It’s not clear what the rest of the recruitment for one five-star offensive lineman will hold before he commits in the 2026 recruiting class.

But highly touted star lineman Darius Gray was rather blunt in his assessment of Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart after his weekend visit to Athens, Georgia.

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“Coach Smart will die for his players,” Gray told On3’s Steve Wiltfong. “Don’t find that often!”

The lineman was also complimentary of the school’s atmosphere.

“The environment was great,” Gray added. “Had lots of fun! The biggest takeaway was the development that goes on here. They will get you NFL ready!”

Georgia Bulldogs football head coach Kirby Smart© Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The Bulldogs are in a recruiting battle with the LSU Tigers, South Carolina Gamecocks, Clemson Tigers and Ohio State Buckeyes for Gray, who is the No. 1 interior offensive lineman on some ranking lists in the 2026 class.

Gray is one of only two five-star interior lineman in the class based on the 247 Sports composite rankings.

Gray would be a significant recruiting win for the Bulldogs, especially after the program didn’t land No. 1 offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell last week.

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The tackle chose to commit to the Miami Hurricanes instead of the Bulldogs or Oregon Ducks.

Based on the 247 Sports composite rankings, Gray is the No. 2 interior lineman. Only Maryland’s Immanuel Iheanacho is rated ahead of him.

According to the same rankings, Gray is the No. 2 Virginia recruit and No. 28 overall prospect in the 2026 class. Standing at 6-foot-3 and 285 pounds, Gray will play his senior high school season at St. Christopher’s School in Richmond, Virginia.

Related: Georgia Gets Bad News on Highly Coveted Star Playmaker

Georgia failed to secure five-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell, but the Bulldogs’ 2026 class remains strong with the acquisition of five-star quarterback Jared Curtis. Kirby Smart and Co. identified one new QB target for the 2027 cycle in four-star prospect Teddy Jarrard, who received Georgia’s offer on Saturday.

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Jarrard is an in-state prospect from North Cobb and is not afraid to compete against Curtis.

“Yeah, obviously they have Jared Curtis, who just committed,” Jarrard said on Sunday, via SI. “I’m not afraid of competition, the quarterback room is a factor for me. At the end of it all, I want to go somewhere where I can play, and I want to go somewhere where I fit the scheme, and where they want me, and where I can be developed.”

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The 6-foot-3, 190-pound QB played for North Cobb Christian High School last season but will transfer to North Cobb High School this fall. He had a phenomenal sophomore campaign in 2024, throwing for 2,647 yards and 34 touchdowns with a 72% completion rate.

Jarrard closed his sophomore season by surpassing 300 passing yards and tallying 16 touchdowns in three of his final four games. He is the No. 16 QB in the 2027 class and the No. 26 recruit in Georgia, according to the On3 Industry Rankings.

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Jarrard has already received offers from two Southeastern Conference schools, Auburn and Arkansas, making the Bulldogs the third SEC program to enter the race. Following its offer, On3 named Georgia the favorite in his recruitment, giving it a 25.8% chance of landing him.

Teddy Jarrard opens up about the Georgia offer

On Saturday, Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and offensive line coach Stacy Searels were at Teddy Jarrard’s practice to watch him throw. The sophomore was also given an exclusive invite to the scavenger hunt event, where he outperformed players from other position groups to win.

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Following the event, Jarrard met with Kirby Smart in his office and left with an offer.

“Well, I feel like I’ve proven myself at this point,” Jarrard said, via Dawgs247. “I feel like it wasn’t just a handout offer. I feel like they were able to see me, how much I’ve been working, the development I’ve had over the past two or three years now. And I feel like I deserve it and I feel like I earned it. So I’m happy with it, and I’m just excited to keep going and moving forward in my recruitment.”

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Jarrard also praised Smart for his ability to connect with recruits.

“He’s great,” Jarrard said on Saturday, via SI. “He’s a very good people person, and he’s easy to talk to. He’ll come off a little bit scary, but he’s fun. He’s good to talk to. He’s a great coach. He’s a very cool guy. It’s a blessing to get the opportunity and he believes in me, so that’s the biggest thing.”

The Bulldogs don’t have any committed players in the 2027 class.

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About the author Maliha Maliha is a High School Sports news and listicles writer at Sportskeeda. A post graduate in Management Information Systems, it was her love for writing and sports which led her down the path of sports content creation. An experienced NBA and NFL writer, she covered the two sports extensively at SportsZion and SportsKnot before joining SportsKeeda.

Maliha is a huge Baltimore Ravens fan and is in awe of quarterback Lamar Jackson’s dual-threat abilities. She also admires Tom Brady and her all-time favorite coach is 3-time Super Bowl champion Andy Reid. She is a big advocate of high school sports and believes that elite athletes reach a top level owing to the discipline, hard work, team dynamics, resilience, adaptability and self-confidence learnt by playing sports in high schools. Aaron Rodgers leading the Green Bay Packers to victory on his debut against the Minnesota Vikings is one of her fondest NFL memories.

Maliha places a high emphasis on accuracy in her content. She does thorough research, always double checks facts, and only uses information from most relevant and credible sources for her articles. When not writing, she likes to read history and biographical books. Know More

The Buckeyes have added 13 prospects from the class of 2026, earning them No. 3 in On3’s team recruiting rankings. Head coach Ryan Day and management are not done yet, setting their sights on a touted linebacker.

Four-star Cincere Johnson, the No. 3 linebacker and No. 1 prospect in Ohio, delivered a clear mandate to the Buckeyes’ staff as he prepares for his official visit.

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He wants to “see where I fit in” and get answers to every question remaining about his potential role in Columbus.

“What is important with me on that visit is just being able to just see where I fit in at, kind of just whittling down and asking all the questions that I haven’t asked,” Johnson told Lettermen Row.”

Ohio State University football coach Ryan Day© Doral Chenoweth/The Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“Being able to bring my family around, just reconnect with everybody and get the feeling of, is this where I want to be at? So that’s where I’m thinking about on the OV.” He added.

Johnson, a 6-foot-3, 235-pound product of Glenville High School in Cleveland, has whittled his recruitment down to a top three of Ohio State, Alabama and Penn State before embarking on official visits.

He shared a relationship with the linebacker coach James Laurinaitis from a very young age.

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“Me building a relationship with Laurinaitis since my eighth grade year while he was recruiting Arvell and he started to recruit me, has been amazing,” Johnson said. “He’s a great guy. He has played my position and did everything.”

“I feel like he’s just one of us. And when I say one of us, he’s just another ball player that knows the game and loves the game and willing to teach it to the next guy, which is me. So it’s a great relationship.”

Related: Ohio State Predicted to Get Good News on Highly Touted Star

The Georgia Bulldogs are shifting gears on the recruiting trail after missing out on one of their top offensive line targets. Five-star phenom Jackson Cantwell, a name long linked with Georgia, made headlines this week by committing to the Miami Hurricanes, a tough blow for Kirby Smart’s program. But the Dawgs aren’t wasting time sulking. Instead, all eyes are now on another elite talent, Darius Gray.

Gray, the No. 32 overall prospect and the No. 2 interior offensive lineman in the country, is drawing serious attention in Athens. According to On3’s Steve Wiltfong, the five-star OL is set to take his official visit to Georgia this weekend.

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Standing 6’5″ and weighing in at over 290 pounds, Gray is a force in the trenches and one of the most sought-after linemen in the 2025 class.

Apr 12, 2025; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart on the field prior to the start of the Georgia Spring game at Sanford Stadium. Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Currently, he’s weighing offers from several top-tier programs, with Georgia, LSU, South Carolina Gamecocks, Clemson Tigers, and Ohio State Buckeyes in the mix.

“The biggest thing now is just being around the guys who will be in the locker room with me,” Gray said about LSU, but that mindset will apply across his visits — and Georgia will look to capitalize on the opportunity.

Meanwhile, Cantwell’s decision to take his talents to Miami marks a massive win for head coach Mario Cristobal. The Missouri native picked the Hurricanes over powerhouse programs like Georgia, Ohio State, and Oregon.

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“Relationships won out in the end,” Cantwell said per On3. “Coach Mirabal and Coach Cristobal spent so much time recruiting me… We talked about offensive line development, my potential there at The U.”

With Cantwell officially off the board, Georgia is going full steam ahead and this weekend could be crucial in winning over Darius Gray.

Related: Georgia HC Kirby Smart Sends Strong Message After Being Spurned by Coveted Star

The Ohio State Buckeyes have secured two five-star recruits in the 2026 cycle. They are predicted to miss out on five-star Felix Ojo, who is leaning towards Texas, but have managed to interest another highly touted five-star.

Bralan Womack, the product of Hartfield Academy, ranks No. 12 overall and No. 1 as a safety, per On3. According to Chad Simmons and Steve Wiltfong of On3, Ryan Day’s camp will succeed in this pursuit.

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“For now, I like Ohio State.” Chad Simmons said in a report published by Hunter Shelton on May 13. “There have been a few different leaders in his recruitment, but after a spring visit to Columbus, the Buckeyes have grabbed the momentum.”

“Auburn is a school to watch and Texas A&M has been at, or near the top of his list, too.”

Hartfield’s Bralan Womack (2) and the Hawks take on MRA in Madison.© Barbara Gauntt/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Steve Wiltfong echoed, “Ohio State is the school in the lead for Bralan Womack right now. It’ll be up to the other schools near the top of his recruitment to try and change that on official visits, but the Buckeyes are in front for the nation’s No. 1 safety.”

Securing Womack would bolster a Buckeyes defense that returns all starters but one in the secondary, adding a versatile playmaker capable of lining up both at safety and in the box.

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While the official decision date has not been set, recruiting experts mark June as the likely window for Womack’s choice.

Ohio State’s Class of 2026 still lacks two critical positions, quarterback and running back, which the staff will actively pursue this offseason.

Related: Georgia HC Kirby Smart Sends Strong Message After Being Spurned by Coveted Star

The Ohio State Buckeyes coaching staff recently visited one of the top defensive prospects in the 2026 recruiting class. By all indications, that visit went well.

Five-star linebacker Tyler Atkinson expressed that with a post on X. The linebacker tweeted a photo of himself with Buckeyes defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, linebackers coach James Laurinaitis and co-defensive coordinator Tim Walton on Friday night.

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“I had a great evening with the Buckeyes defensive staff,” wrote Atkinson with a couple emojis.

The three members of the Buckeyes defensive staff visited Atkinson less than a month after the linebacker was in Columbus, Ohio for the team’s spring game.

Atkinson told On3’s Steve Wiltfong that both visits left him feeling good about Ohio State.

Five-star 2026 linebacker prospect Tyler Atkinson.© Lori Schmidt / Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“It was really good!” Atkinson told Wiltfong of the most recent visit. “I was glad to see the staff.

“Today was Coach P’s first day on the road recruiting and he came to our practice at Grayson and spent time with me and the family this evening. I really enjoyed that. Coach Laurinaitis, Coach Walton and myself have gotten pretty close.”

Wiltfong called Ohio State a “front-runner” to land Atkinson but also described the Georgia Bulldogs, Clemson Tigers, Auburn Tigers, Oregon Ducks and USC Trojans as heavily involved.

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The Bulldogs could have the edge on Atkinson because of his proximity to Athens, Georgia. The linebacker attends Grayson High School in Lawrenceville, Georgia.

According to the 247Sports composite rankings, Atkinson is the top linebacker and Georgia recruit in the 2026 class. Those rankings also have Atkinson sitting at No. 8 overall.

Related: Ex-Ohio State QB Will Howard Sends Strong Message on Steelers