Georgia reportedly made a competitive NIL offer to elite recruit that eventually signed with Tennessee Vols

The Georgia Bulldogs reportedly made a "really competitive" NIL offer to an elite five-star recruit that ended up signing with the Tennessee Vols. 

According to DawgsHQ's Rusty Mansell, Georgia was "closer than some people thought" to landing 2024 five-star wide receiver Mike Matthews, a Georgia native that signed with Tennessee in December. 

"Last year, Mike Matthews was a guy they (Georgia) got heavily involved with," said Mansell on The Georgia Show this week. "And they made a really competitive NIL deal to Mike Matthews. And they were involved with that. And they got closer than some people thought."

Matthews, who is from Lilburn, GA, was rated in 247Sports' composite rankings as the No. 24 overall player in the nation and the No. 4 player in the state of Georgia. 

The fact that Tennessee landed Matthews over Georgia is even more impressive when you consider how badly the Bulldogs wanted him. Georgia doesn't typically go crazy when it comes to NIL deals for wide receivers. But they were willing to pay up to get Matthews, who is from a city that's an hour west of Athens. 

Georgia is still the king of recruiting in the SEC. But the Vols are slowly starting to close the gap. Landing a guy like Matthews, who played high school football at one of the most well-known high schools in Georgia, is something that Josh Heupel and his staff aren't getting nearly enough credit for (Parkview High School has produced a ridiculous number of pro athletes, including Atlanta Braves star first baseman Matt Olson, and 2023 New York Mets first round pick Colin Houck, who was Matthews' QB in high school). 

Tennessee might be making some folks in Athens a little uneasy with the recruiting success they're starting to have in Georgia.