Seventh heaven.
Georgia made football recruiting history Wednesday when five-star cornerback Tyson Campbell of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., announced on ESPNU that he would be signing with the Bulldogs. The reigning Southeastern Conference champions racked up six five-star prospects during the early signing period in December, and Campbell's signing resulted in Georgia becoming the first program ever to land seven five-star talents in the composite rankings used by 247Sports.com.
"When I went to Georgia, I felt comfortable, and it was a place that I could see myself playing," Campbell said on ESPNU. "They've got a great coaching staff to help develop me, and that's why I picked Georgia. Kirby Smart showed me a bunch of love, and I felt like he was keeping it real.
"Now it's up to me to put the work in if I want to get on the field early."
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart during the National Signing Day press conference at Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall in Athens, Ga., on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. (Photo by Steffenie Burns)Georgia's seven five-star signees also rank among the top 25 players nationally, a list that includes quarterback Justin Fields (No. 2) of Kennesaw, Ga.; running back Zamir White (No. 9) of Laurinburg, N.C.; guard Jamaree Salyer (No. 10) of Atlanta; Campbell (No. 12); outside linebacker Adam Anderson (No. 18) of Rome, Ga.; offensive tackle Cade Mays (No. 22) of Knoxville; and defensive end Brenton Cox (No. 23) of Stockbridge, Ga.
Georgia's class of 26 signees swept the No. 1 rankings of 247Sports, ESPN and Rivals.com.
"I'm excited about the class, and I know all you guys want to talk about the ranking," Smart said during a news conference. "That really does not float my boat or this staff's boat. I don't think that's what's important. What's more important is the quality of kids we were able to get, both academically and athletically.
"That's what excites me most about them, the fact that 10 of these guys have over a 3.0 core GPA. We haven't had that in a long time. The fact that three of these guys got offered scholarships to Ivy League schools impresses me a lot."
Alabama had six five-star signees in last year's signing class: running back Najee Harris, offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood, linebacker Dylan Moses, receiver Jerry Jeudy, defensive end LaBryan Ray and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The Crimson Tide just missed out on a seventh five-star last winter, because offensive tackle Jedrick Wills was the highest-rated four-star prospect, but Georgia almost had an eighth this time around.
Quay Walker, an outside linebacker from Crisp County in Cordele, Ga., is the nation's No. 31 overall prospect in a year 247Sports tabbed 29 players as five-star recruits. Walker had been committed to Alabama until Wednesday, when he held a signing ceremony at his school in which he briefly put a Tennessee hat on his head before tossing it to reveal he was heading to Athens.
Walker's antics did not sit well with Tennessee fans, and Smart claimed he missed the announcement.
"I was watching 2019 and 2020 tape at the time, so I didn't actually see it," Smart said. "I did get a text from my wife that she was scared to death when he did that. That's their moment in the sun, and some kids know how to handle it and some don't. To each his own.
"When they get here, we're going to try to teach them the correct way to handle some things. That's their family's time and opportunity to be on TV and give the University of Georgia some publicity, and I'm happy for Quay and his family."
Campbell and Walker were two of the four top-100 players who signed Wednesday with the Bulldogs, which gave them 12 overall, ranking second to Ohio State's 13. The other two were receiver Tommy Bush of Schertz, Texas, and outside linebacker Otis Reese of Leesburg, Ga.
Reese entered Wednesday as Michigan's highest-rated commitment before switching to become Georgia's 12th-rated signee.
"I think it's great for the fan base, but I would trade that No. 1 ranking for the last No. 1 ranking in the college football poll," Smart said. "What's important is what you do on the field, and that's what we'll be measured by as coaches."
Smart said that 13 of Georgia's 26 signees played for state championships several weeks ago and that 25 have been multisport athletes.
Coaching changes
Smart announced the hirings of Scott Fountain and Cortez Hankton to the coaching staff but has not defined all the roles for this year's assistants. Fountain served as a special-teams analyst for Georgia this past season but was hired last month as special-teams coordinator at Mississippi State.
"I think Scott Fountain does a tremendous job," Smart said. "He was probably one of the biggest assets in our program last year. Everybody has made a big deal about the turnaround in special teams, and he was really responsible for coaching our coaches and bringing us some ideas to how we practice and some innovative things that he's done - changing what days we did different things and just organizational things that I thought really helped us."
Hankton has spent the past three seasons as Vanderbilt's receivers coach.
"We got to visit and meet with Cortez and just thought the world of him," Smart said. "He's a very intellectual guy. He also played the position, and any time you play the receiver position, I think it helps you tremendously with kids."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.