target, Naim Mustafaa (Alpharetta, Ga./Alpharetta). It was a rare in-state battle for the 6-foot-4, 235-pound four-star, although SEC rival Tennessee continues its pursuit.

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On the surface it would appear that Reuben Foster’s (Auburn, Ala./Auburn) decommitment from Alabama and subsequent commitment to Auburn would mean little to Georgia. He wasn’t committed to the Bulldogs and still is not.

However, he was trying to convince his best friend, safety Tray Matthews (Newnan, Ga./Newnan), to join him at Alabama and he will continue to try to pull Matthews with him to Auburn. Taking into consideration the fact that Matthews and Foster have a pact to play together in college and are working to extend that pact to include others, the Georgia coaches cannot be comfortable right now.

In speaking to Matthews briefly this afternoon, DawgNation asked whether the Foster news would change his commitment to Georgia. Matthews hesitated, then said, “Yes.”

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Back to square one for the Bulldogs. Last year, University of Georgia head coach Mark Richt needed to make a splash in recruiting. Coming off a six-win season in 2010 -- by far the worst of his tenure in Athens -- Richt needed an impact player at running back in the class. The Bulldogs were 73rd in the country in rushing, 10th in the SEC, but Richt was able to put the finishing touches on a top-five class -- one he dubbed the “Dream Team" -- by signing five-star running back and the top prospect in Georgia, Isaiah Crowell.

Friday, following an arrest on felony weapons charges, Crowell was dismissed from the team by Richt, ending Crowell’s career at Georgia after only one season and putting more pressure on his teammates to replace the SEC Freshman of the Year. The latest departure further depletes the overall talent on Georgia’s team, making the 2013 class even more important for the future of the program.

Big class coming in

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