Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins has always emphasized how important recruiting is to a football program. If you look at Alabama’s, Clemson’s, and Ohio State’s success, one thing stands out: Recruiting. These teams have been atop the football world for the past decade because they have coaches that work hard to recruit talent coming in. Geoff Collins is no different.
In Collins’ first full cycle of recruiting for Georgia Tech, he has the Yellow Jackets recruiting class in the top 25 nationally, and ranked fourth in the ACC. It will be the first time that Tech has had a recruiting class in the top 25 since 2007.
The biggest sign of the of the day came that morning when Tech landed quarterback Jeffrey Simms, a four star recruit and the seventh ranked dual threat quarterback in the recruiting class. Simms had verbally committed to Florida State earlier this year, then decided to decommit a week before early signing day. This was a huge signing for Georgia Tech because it proved that they can recruit with big name programs. Simms also had offers from Georgia, Alabama, LSU, and Miami. Bringing Sims in could be exactly what Georgia Tech needs to prove themselves as contenders for the ACC Coastal.
Jahmyr Gibbs is another huge recruit that Georgia Tech is hoping for after he was listed as a hard commit to Tech . He is the fourth ranked running back in the country for his class, and the 111th overall recruit in his class. He also has offers from Ohio State, Alabama, and Florida. With the addition of Gibbs, the running back core of him, Jamious Griffin, and Jordan Mason could be the best in the ACC. It will take plenty of pressure off of James Graham and Jeffrey Simms to know that those three guys can be explosive.
Some of the other big name recruits that Collins landed were Bryce Gowdy and Nate McCollum, both of which are four star wide receivers. On the defensive side, the jackets had one four star recruit, defensive end Jared Ivey. Tech also needed veteran leadership on the offensive line, and Collins got just that as he brought in transfer graduate Ryan Johnson from Tennessee. Johnson was listed as a four star offensive tackle when he signed with Tennessee in the 2016 recruiting cycle. The Yellow Jackets also brought in Derrick Allen, a sophomore safety from Notre Dame that was a 4 star recruit in the 2018 class. Collins has put a big emphasis on the offensive line this offseason, and it has shown in his recruiting. The yellow Jackets have already had six offensive linemen commit to the school this offseason.
Things are looking up for Geoff Collins and Georgia Tech as he continues to prove himself as a big name recruiter. The Yellow Jackets may have finished 3-9 last season, but there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the future of Georgia Tech football.