Georgia Football Recruiting 2022: Top Commitments Landed, Recruit Predictions

While the Georgia Bulldogs seek a second straight national championship, the coaching staff is working to sign one of the nation's top-rated 2023 recruiting classes.

Led by cornerback AJ Harris, the Dawgs have landed 20 commitments from blue-chip (4- and 5-star) prospects. In the days leading to the early signing period, only SEC rival Alabama has a higher-ranked haul than the class that Kirby Smart and his staff have put together.

In all likelihood, UGA is headed for a 10th straight top-10 haul with a seventh consecutive top-four group.

Ahead, we're checking out the Dawgs' pre-early NSD class and making predictions on what might happen this week.

AJ Harris, CB

As usual, Georgia's class is loaded with elite defensive players. The headliner is AJ Harris, who UGA snagged out of Alabama. Harris committed to Georgia in summer 2022 and has joined the Dawgs for Peach Bowl preparations prior to formally enrolling.

Samuel M'Pemba, Edge

Early in December, the Dawgs landed a pledge from coveted edge-rusher Samuel M'Pemba. He picked UGA over LSU, Florida and Miami. One of M'Pemba's teammates at IMG Academy, 4-star edge-rusher Gabriel Harris, is also headed to Athens with him as January enrollees.

Joenel Aguero, S

Rounding out the defensive trio is Joenel Aguero, a safety from Massachusetts. His busy summer featured official visits to UGA, Florida and Miami, but Aguero chose the Dawgs and will enroll early.

Georgia should not be considered the favorite in several of these recruitments, but all of these prospects are on the board.

The outlier to know is 5-star tight end Duce Robinson, who might not sign during the early period, per Kipp Adams of 247Sports. Nevertheless, the Dawgs are a strong contender for Robinson, with 5-star defenders James Smith and Qua Russaw at least on the radar.

Ohio State is the prime competition for 5-star edge-rusher Damon Wilson, while SEC adversaries Alabama, Florida and LSU are challenging Georgia for 4-star defensive tackle Jordan Hall.

In mid-November, 4-star cornerback Daniel Harris backed off a verbal pledge to UGA. However, the Dawgs have continued to recruit him and may bring Harris back into the class.

Georgia is also trying to sell its pipeline of running backs to Kyron Jones, a 3-star who is committed to North Carolina State.

Looking solely at the early signing period, Georgia should have a modestly successful window.

While the prediction is both Smith and Russaw choose Alabama, the Dawgs will bolster the defensive line with Wilson and Hall. Additionally, the secondary will receive a boost when Harris rejoins the group.

Georgia's final push will be enough to flip Jones, who visited Athens earlier in December, from NC State.

Robinson will be UGA's main target as the calendar turns to 2023 and the program's focus shifts to February's traditional signing day—after the College Football Playoff ends, of course.