Each February people become enamored with the latest signees who will help put their football team over the top that next season. Interestingly enough, many of these same prospects that excite fans each February seem to drop off their radar if they decide to redshirt their true freshman year in order to bulk up, recover from injury or just take the year to get up to speed with the college game. Fans tend to forget about them and move on to the next hotshot recruit that “should start from Day 1,” something they said about they guys that just finished redshirting.
The recruiting class that Mark Richt brought in on February 2011 was dubbed the “Dream Team,” and while some players such as Isaiah Crowell, Malcolm Mitchell, Watts Dantzler and Chris Conley contributed early, many redshirted to better prepare themselves for their college career. Several of the redshirt freshmen seem poised to make the same impact Michael Bennett and Ken Malcome did one year ago.
Jay Rome came to Athens with greater hype than Valdosta High School teammate Malcolm Mitchell did, but Rome was redshirted behind Orson Charles and Aron White while Mitchell was a superstar his true freshman season. Watch out for Rome to really make his mark opposite Arthur Lynch in the two-TE sets. At Valdosta he was a true tight end, one that could run down the field but also stay in to block on running plays. Sanford Stadium fans got a chance to see his ability on his long touchdown reception at the spring game. Look for the 6-foot-6, 254-pound tight end to be an animal in the SEC.
Everyone is making a huge fuss over John Theus, and rightly so, but before Theus’ name was bantered about, Zach DeBell was the stud lineman prospect from Florida that everyone was talking about. DeBell is 6-foot-6, close to 300 pounds and was a star in high school. He could challenge for playing time at either of the tackle positions.
Finally, the redshirt freshman that could have the biggest impact in 2012 is wide receiver Justin Scott-Wesley. The former GHSA 100- and 200-meter track champion is just the player to step in at receiver for Mitchell, who is seeing time at cornerback. Scott-Wesley caught three passes for 46 yards during G-Day and could have taken one to the house had the quarterback thrown the pass over the correct shoulder. Scott-Wesley has game-changing speed and actually looks bigger than his 5-foot-11, 218-pound frame suggests. If he can provide the deep threat while Conley, Bennett and Tavarres King haul in everything else, Mike Bobo’s offense won’t miss a beat without Malcolm Mitchell.
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