Kirby Smart has built a reputation as one of the nation’s top recruiters, and Georgia has ridden that edge to class after class filled with elite talent. But even the best in the business can have a moment that lands completely wrong.
That’s exactly what happened in the recruitment of five-star defensive lineman Marcus Fakatou, who ultimately committed to Ohio State over Georgia and other schools. A clip of Smart’s pitch to Fakatou has now gone viral, and it’s not for the right reasons.
In the video, Smart is heard talking about Georgia having more “stations” than Ohio State during recruiting visits, explaining it this way: “I was asking how many stations Ohio State has. They only have one. We have four.”
The line didn’t exactly age well. If Smart was aiming for a joke, it didn’t come across that way in the clip, and the reaction online made that pretty clear. The pitch gives off a snarky tone, almost as if Georgia’s edge over Ohio State was as simple as having more spots for photos during a visit.
That’s not likely the kind of detail that swings a decision for a player of Fakatou’s caliber anyway. He’s the sort of recruit who is looking at championships and the NFL, not the number of photo backdrops on campus. Still, the moment looked awkward enough to go viral.
Georgia did have a real shot at Fakatou. Ohio State was seen as the favorite at the beginning of June, but after his visit there, the Buckeyes couldn’t close the deal. That opened the door for Georgia to bring him in and try to make a late push, but the Bulldogs came up short.
Even so, Georgia fans don’t need to overreact to this miss. The Bulldogs already have a strong defensive line group in place, with three committed players at the position and one EDGE.
None of them are ranked as highly as Fakatou, so landing him would have been a major win. But one loss on its own isn’t a reason to panic.
The bigger takeaway is probably for Smart himself: when the cameras are rolling, even a throwaway line can turn into a headline. And this one certainly did.
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Alabamas Biggest Recruiting Wins Put DeBoer In A Saban-Level Debate
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Bryce Young still gets the slight edge over Anderson in the decade-long debate because of the way he changed Alabama at quarterback and capped it with a Heisman Trophy. But DeBoers early recruiting wins have added a fresh layer to the discussion, especially with prospects like Russell and Crowell giving the Tide reasons to believe the pipeline remains as dangerous as ever, even as the program moves deeper into a new coaching era. [Read more 🡒]