Georgia Lands Highly Touted Star Over Florida, Florida State

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Dave Holcomb | Last updated Jun 29, 2025 12:28 PM ET

The Georgia Bulldogs have leaped up the 2026 recruiting class rankings with an incredibly strong final week of June. The Bulldogs continued that momentum Saturday.

On3's Jeremy Johnson reported four-star defensive lineman James Johnson committed to Georgia. Johnson pledged to the Bulldogs instead of the Florida Gators, Florida State Seminoles and Miami Hurricanes.

Johnson made his commitment announcement with reporters on hand Saturday afternoon. The defensive lineman had hats representing his top schools on a table in front of him. After some teasing, he picked up the Georgia hat and placed it on his head.

With Johnson's commitment, the Bulldogs have landed a pledge for the 2026 class on seven consecutive days.

The recruiting trail has been great for the Bulldogs throughout June. Overall, 14 commitments have given their verbal to Georgia.

Since June 22, six four-star prospects have committed to the Bulldogs. As a result, Georgia has made a significant move on the 2026 class recruiting rankings.

From a Northwestern Bull … to a Bulldog,

The moment when 4-Star DL @JamesJohnson_52 committed to Georgia. 7️⃣ pic.twitter.com/Ri0wlzaW8j
— Jeff Sentell (@jeffsentell) June 28, 2025

Based on the 247Sports Composite rankings, Johnson is the No. 8 defensive lineman and 10th-ranked Florida prospect in the 2026 recruiting class. Johnson is also the No. 69 overall recruit in the entire class.

That makes him the highest-ranked prospect the Bulldogs have landed during their seven-day streak.

Behind the strong June, Georgia now has 24 commits for the 2026 class. The 247Sports rankings rate the class second overall behind only the USC Trojans, who have 30 pledges.

Over the last couple weeks, the Bulldogs have moved past the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Texas A&M Aggies, Ohio State Buckeyes and several other top programs on the class rankings.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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