That’s how the tables turned for Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs. The 2024 season had tested their patience for way too long. While they could grab an SEC win, they lost the Natty race. Plagued by a ton of inconsistencies, Smart also had to pay a heavy cost by losing his quarterback, Carson Beck. But even after this, he did not lose hope. The Georgia head coach promised Paul Finebaum moving into 2025, “Our team is going to be a really good team.” While Smart is yet to prove himself, he has started collecting the building blocks for 2026. And guess what this new trend is?
In-state recruiting. As per On3’s 2025 Industry Ranking football Team Recruiting Rankings, the Bulldogs are the No.2 class with 28 recruits. However, Smart still has some unfinished business when it comes to their 2026 class as they hold the No.4 rank with the 22 total recruits locked in this far. One of them just got added.
On June 26, Chad Simmons tweeted, “NEWS: 4-star WR Craig Dandridge commits to Georgia. .” That’s how Smart’s Bulldogs continued their red-hot streak on the recruiting trail and Craig Dandridge marked their 14th in-state commitment after Ryan Mosley, Jordan Smith, Carter Luckie, Zykie Helton, and a couple of others. Well, the streak is not just maintained this way. Dandridge is the fourth major player that Smart hunted down this week for Georgia. Earlier this week, EDGE defender Khamari Brooks, defensive lineman Corey Howard, and running back Jae Lamar punched their entry ticket into the Bulldogs club. Was it an easy call for Georgia to woo Dandridge? Absolutely not.
NEWS: 4-star WR Craig Dandridge commits to Georgia.
Dandridge said, “Georgia puts me outside of my comfort zone.”
He takes you inside his commitment here: https://t.co/0jiX35v5ek pic.twitter.com/JuiIKRM3Xr
— ChadSimmons (@ChadSimmons_) June 26, 2025
Georgia Tech was hoping to make a splash with the 4-star. The Yellow Jackets had been recruiting Dandridge hard and hoped to beat their rivals for him. Well, they can’t be blamed. The No. 38 wide receiver in the country, and the No. 26 player in the state of Georgia, had given them high hopes. Coming out of his spring visit to Georgia Tech, he said, “Coach McKnight and Coach Dre have always been reaching out to me constantly to see how I am doing with track, my mental health, NIL, and things like that. Just help me out, and I really appreciate them every time, and Georgia Tech is a very special place. They came out and recruited me early, and one of the first ACC schools to hop on me. I am very appreciative of them.”
Dandridge initially held 25 offers. He later narrowed it down to his top six featuring Smart’s Georgia, Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Florida, Stanford, and Oklahoma. And what made him choose the Bulldogs as his next home? “I just felt a different connection at Georgia. They’re doing the right things to prepare their players for the next level,” said Smart’s new joinee. And the timing of Dandridge’s commitment could not be any better.
Earlier this week, the Bulldogs lost longtime commit Vance Spafford, who flipped to Miami, leaving a temporary gap in Smart’s receiver class. With Dandridge filling the gap, the 6-foot-1, 175-pound receiver is a great addition, being an exceptional route runner who is skilled at generating plenty of separation. While Smart goes on turbo mode on the 2026 recruiting trail, there are already some blockages spotted on the radar for the upcoming season.
Kirby Smart’s Georgia feels the preseason snub
Talking about confidence? Well, neither Smart nor his boys run short of it. As their junior tight end, Lawson Luckie claimed, “This year everyone’s hungry, everyone’s got something to prove.” However, the reality is a bit different as it tries to bog them down. With almost two months left for the 2025 season to hit the roads, the ‘Preseason Top 25 for 2025’ rankings are here. The list has been curated based on three factors: the rosters, the coaching changes, and the transfer portal moves. And guess where Smart’s Georgia has been placed?
At No.7. If that’s not enough of a snub for the head coach, analyst George Wrighster pinpointed the shortcomings. “I know that we just saw two of the better teams in college football history win a national championship out of Georgia a couple of years ago, but that ain’t what this roster is. NIL and the transfer portal have made it so. Georgia, yes, their roster is excellent, but at the end of the day, the depth is not what it used to be, where you would bring in one five-star, ‘Oh, he’s tired, he gets hurt, bring in another one, bring in another NFL guy.’ Just an army of them, and now behind the NFL guy you got a young guy, and that’s the difference.”
Even though Kirby Smart is riding high with a defensive line that has been listed among the top 10 ahead of the 2025 college football season, there are still some cracks. They have lost some of their key pieces to the NFL, including Mykel Williams, Nazir Stackhouse, and Warren Brinson. Well, Smart must be making some early progress for the 2026 class, but he must not forget that there is something more crucial on his plate now. And what’s that? Ending the two-year Natty drought. It has been two seasons since Georgia got lucky to lift the trophy in 2022. Here’s hoping Smart tackles today’s gaps while still building tomorrow’s dynasty.
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