Georgia's ability to snag elite running backs off the recruiting trail continued Sunday afternoon when the Bulldogs received a nonbinding pledge from five-star prospect John Emery of Destrehan, Louisiana.
The 5-foot-11, 206-pound Emery is the No. 2 running back and the No. 31 overall recruit on the 247Sports.com composite rankings for the 2019 class. He picked Georgia over scholarship offers from Alabama and LSU, and he also made unofficial visits this year to Oklahoma, Auburn, Florida and Mississippi State.
"Glad to be 110% committed," Emery posted on Twitter. "Go Dawgs."
Emery was the first of three players who committed to Georgia on Sunday, with four-star outside linebacker Rian Davis of Apopka, Florida, and four-star athlete prospect Makiya Tongue of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, announcing their decisions later. The 6-3, 233-pound Davis is rated the No. 5 outside linebacker and the No. 68 prospect overall, while the 6-2, 210-pound Tongue is the No. 15 athlete nationally and the No. 211 overall recruit.
"I want to thank the Georgia coaching staff for showing me so much love and making this decision easier," Davis wrote on Twitter.
The three commitments vaulted the Bulldogs to No. 2 in the 247Sports team rankings behind only Alabama, and Georgia's average commitment score of 94.60 is the highest nationally. Emery is the second five-star prospect to commit to Georgia within the past week, joining in-state defensive tackle Travon Walker.
Georgia now has five five-star commitments for the 2019 class. No other program has more than two.
Emery is the latest in a tremendous streak of stellar running backs to commit to Georgia, with Sony Michel ranking third and Nick Chubb fifth nationally among running backs in the 2014 class. Elijah Holyfield was the No. 6 running back in the 2016 class, while D'Andre Swift was No. 4 in 2017.
In the 2018 class, Bulldogs signee Zamir White was the No. 1 running back nationally.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.