Tennessee makes strong counter move in David Gabriel Georges recruiting showdown with Ohio State

No recruitment feels more important for Tennessee right now than five-star running back David Gabriel Georges. The Vols have been pursuing him for years, and with a July 22 commitment date set, they’ve got a little under two months to make their final push and try to land him for Heupel and the staff.

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A couple of weeks ago, Ohio State made a big statement by sending its entire coaching staff to see Gabriel Georges. Offensive coordinator Art Smith, along with position coaches Billy Fessler, Tyler Bowen, Keenan Bailey, Cortez Hankton, and running backs coach Carlos Locklyn, all went to see Gabriel Georges last week.

However, Tennessee has countered with a haymaker of its own in the David Gabriel Georges recruitment. The Vosl returned the favor by sending offensive coordinator Joey Halzle, running backs coach De'Rail Sims, and tight ends coach Alec Abeln to see the in-state tailback.

Tennessee is not backing down in the David Gabriel Georges recruitment

What Ohio State did felt a little over the top. It seemed like a “look at us” move, sending almost their entire staff just to make a statement. Tennessee took a more realistic approach, rotating different coaches in to see Gabriel Georges and make it clear he’s still a major priority for the Vols. Tennessee countered with a strong jab, instead of a major haymaker, which is okay.

I actually like this approach overall because it shows Heupel isn’t intimidated by Ryan Day and his staff. Tennessee has already hosted Gabriel Georges plenty of times, so there’s no need to send the entire coaching staff just to make a statement. He’s been to Knoxville enough, and at this point the Vols don’t need to rely on flashy moves to stay in the mix.

By most expert accounts, while Georgia and Ole Miss made his top four, it’s a two-team race for David Gabriel Georges between Ohio State and Tennessee. It’s going to hurt for whichever team doesn’t land him. He’s a day-one difference-maker, and both programs have made him a priority from the start. With NIL, though, it would be the craziest thing to see one of these schools make a late surge, but ultimately it will probably come down to Ohio State and the Vols.

Given that David Gabriel Georges is from Canada, Tennessee’s usual home-state advantage doesn’t carry as much weight here. It would still hurt to miss out on him, but the Vols have done a nice job recruiting other running backs as well. Not all their eggs are in one basket, and they’re not fully dependent on landing him to feel good about the position group moving forward.

With official visits starting in a couple of weeks, the Tennessee running back board, beyond David Gabriel Georges and the rest of the position group, will begin to come into clearer focus. Tennessee currently has seven commitments, and they’ll hope to build on that as they move toward prospects taking their summer official visits.

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