Georgia football is already laying the groundwork for its 2027 recruiting class, and one name near the top of the Bulldogs' board is four-star linebacker Quinton Cypher. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound prospect out of Raleigh, North Carolina, has emerged as one of the most coveted linebackers in the country-and Georgia is firmly in the mix.
Cypher recently narrowed his list to four schools: Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama, and Miami. That’s elite company, but according to recruiting insiders, this is shaping up to be a two-horse race between Georgia and Ohio State. The Bulldogs are in striking distance, but it’s the Buckeyes who currently hold the edge.
Ohio State has been trending heavily for Cypher, with On3 giving the Buckeyes an 88.1% chance to land him. That’s a strong position to be in, especially with no public commitment date announced yet.
But if there’s one thing we’ve learned from watching Kirby Smart’s recruiting machine over the years, it’s this: Georgia doesn’t fold when it’s behind. In fact, that’s often when they’re at their most dangerous.
Cypher fits the mold of the kind of linebacker Georgia has prioritized under Smart-rangy, athletic, and instinctive. He’s a top-10 linebacker nationally, and his frame suggests he could develop into a sideline-to-sideline force at the next level. For a program that prides itself on defensive dominance, especially at the second level, Cypher would be a major addition.
The Bulldogs’ 2027 class is already sitting at No. 6 in the country, but there’s plenty of room to climb. Landing a player like Cypher would not only boost the class rankings-it would send a message.
Georgia is still Georgia. The standard hasn’t changed.
Of course, beating out Ohio State for a top defensive recruit is no small task. The Buckeyes have built their own recruiting juggernaut and are no strangers to pulling elite talent out of the Southeast. But Georgia has done it before, and with time still on the clock, this battle is far from over.
This recruitment is one to watch. Cypher hasn’t locked in a commitment date yet, which gives Georgia room to maneuver.
The Bulldogs have made late pushes before-sometimes flipping the script entirely in the final stretch. As long as Kirby Smart is in Athens, Georgia will be in the fight for the nation’s best defenders.
And if Cypher ends up donning the red and black, he could be the next in a long line of linebackers to thrive in Athens.