Georgia Football

“It really came down to the wire between Georgia and Oregon,” Abrams told Rivals. “All four were great schools, but those were the two at the end that I was thinking the most about. Coach Smart and coach Lanning are from the same coaching tree under Nick Saban, they are both great at development, they both have winning cultures and there was a lot I liked about both schools.

“It came down to that gut feeling. There were layers to the decision, and with Georgia, I am staying closer to home, I will be in a room with a bunch of first-round talent guys, I will be learning from two of the best to do it in coach Smart and coach Schu (defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Glenn Schumann) and I will be in a place that knows success.

“At Georgia, I will get to play with the best, compete with the best and be around the best. There are not many places like that. Those things pushed Georgia to the top.”

Georgia hasn’t been in the national title game since winning it to end the 2022 season, yet the Bulldogs’ success in that campaign and their championship win in the 2021 season has helped Georgia build a reputation as a program that can consistently contend for the biggest prize in the sport and enhance the NFL prospects of its talent with elite coaching.

Oregon undoubtedly has the coaching side of things down, but the Ducks can’t match the Bulldogs when it comes to lifting the trophy every college player wants to hoist. Because of what Kirby Smart and Co. have built in recent years, the Bulldogs have an appeal of which most programs can only dream.