In a summer that has seen plenty of intense action along the Georgia recruiting trail, with more and more of the state’s players determining their college destinations early in the process, last week could be considered somewhat of a slow one. Only two Peach State prospects took their names off the market and in the world of recruiting, commitments at this time of the year are often temporary propositions. Still, at the very least, two of the state’s top football talents have made up their minds for the time being and below is a closer look at each. 

Starting the action off, Tift County defensive end Shayon Green decided becoming a Boilermaker would be best, choosing Purdue University over offers from South Florida, UCF, Auburn and Mississippi, among others. Purdue offensive coordinator Ed Zaunbrecher was in charge of recruiting the 6-foot-2, 255-pound athlete for the Gold and Black, and his hard work clearly paid off. On the field, Green shows tremendous speed for a player his size and is at his best working in space and in pursuit. He also shows great explosion off the line. To excel on the next level, however, Green will need to add some weight and become better at fighting off blocks. According to Rivals.com, he is a two-star recruit, though he was listed as a “prospect on the rise” in an article last month.

It shouldn’t come as any surprise that the Clemson Tigers were the other team to land a Georgia recruit, as the South Carolina school maintains a consistent presence when it comes to recruiting top players from our state. Last week, Baldwin’s Corico Hawkins was the Tigers’ big prize, as the inside linebacker chose Clemson over offers from Florida, Florida State, Miami, Georgia Tech, Nebraska and Auburn. Watching the 6-foot, 218-pound ‘backer on the field, a few things in particular stand out. Hawkins can at times play a bit too upright and needs to improve his ability to read and recognize plays. He does, however, display great speed and athleticism and is a big-time hitter when around the ball. Considering the 126 tackles he registered as a junior last season, Rivals.com has awarded Hawkins three stars and ranks him as the 44th-best inside linebacker in the nation.

DAWGS JOIN FUN 

The Georgia Bulldogs improved their already strong recruiting class last week and went out of the state to do so. Last Tuesday, the SEC power received good news from Dartmouth, Mass., tight end Arthur Fontaine, as the four-star recruit chose the ‘Dogs over a hoard of other top schools, including Maryland, N.C. State, Boston College, Clemson and North Carolina. According to Rivals.com, Georgia landed a good one, as the service ranks the 6-foot-5, 240-pound Fontaine as the fourth-best tight end in the nation. On film, he displays adequate athleticism to go along with a good pair of hands. Finally, Fontaine is a physical presence between the hashes, doing a great job of using his body and strength while fighting for jump balls. Tight ends coach John Lilly primarily recruited Fontaine for the Bulldogs.           

Janovitz can be reached at sjanovitz@scoreatl.com.