This was certainly not a huge surprise. Wright, while supposedly committed to UGA, frequently spoke of the Bulldogs with a detachment that made it seem he might not be part of the 2027 class for long.
However, his recent departure forces us to ask a blunt question about Georgia: Is it currently spending enough to maintain its status as one of college football’s top programs?
On the one hand, maybe it is. UGA will be one of the sport’s highest-ranked teams to begin the 2026 season and will have among the best odds to win the national championship. A program doesn’t achieve that status these days if it isn’t at least attempting to keep pace financially.
And yet, on the other hand, Georgia obviously isn’t as aggressive with its NIL offers as some of its competition and, not coincidentally, flips such as Wright’s are seemingly becoming more common.
At least for now Georgia is plenty talented, but eventually the current roster will need to be replaced. How will coach Kirby Smart attract new talent when forced into bidding wars with notorious big spenders like Miami?
That’s a question that will loom large in the years to come.
Check out the rest of our coverage below.
Trivia time
How many players does Georgia football have committed in its 2027 recruiting class?
Answer is at the bottom of the newsletter.
Georgia loses 5-star commit to Miami
Georgia has seen one of its top commitments in its recruiting class flip, as Wright has changed his commitment to Miami.
Wright first committed to Georgia last June. He is from Long Beach, California, and ranks as the No. 9 overall player in the 247 Sports Composite rankings for the 2027 class.
Wright last visited Georgia for G-Day back on April 18. He had been scheduled to take his official visit to Georgia on May 29, but it is unknown at this time if that visit will take place. Oregon had also been a major factor in Wright’s recruitment.
5-star Asher Ghioto details how he was born to be a Georgia Bulldog
There are numerous schools in play for 5-star edge Asher Ghioto. Miami. Ohio State. Texas A&M. Count Georgia among that top group of heavyweights.
That’s to be expected. He is, after all, rated as either the No. 1 or 2 edge in the nation for the Class of 2028 for the 247Sports and the Rivals Industry Ranking.
His last name is pronounced as “Get-toe.” The trick is to think “Get to” the quarterback as it first rolls off the tongue. That’s fitting because he had 23 sacks and 35 TFLs last fall for the Bolles Schools in Jacksonville, Florida.
Ghioto has also confirmed with DawgNation that he’s now seriously considering reclassifying to the 2027 cycle. While most worry about the physical and mental toll that lowers the success rate for reclassified prospects, his makeup begs for an exception.
He’s 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds. He can bench press 400-plus pounds. He even grew up training in MMA.
He wears No. 34 for a specific reason. That’s not a number elite most pass rushers wear these days, but that’s one that a life-long fan of the Georgia Bulldogs might choose.
“Actually, I’m sitting in my room right now,” Ghioto started off. “And if you were to see my room right now, I have about one, two, three, four, five, six pictures and posters of Georgia stuff in my room as we speak. One of them, in the dead center, is a signed Herschel Walker.”
It reads “To the Ghioto family from Herschel Walker. Stay blessed.”
Five-star Class of 2028 edge prospect Asher Ghioto (right) has an interesting backstory with the Georgia football program. He was wearing a Georgia beanie within minutes of being born. He also wears No. 34 in honor of Georgia legend Herschel Walker. (Courtesy)
Quote of the day
Ghioto on the Georgia staff knowing his story:
“I try my best to play poker, but it does slip out. So I know they have a general idea that I was a Georgia fan. That I am a Georgia fan, but do they know all of it? I don’t think, at least, until they’ve read some of the interviews I’ve done, to what extent it goes to that my room is borderline (all) Georgia. I try to play poker in that aspect, but it does slip out for sure because you get a little excited sometimes.”
Smart knows the negative recruiting used against Georgia
Smart knows what opponents are saying about him and his program.
When schools pitch prospective prospects, Smart says that rival schools love to point out that Georgia is not going to pay top dollar for elite high school prospects.
The Bulldogs have missed out on a number of top targets of late. Last cycle saw 5-star quarterback Jared Curtis flip to Vanderbilt, while Texas Tech beat out Georgia for 5-star edge LaDamion Guyton. It’s hard to believe that finances didn’t play a part in losing those players to those nontraditional powers.
“I want you to earn it and work your way up,” Smart told Josh Pate in a recent sit-down interview. “People hear it all the time in recruiting, they want to use this as a negative to us.”
Some data shows that tactic is working. The Bulldogs signed the No. 6-ranked recruiting class this past cycle. That is a step down from where the Bulldogs have traditionally ranked under Smart. It was the first time since 2016, when Smart spent much of the recruiting cycle working as the defensive coordinator at Alabama, that the Bulldogs did not sign a recruiting class that ranked in the top 5.
Georgia’s 2026 recruiting class saw the Bulldogs sign only two top 50 overall prospects in the 247Sports Composite rankings in No. 36 Ekene Ogboko and No. 38 Kaiden Prothro. Last year’s recruiting class had the fewest top 50 recruits in any of Smart’s recruiting classes at Georgia.
