The Georgia Bulldogs are in for a stressful couple of weeks, as a four-star recruit is visiting two top schools before his decision day.
The Georgia Bulldogs are a recruiting powerhouse under head coach Kirby Smart, and it has helped lead the program to back-to-back national title victories. For the 2024 class, Georgia has the No. 1 ranking on 247Sports with four five-star recruits and 17 four-star recruits. But, they had the chance to get even better.
Four-star prospect Chris Cole is the sixth-ranked linebacker and top prospect from Virginia in the 2024 class. Georgia is considered a top landing spot for Cole, but they are getting quite the scare ahead of his Sept. 10 decision date.
Cole revealed, via DawgNation, that he will visit with the USC Trojans on Sept. 2, and is set to take another official visit with the Tennessee Volunteers on the weekend of Sept. 9.
Georgia target Chris Cole making visits with USC and Tennessee ahead of the decision date
Much like the Bulldogs, the Trojans have shown the propensity to bring in some of the top recruits in the nation. That is a credit to head coach Lincoln Riley, who made the jump from Oklahoma to USC near the end of the 2021 season. As of this writing, however, USC is ranked 17th in the 2024 recruiting class rankings, as they have zero five-star recruits and 10 four-star recruits.
As for Tennessee, they are one of Georgia's top rivals in the SEC East. Just last year, the two battled it out for the No. 1 ranking, which the Bulldogs decisively won. Tennessee currently ranks 11th on the 247 Sports rankings with one five-star recruit and 13 four-star recruits.
Tennessee could pose a danger to Georgia to bring in Cole. After all, Tennessee is hosting Austin Peay at home that weekend, so Cole will have a chance to take in the sights and sounds of a Volunteers game.
"I went there in the spring and I went to see them last month and now I want to see a game and see the atmosphere," said Cole, h/t DawgNation. "I don't know what they have there and also I'd like to get some more time with the coaches before I make my decision."
In terms of who is still in the running, Cole said, via DawgNation, that Penn State, Miami, and Virginia Tech are schools he's also considering committing to.
Georgia will have to play the waiting game until Sept. 10 to see where Cole will begin his collegiate career. As of now, the Bulldogs are viewed by multiple scouting and recruiting outlets as the favorites.