Should I Stay, or Should I Go?

Noticing that of the Bulldogs’ current 10 combined four- and five-star commitments from the 2018 and 2019 classes, eight were from the state of Georgia, I thought I’d conduct a simple analysis in regards to all of the four- and five-star prospects in the state during the Rivals era (beginning in 2002)—what hometown were they from, and what school did they sign with? 

I discovered that from 2002 through 2017, there were 394 four- and five-star prospects from the state, hailing from 121 different Georgia towns/cities, who would sign with 40 different schools. With obviously Georgia leading the way (although, and I’m no recruiting expert, that 33.2 percent seems low to me), the top-10 schools the state’s top prospects signed with:

The Name Is the Game

Georgia's All-Name Team has a formidable offensive line consisting of (L to R) Sandy Beaver, Bum Day, Max Jean-Gilles, Puss Whelchel, and Pud Mosteller.

For more than a year, I compiled nearly 100 names of Bulldog players who I came across in my work/research and regarded worthy of being featured on an all-time Georgia “All-Name Team.” From those, I have selected a starting offense and defense. 

Of note, the name given is the name the player was most recognized for… For example, Georgia’s Buzy Rosenberg was always acknowledged as, well, Buzy Rosenberg—not Leman (his real first name) Rosenberg. Also, if I had a difficult time choosing one player over the other based solely on their names (e.g., Ben Zambiasi vs. Danny Verdun Wheeler at one of the linebacker spots), the deciding factor was their performance on the field. Still, in choosing most of the positions, as they say, the name is the game:

All-time All-Name OFFENSE

All-time All-Name DEFENSE