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Georgia Tech Football, Basketball Recruiting Round Up: Jackets Attracting Big Talent

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

Nov 19, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets players run onto the field before a game against the Virginia Cavaliers at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 19, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets players run onto the field before a game against the Virginia Cavaliers at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /
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Since it’s been a while since a recruiting post has been made, let’s take a quick look at both the current Georgia Tech football and basketball recruiting classes.

Basketball:

Nov 26, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Josh Pastner speaks to the media after defeating the Tulane Green Wave at McCamish Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hagy-USA TODAY SportsAdam Hagy-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 26, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Josh Pastner speaks to the media after defeating the Tulane Green Wave at McCamish Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hagy-USA TODAY SportsAdam Hagy-USA TODAY Sports /

The 2017 Georgia Tech men’s basketball class now features one commitment. That commitment comes from Middle Village, New York native, Jose Alvarado. Alvarado is considered a three-star prospect and the 165th ranked player in the country (4th in NY) as well as being the 32nd ranked point guard.

Overall, the Yellow Jackets coaching staff sent out 34 scholarship offers. Out of the 34 offers, 31 of the recruits are already committed to a program. The three recruits that hold offers from Georgia Tech and are not committed are;

  • 3* PG Mike Okauru (Wolfeboro, NH – Brewester Academy)
    • National: 204th
    • PG Rank: 43rd
    • State: 5th

Okauru currently holds division one offers and appears to be very high on Florida, Georgia Tech, and Pittsburgh. The chances of the 6-foot-3, 175-pound point guard committing to Georgia Tech is probably lower than the other two programs, seeing Georgia Tech technically has six point guards on the squad.  He did however just visit Georgia Tech last Friday.

  • PG Jermaine Jackson Jr (Macomb, MI – Dakota)
    • National: N/A
    • PG Rank: N/A
    • State: N/A

The 5-foot-9, 150-pound point guard from Michigan currently holds seven division one offers including schools such as Auburn, DePaul, and SMU.

  • 3* PF Jarrod Simmons (Pittsburgh, PA – Cushing Academy)
    • National: 247th
    • PF Rank: 61st
    • State: 10th

Simmons holds 13 total offers so far and seems to be set on attending a school in the northeast. He’s mulling offers from three Ivy League programs (Brown, Penn, Princeton) as well as offers from Boston College and Temple. Penn is the current favorite to land the 6-foot-7 power forward.

When it comes to the 2019 recruiting class, four-star point guard Ashton Hagains (Covington, GA – Newton) visited Georgia Tech on Tuesday night along with his entire team for the “clean old fashioned hate” game.

Football Recruiting:

Nov 19, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Paul Johnson coaches against the Virginia Cavaliers in the second quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 19, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Paul Johnson coaches against the Virginia Cavaliers in the second quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /

The 2017 Georgia Tech football recruiting class currently features 13 commitments and is lead by four-star outside linebacker Bruce Jordan-Swilling (New Orleans, LA – Brother Martin). Jordan-Swilling is considered the 188th best player in the country (13th OLB) as well as the sixth best player in Louisiana. The rest of the Georgia Tech recruiting class is as follows;

  • 3* CB Tre Swilling
  • 3* CB Gaytlin Askew
  • 3* CB Gentry Bonds
  • 3* CB Dameon Williams
  • 3* OG Michael Minihan
  • 3* OG Zach Quinney
  • 3* ATH Tobias Oliver
  • 3* ILB TD Roof
  • 3* OC Connor Hansen
  • 3* P Pressley Harvin III
  • 2* RB Jerry Howard

Targets:

  • 3* DE Cortez Alston ( Atlanta, GA – Westminster School)
    • National: 730th
    • Position: 40th
    • State: 73rd

Alston would be a great addition to Georgia Tech’s squad that already features a good amount of defensive ends. Currently, Alston holds 21 offers, including offers from Boston College, California, Michigan State, and Notre Dame.

Currently, it seems as Alston is down to Georgia Tech and Penn, the only two schools he has visited so far. While no decision date is set for Alston, he should be making his commitment by the end of next month at the latest with National Signing Day just a few weeks after.

At this time, it doesn’t appear the coaching staff is gaining traction with other recruits for the 2017 recruiting class. The 2018 recruiting class is making progress on a few highly-rated prospects.

  • 4* DT TK Chimedza (Brandenton, FL – IMG Academy)
    • National: 133rd
    • Position: 15th
    • State: 24th

An IMG Academy prospect, Chimedza is a legit prospect and has the talent to be a force at the next level. That being said, Chimedza currently holds seven offers including offers from Florida State and Georgia.

Chimedza’s recruitment should heat up in the upcoming months following National Signing Day for 2017 and will likely see more offers to roll in. With Paul Johnson and staff trying to get an edge on his recruitment, it will definitely be hard to convince the four-star recruit to come Georgia Tech’s way in the future.

The one major thing that the Yellow Jackets coaching staff can pitch to Chimedza however is early playing time as Georgia Tech currently only holds three defensive tackles on their roster.