The clock is ticking on one of the biggest recruiting decisions left on the board, and David Gabriel Georges is making it clear this one isn’t wrapped up yet.
The five-star running back told On3’s Chris Low that his recruitment is still wide open with just over a week to go before his announcement. “It's hard.
You feel this way, like you know, and then it's sort of 50-50. People will say the 22nd of July is far off, but honestly for me, it's pretty close,” Gabriel Georges said.
That uncertainty comes after another twist in a recruitment that has already taken a few turns. On Sunday, the Baylor School standout posted a photo showing he had cut off the long hair he’d been known for ahead of the biggest week of his young career.
Gabriel Georges, a 6-foot, 205-pound rising senior from Terrebonne, Quebec, is rated the No. 2 running back and No. 10 overall prospect in the 2027 class by the 247Sports Composite. Rivals has him at No. 9 overall and first in Tennessee.
The production backs up the hype. As a sophomore, he ran for 1,103 yards and 14 touchdowns on only 114 carries, and 247Sports’ scouting report says he has the kind of game that could anchor an offense for a College Football Playoff contender.
There’s also a major financial angle here. Pete Nakos reported that Gabriel Georges is expected to become the highest-paid running back recruit ever, with a deal that could approach $2 million. A source told On3 that his family wants more than just a payday: “The family is very clear that it wants a multi-year deal, so they have a roadmap for his entire career,” a source told On3.
The mixed messaging around the decision has only added to the intrigue. Last week, his uncle, Jean Agenor, told On3 that a choice had already been made privately, which led Gabriel Georges to respond on X with “I didn't say anything”. Now, with the running back describing things as “50-50,” the picture looks less like a staged reveal and more like a real battle down to the wire.
Tennessee, Ohio State and Ole Miss are the three schools still in the mix, but the pressure is not distributed evenly.
For Tennessee, this is the kind of recruitment that can reshape a class. The Vols’ 16-man group sits 33rd in the Rivals rankings and does not include a single five-star commitment, so landing Gabriel Georges would immediately give the class its headliner.
Josh Heupel’s pitch has centered on what Tennessee has done on the field, pointing to three straight 1,000-yard rushers in Jaylen Wright, Dylan Sampson and DeSean Bishop. On his June official visit, Alvin Kamara served as his host.
Ohio State has more room to weather a miss. The Buckeyes are No. 7 in the Rivals class rankings, with No. 1 edge rusher David Jacobs, five-star defensive lineman Marcus Fakatou and four-star tackle Caden Moss already in the fold. They had been fifth before Oregon and Texas passed them in early July, but they still appear to be the team most insiders expect to win out here, with six of nine Rivals insiders picking Columbus.
Ole Miss is the long shot in this race. The Rebels have built their 2027 class around defensive linemen Ben'Jarvius Shumaker and Jamarkus Pittman, and most in the industry see them as a distant third.
Gabriel Georges is set to announce his commitment on Wednesday, July 22 on the CBS Sports College Football YouTube channel.
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