Georgia
SEC Team Recruiting Rankings: Georgia’s Big Commit, Zech Ford, Moves the Needle
College football season ended a week-and-a-half ago when Ohio State beat Notre Dame in the National Championship game, but the recruiting stove is red hot across the sport.
In the SEC, Georgia landed a commitment from big-time safety Zech Fort of IMG Academy in Florida on Thursday. How did it impact the recruiting rankings across the SEC?
247Sports updated its composite team rankings following the commitment and five SEC programs checked in the top 10 nationally while three more ranked within the top 20.
Despite a woeful 2024 season that saw just a 2-10 overall record and winless SEC campaign, Mississippi State still ranks ahead of four other SEC teams.
Here is what the SEC team recruiting rankings look like as of January 30, 2025. Clearly there is a lot of time for movement to be made as we’re 11 months from the early signing period, but the foundation for recruiting classes is clearly being built.
No. 16: Kentucky (0 nationally)
Kentucky is the only team in the SEC that is yet to receive a public verbal commitment in the 2026 recruiting cycle.
15. Vanderbilt (54th nationally)
Vanderbilt Football:
1 commitment
87.26 average player rating
17.26 team points
14. Missouri (51st nationally)
Missouri Football:
1 commitment
89.58 average player rating
19.58 team points
13. Alabama (49th nationally)
Alabama Football:
1 commitment
95.05 average player rating
25.05 team points
12. Mississippi State (42 nationally)
Mississippi State Football:
4 commitments
87.07 average player rating
34.05 team points
11. Ole Miss (38th nationally)
Ole Miss Football:
2 commitments
86.66 average player rating
37.21 team points
10. Texas (33rd nationally)
Texas Football:
2 commitments
95.35 average player rating
50.55 team points
9. Florida (28th nationally)
Florida Football:
3 commitments
90.63 average player rating
61.32 team points
8. Oklahoma (19th nationally)
Oklahoma Football:
4 commitments
91.32 average player rating
83.65 team points
7. South Carolina (14th nationally)
South Carolina Football:
5 commitments
89.93 average player rating
96.70 team points
6. Georgia (12th nationally)
Georgia Football:
5 commitments
92.03 average player rating
106.71 team points
5. Arkansas (9th nationally)
Arkansas Football:
9 commitments
87.96 average player rating
117.09 team points
4. LSU (8th nationally)
LSU Football:
6 commitments
91.63 average player rating
123.91 team points
3. Auburn (7th nationally)
Auburn Football:
6 commitments
93.11 average player rating
132.21 team points
2. Tennessee (6th nationally)
Tennessee Football:
7 commitments
90.7 average player rating
135.95 team points
1. Texas A&M (2nd nationally)
Texas A&M Football:
10 commitments
92.2 average player rating
192 team points
A Griffin, Georgia man is now under arrest, charged in connection with a cold case homicide investigation in New Jersey, prosecutors say.
It’s been nearly 37 years since 42-year-old Mauricio Cuadra was shot during an apparent home invasion; now, authorities say 62-year-old Joseph Quiros-Soto is charged with his murder.
Officials say on Aug. 9, 1989, the officers with the Bayonne Police Department responded to reports of a home invasion and shooting at an apartment on the 400 block of Avenue C. Inside the home, they found Cuadra suffering from a gunshot wound. Cuadra died shortly after.
The case remained a mystery until 2024, when Quiros-Soto confessed to the murder to police in Locust Grove, Georgia, saying that he had become a born-again Christian, NJ.com reports.
Police told the outlet that he gave the detectives details of the crime and allowed visiting Hudson County authorities to take a DNA sample, which matched a stain on the victim.
Authorities were eventually able to obtain a warrant for the Georgia man’s arrest. On May 27, 2026, deputies with the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office arrested Quiros-Soto at his home in Griffin, charging him with murder and murder during the commission of a burglary.
Quiros-Soto is being detained in Georgia, awaiting extradition to New Jersey.
STARKVILLE — Mississippi State baseball has made the super regionals in the NCAA Tournament and will face a team its already played four times.
The No. 14 national seed Bulldogs (43-17) are matched up with No. 3 Georgia (49-12). The best-of-three series will take place in Athens, Georgia, because Georgia is the higher seed.
The super regionals run from June 5-8, and the winner will make the College World Series.
MSU is 0-4 against Georgia this season, getting swept at Dudy Noble Field and then losing a fourth time in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. Georgia won the SEC regular season and tournament championships.
Both teams made it through their regionals without a loss. Mississippi State blew out Louisiana 19-5 on May 31, while Georgia defeated Liberty.
MSU has played Georgia only once in postseason history, losing in the 1990 College World Series.
Mississippi State baseball history in super regionals
Mississippi State has played in 10 super regionals and won five of them. It has won three straight super regionals. MSU is 2-4 as the visiting team in super regionals.
New Mississippi State coach Brian O’Connor is 7-2 in super regionals.
NCAA baseball tournament schedule
- Super regionals: June 5-8
- College World Series: June 12-22
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
Georgia football landed a pair of commitments Sunday for its 2027 recruiting class.
Wide receiver Taurean Rawlins from Mount Vernon School in Atlanta posted on his X account on May 31 that he’s pledged to the Bulldogs.
Georgia also picked up a commitment from offensive tackle DJ Dotson from Hattiesburg, Miss., he posted on his Instagram account.
Both are rated 3-star prospects.
“I loved the support and love they showed towards me and my family,” Dotson said in a text message to the Athens Banner-Herald.
The 6-foot, 175-pound Rawlins is rated the No. 58 wide receiver in the 2027 class and the No. 478 overall prospect.
Rawlins had 67 catches for 1,395 yards and 17 touchdowns last season, according to MaxPreps.
Rawlins and Dotson give Georgia 10 commitments for this cycle.
Rawlins is the first wide receiver commitment. He also had offers from Ohio State, Florida and Michigan.
Georgia signed four wide receivers in its 2026 class: Craig Dandridge, Ryan Mosley, Dallas Dickerson and late addition Tre Shields.
Rawlins’ coach at Mount Vernon is former Georgia star wide receiver Terrence Edwards.
The 6-foot-7, 330-pound Dotson is rated as the nation’s No. 85 offensive tackle prospect and the No. 851 overall prospect.
He picked Georgia over Ole Miss, LSU and Georgia Tech, according to 247Sports.
Georgia also has offensive line commitments in its 2027 class from Kelsey Adams from Langston Hughes, Abram Eisenhower from Lowndes and Ty Johnson from Mount Pleasant, S.C.
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