If college football recruiting was based solely on defending the home turf, Georgia coach Kirby Smart and Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt might be rummaging around today for new employment opportunities.
The Bulldogs and Volunteers managed to sign just three of the top 20 prospects in their respective states in the 2019 recruiting cycle, yet that hardly seemed to matter. Georgia signed a third consecutive top-three national class under Smart, finishing second this year to Alabama, while the Volunteers wound up 12th in Pruitt's first full cycle after finishing 21st a year ago.
"It was a unique year for our state," Smart said Wednesday during an appearance on ESPNU. "There were not a lot of defensive linemen, and that was a big area that we needed. We've got six guys leaving off our defensive line next year, so we're going to have to hit the defensive line really hard again in our 2020 class and get some good pass rushers. There weren't a lot of defensive linemen in our state this year, and the ones we targeted we didn't get."
Never before have the Bulldogs signed so few in-state 247Sports.com top-20 players.
In the preceding 17 cycles, Georgia signed an average of 7.6 of the Peach State's top 20 prospects. The Bulldogs racked up 12 of their state's top 20 recruits two years ago, when Warner Robins quarterback Jake Fromm, Lithonia tackle Andrew Thomas and Riceboro safety Richard LeCounte III headlined that crop.
Thomaston defensive tackle Travon Walker was the only top-five prospect to stay home this year, with Ellenwood receiver Jadon Haselwood (Oklahoma), Lawrenceville cornerback Andrew Booth (Clemson), Loganville outside linebacker Owen Pappoe (Auburn) and Loganville tackle Wanya Morris (Tennessee) choosing to leave the state.
The Bulldogs lost Norcross defensive tackle Chris Hinton to Michigan and lost three in-state defensive ends - Justin Eboigbe, Kenny Harris and King Mwikuta - to Alabama, but the numbers are a bit misleading. Georgia five-star signee Nolan Smith is listed as a weakside defensive end from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, but he is from Savannah, while defensive tackle signee Tramel Walthour from Hutchinson (Kansas) Community College is a Hinesville resident.
Still, Georgia did need outside help on the defensive line and went into Tennessee to get it, signing Zion Logue of Lebanon, Tymon Mitchell of Nashville and Bill Norton of Memphis.
Tennessee, by comparison, signed nine players from Georgia in this cycle, including five from the Atlanta area, compared to just four from the Volunteer State.
"We're going to look for the best football players wherever they are," Pruitt said in the news conference addressing his December signees. "You want to start at home base, which is here in Knoxville and here in the state of Tennessee. We've tried to do that, and we're going to continue to do that.
"We're going to start at home base, but then you go to your neighboring states, which is kind of a common-sense approach."
Memphis running back Eric Gray, Nashville guard Jackson Lampley and Memphis guard Melvin McBride were the three top-20 prospects in Tennessee to sign with the Vols. The four highest-ranked prospects in Tennessee - Memphis cornerback Maurice Hampton (LSU), Murfreesboro defensive end Joseph Anderson (South Carolina), Nashville receiver Lance Wilhoite (Oregon) and Norton (Georgia) - went elsewhere.
Tennessee doesn't always offer scholarships to the top 20 prospects within its state, and the Vols figure to be more of a factor in both Georgia and Alabama given that Pruitt and assistants such as Will Friend, Tee Martin, Brian Niedermeyer and Kevin Sherrer have experience in recruiting those states.
"Atlanta is not but three hours from us, and there are five million people in the five counties there and surrounding it," Pruitt said. "There is a lot of good football and a lot of people recruit there, and it's an area where I hope we continue to have success."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.