ATHENS, Ga. — The day after signing day was surprisingly busy for the Georgia Bulldogs — and productive.
Twenty-four hours after signing 24 prospects in what was deemed the nation’s No. 2-ranked recruiting class, the Bulldogs landed three more players Thursday — two via the transfer portal and a 25th signee.
The first player to on-board with the Bulldogs on Wednesday was Mississippi State wide receiver RaRa Thomas, who used his social-media accounts to announce that he had been accepted by UGA as a transfer and would be joining the team for next season.
Next up was defensive tackle Jordan “Big Baby” Hall of Jacksonville, Fla. The 6-foot-4, 310-pound senior from Westside High made the announcement at a public signing ceremony Thursday. But UGA did not make Hall’s signing official until about 7 p.m. Thursday after receiving and validating Hall’s paperwork.
Finally, in the early evening Thursday, Missouri wide receiver Dominic Lovett of Belleville, Ill., announced that he, too, was transferring to Georgia.
That gives No. 1-ranked Georgia 27 new players with which to reload next season. At the moment, the Bulldogs (13-0) are preparing for their Dec. 31 matchup against No. 4 Ohio State in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl playoff semifinal.
Hall’s addition is not expected to unseat Alabama for the No. 1 spot in the national composite recruiting rankings kept by 247Sports. But it assures that the Bulldogs remain on the upper rungs of college football’s ladder of success.
Currently in his seventh season as Georgia’s football coach, Smart’s recruiting classes never have finished lower than sixth in the national recruiting rankings. The past six have been fourth or better, with two No. 1s and two No. 2s.
— 2016: 6th
— 2017: 3rd
— 2018: 1st
— 2019: 2nd
— 2020: 1st
— 2021: 4th
— 2022: 3rd
— 2023: 2nd
This year, Georgia was coming off its first national championship in football in the past 41 years. Smart did not think that necessarily contributed to the Bulldogs’ success on the recruiting trail this year.
“I don’t know if you can measure that,” he said. “I think it gets you in the conversation with more national guys, but there’s nobody I look at this list and say we wouldn’t have gotten had we not won it or we got them because we won it.”
Lovett and Thomas (given name Rodarius Jaiquan) figure to be immediate contributors for the Bulldogs. Thomas was a starter in Mississippi’s State’s pass-happy “Air Raid” offense. A resident of Eufaula, Ala., Thomas led the team with 626 yards and seven TDs on 44 receptions this season.
Likewise, Lovett led Missouri with 56 receptions for 846 yards and three touchdowns. He was seventh in the SEC in receptions per game (4.7) and third in receiving yards per game (70.5).
Hall was a much-needed addition as the Bulldogs signed only one defensive lineman Wednesday in 6-5, 350-pound 4-star prospect Jamaal Jarrett of Greensboro, N.C. The Bulldogs lost third-year sophomore Bill Norton to the portal last week and are expected to see junior Jalen Carter declare for the draft, if not others.
Meanwhile, Hall was a standout on a team without many at Westside High. But he did it all for the Wolverines, recording 106 tackles, nine sacks, two forced fumbles and two blocked field-goal attempts. He chose the Bulldogs over LSU, Alabama and Florida.
