Georgia is apparently settling its business as we reach the peak of the 2026 recruiting cycle.

Three UGA commits announced Tuesday they are shutting down their recruitments and will remain with the Bulldogs.

The first was wide receiver Brady Marchese, who rejected recent pursuit by multiple schools because, as he told On3, “Georgia is home.”

Four-star defensive back Jordan Smith also had plans to visit Florida State and Tennessee, but now those trips have been canceled.

Which leads to arguably the biggest news — the fact that 4-star cornerback Justice Fitzpatrick, who was slated to visit Ohio State this weekend, will also be canceling his future visits.

This major step toward securing another elite signing class shows that UGA is still a formidable foe for rivals nipping at its heels.

For the rest of the news, check out our coverage below.

Trivia time

How many of Kirby Smart’s nine seasons have featured multiple starting quarterbacks?

Happy guessing! Answer at the bottom of the newsletter.

Ryan Puglisi enters pivotal second season at Georgia

There’s a very real scenario where Ryan Puglisi ends up starting for Georgia this year.

He could also not play a meaningful snap in 2025. Such is the life of a backup quarterback.

Kirby Smart hasn’t yet named a starter but all signs point to Gunner Stockton being Georgia’s starting quarterback to begin the season.

But as we saw with Stockton last year, Stetson Bennett in 2021 and Jake Fromm in 2017, having a second quarterback that can play winning football is incredibly important at a place like Georgia.

Puglisi is entering his second season at Georgia. Stockton is going into year four. He’s also got 83 more career pass attempts than the redshirt freshman.

Yet Puglisi isn’t letting the gap between himself and Stockton dampen his drive.

He still very much believes he can be a positive factor in the Georgia quarterback room.

“I think the biggest thing is just putting your head down and going to work every single day, regardless of the noise, regardless of what people say about you, good and bad,” Puglisi said earlier this spring. “I think you just have the decision to make when you wake up in the morning, am I going to get better or not today? That’s really that simple.”

For more on Puglisi’s outlook heading into his second year in the program, check out Connor Riley’s story below.

Year two for QB Ryan Puglisi offers a range of possibilities for Georgia football

Three recruits make it clear where they stand with Georgia

Georgia already won the initial commitments for 4-star wide receiver Marchese and 4-star defensive backs Fitzpatrick and Smith.

And it seems to have locked up those battles for good, as all three players announced on Tuesday that they would be shutting down their recruitments.

Marchese committed to Georgia back in March. He is the No. 353 overall player in the class.

Michigan had made a strong push for the Cartersville native, with Florida hoping to get in with Marchese as well. Marchese took his official visit to Georgia this weekend. He is one of three wide receivers in the class, joining Vance Spafford and Ryan Mosley.

Fitzpatrick committed to Georgia earlier this month, marking a major win for the Georgia defensive staff. He’s the second-highest rated commit in the class at this point, with only 5-star quarterback Jared Curtis being ranked higher.

Ohio State had been set to host Fitzpatrick, while Miami and Texas were also factors in his recruitment. That is no longer the case it seems, with Fitzpatrick reaffirming his commitment to Georgia.

Smith had visits to Florida State and Tennessee on the docket. Yet the No. 6 safety in the country will be loyal to the Bulldogs, as he was the third of the trio to announce his recruitment was over for good.

To some, this type of news is surely nauseating. It’s understandable why some wait until signing day to start paying attention to recruiting.

But this is just the new recruiting landscape college football occupies. It’s one thing to earn the commitments of Marchese, Fitzpatrick and Smith. It is another to hold on to those coveted players, especially when other programs know who they’re trying to knock off.

Could Georgia RB room be poised for a breakout?

Georgia’s rushing attack last year was not good enough. The Bulldogs finished No. 102 in the country in rushing offense. And that was with fourth-round pick Trevor Etienne in the backfield.

Yet there appears to be some optimism regarding where the group is at entering 2025. Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports had Georgia as one of the top running back rooms in the country entering next season, landing in the honorable mention category.

With Etienne gone, more will be on the shoulders, and legs, of sophomore Nate Frazier. He led Georgia in rushing yards last season and had the team’s only 100-yard rushing game. Entering his second year in the program, ball security is his top priority.

Georgia leaned on the transfer portal to find a replacement for Etienne, landing Illinois running back Joshua McCray. He arrived in the spring window and did not go through spring practice with the team. As Frazier showed a year ago though, running back is a position where that isn’t the biggest issue.

Cash Jones is a valuable weapon as a pass catcher. He returns for another season.

If Georgia can get anything out of Roderick Robinson, Chauncey Bowens, Dwight Phillips and Bo Walker, the Bulldogs should have the ingredients for both a deep and talented room. Walker impressed during spring practice and could well outperform his recruiting ranking.

It won’t all be on the running backs to improve in the ground game this year, as the offensive line needs to do its part. But if it can, that should make things much, much easier for Stockton.

And help make the Georgia offense one of the best in the country.

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Photo of the Day

Receiver Jeremy Bell goes up for the ball during spring drills.

Credit: Tony Walsh/UGAAA

Quote of the Day

Four-star tight end Brayden Fogle on what stands out about Georgia …

“The people and the culture they have down there are pretty one of a kind. Although there are good people and pretty energetic people, but they also know what they are talking about. It has an amazing coaching staff, but the culture is so football-based, and for that football program, the standards are exceptionally high. So every year, you know that you are going to have a chance of winning that national championship. I think that’s the most exciting thing is knowing that you are going to get that opportunity and to do it alongside great people.”

Jeremy Bell shows why he’s one of the best athletes on the team

Jeremy Bell is something of a cult figure among the Georgia football community.

He was not recruited on scholarship out of Clinch County in Homerville. But he is a rare athlete with what he brings to the wide receiver room.

Bell caught a 31-yard touchdown in Georgia’s spring game, which naturally wasn’t televised. Christen Miller recently praised Bell as the best athlete on the team.

Online Georgia fans got a taste of why when Bell threw down a monster dunk over multiple teammates. While he does put his hand on the back of offensive tackle Bo Hughley, the redshirt sophomore offensive tackle is a mammoth 6-foot-7.

Georgia’s wide receiver room is one of the deeper rooms on the team. But Bell is only a redshirt freshman and will have time to develop and grow as a player.

In an age where walk-ons are disappearing from the sport because of the House settlement, Bell has a chance to be one of the last great ones for the Bulldogs.

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Trivia answer

5 (2016, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2024)