Georgia thought it had a real shot at Kadin Fife. Instead, the four-star defensive lineman stunned the recruiting world on Tuesday by choosing Louisville.
Fife, a 6-foot-5, 282-pound lineman, had been committed to Tennessee before backing off that pledge two weeks after his official visit to Georgia in June. That move immediately put the Bulldogs in the conversation, and for a while it looked like the race might come down to Georgia and Ole Miss, the only other school to host him on a visit this summer.
Then Louisville came out of nowhere and landed the commitment.
“502, I’m all in. #GoCards ❤️🖤”
The decision caught plenty of people off guard. Georgia fans had reason to feel optimistic after Fife’s decommitment from Tennessee, and the Bulldogs appeared to be in strong shape. A 247Sports prediction for Fife to land at Georgia came in about a week ago, and it was logged by a Georgia insider, which only added to the belief that Kirby Smart’s staff was in good position.
Even Georgia quarterback commit Colton Nussmeier seemed to think the Bulldogs were the pick. Nussmeier and Fife were on campus the same weekend for official visits, and whatever they discussed apparently left Nussmeier convinced that Fife would end up in Athens.
Instead, Louisville won the day.
The result leaves Georgia with a frustrating miss, especially because Fife would have been its highest-ranked defensive line commitment. Still, the Bulldogs already have four defensive linemen committed in their 2027 class, so this one doesn’t leave the room empty. It just leaves a strange finish to a recruitment that seemed headed in a very different direction.
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