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Do you remember when Signing Day used to be like Christmas morning? You had no idea what was coming. Maybe some idea but there were a lot of surprises. Richt has turned Signing Day into a formality. We now know the bulk of the class prior to the start of the football season. Of our 25 commitments, 23 were in by the end of October. The kicker is they’re all good. It’s a fun time to be a UGA fan and I’m more than willing to take a somewhat less exciting Signing Day because frankly while the old days were more exciting, they weren’t always the good kind of exciting. Now on to the class, think of this as the Idiot’s Guide to UGA’s 2008 Recruiting Class. For many of you this will be a refresher, but maybe there’ll be something in there that you forgot…

QB – We’re still stacked here and with Logan Gray redshirting and the coaches speaking highly of him, there’s not a tremendous need right now, as Stafford and Cox will just now be juniors and Gray will be two years behind them. This will be a big target position in ’09.

RB – The loss of Thomas Brown is big, as he’s been a rock for 4 years. The loss of Kregg Lumpkin in the same season would typically be disastrous, but the emergence of the phenomenon that was Knowshon Moreno certainly doesn’t leave the cupboard empty. Behind Moreno is a group of unknowns, only one of whom is on campus right now, the gem of last year’s class, Caleb King. It’s a position that was an obvious need for more than one player to sign and we went out and grabbed a bevy of good ‘uns.

Richard Samuel (6-0, 197) : A freakish athlete, the kid is already on campus. He’s also only 16 (actually I think he’s turned 17 since getting to campus but the point is he’s really young to be as good as he is). He’s listed as an athlete by many services because he could just as easily end up at LB. He’s got a frame that will carry considerably more weight, he’s an excellent student and he’s amazingly athletic (jumped the center, blocked a kick and ran it back for a score on one play this year) with speed to burn. He’s pretty much the perfect recruit.

Dontavius Jackson (5-11, 195) : One of the top players in Georgia, from the same high school that produced stud RB recruit Carlos Brown from a few years back, Jackson is a good all-around back that really excels betweens the tackles. He’s not a big guy right now but will probably fill out considerably in Athens (didn’t we all?). He’s already on campus as well.

Carlton Thomas (5-7, 159) : A small back that plays much larger than his size. He’s incredibly quick and far stronger than his size would indicate. Watching clips of him, it’s easy to see why some services view him as a top 10 RB in the country (ESPN actually compares him to Barry Sanders). He hardly ever takes a direct hit and changes direction with little loss of speed. He’s a different back than we’ve had in recent years but he’ll be a really exciting change of pace. He could also be a big help in the return game early in his career. These small, quick backs are starting to find a situational niche in the SEC, with LSU and UF both featuring these type guys with good success.

WR – Sean Bailey, Mikey Henderson, AJ Bryant and TJ Gartrell move on, but there’s a boatload of bodies at the WR position, some proven, most waiting for their shot. Massaquoi returns as the most proven commodity. Wilson, Moore, Goodman, and Harris constitute the returners with experience. Two very promising redshirts will enter the equation this year in Isreal Troupe and Walter Hill, but the position is in serious need of a playmaker with deep threat potential. We’re adding two really good ones.

A.J. Green (6-4, 184) : Once again we waltz into South Carolina and take one of their prized recruits. He’s exactly what the program has been missing and what every coach in the country is looking for. Widely regarded as one of the top 10 recruits in the country regardless of position, he’s taller than most DBs, has good deep speed and his best quality might very well be his hands. He’s got an amazing knack for going up in traffic and coming down with the ball and he’s not scared to go across the middle, a trait uncommon in your taller WRs. If he qualifies (and recent indications are he could very well make it), he’s got the kind of talent that could see the field early and make an impact. He’s a humble kid too; one that committed early and never wavered despite numerous overtures from schools all over the country. He’s got an incredibly lanky build and will likely add weight in college but I don’t think he’ll ever be filled out like a Calvin Johnson or Mike Williams. He’s built more like Randy Moss or Fred Gibson. He’s got amazing body control for a guy his size.

Tavarres King (6-1, 169) : An excellent compliment to Green, King is a pure deep threat. He reminds me a lot of Sean Bailey in that he’s so fluid and reacts so well to the deep ball. He broke all kind of state receiving records and is another kid that was able to come in early. That coupled with his involvement in a more advanced HS passing attack could mean early playing time despite his slight build. He’s already a very developed WR.

TE – We lose Coleman Watson to graduation but this is another stacked position, with Chandler the clear starter as a senior coming off a very solid season. Behind him we have the specimen that is Bruce Figgins, former stud recruit NeDarris Ward and last year’s rivals.com #1 TE in the country Aron White. White isn’t a traditional TE (although he’s added some weight) and spent some time at WR last season before moving to TE. Despite the depth there, the staff felt like we could use one more in this class to firm up the depth chart for future years if someone special came along.

Dwayne Allen (6-4, 243) : He’s pretty much exactly what you look for in a TE recruit. He’s got the size, speed, physicality and hands (he won the hands competition at the Under Armor All-American game, against the top WRs in the country). He originally committed over a year ago and wavered recently, strongly considering FSU, UNC and Clemson, but it appears he finally settled once again on the school he originally fell for.

OL – Not quite the need position it was last year, it remains a priority in order to avoid the vicious 3-4 year cycle we’ve been on of having to completely reload after losing all your seniors. It was a tradition started by Donnan and continued under Richt and Callaway. New OL coach Stacey Searels came in and made a bad OL situation a good one, and despite starting 3 freshmen OLs last season, he could be looking at starting one or two more this year as well. The depth chart doesn’t have many upperclassmen and is heavy in the freshman/sophomore classes but this staff has learned the dangers of passing on OLs. He won’t be listed here, but getting Kiante Tripp as an OT for all of spring and fall practices is incredibly big as he could be our starting RT next year after spending his first 1+ seasons as a DE. We lost seniors Velasco and Adams and JUCO transfer Scott Haverkamp decided to give up football so we needed a few bodies to get the numbers right. This group joins the redshirt class consisting of Justin Anderson, Tanner Strickland and Ben Harden.