Georgia builds connections to Philly’s football recruits as the SEC continues to strike gold in the area

When D’Andre Swift committed to play college football at Georgia, some wondered why the St. Joseph’s Prep standout would choose a school that already had two stars at running back in Nick Chubb and Sony Michel.

But Swift felt comfortable being in that situation since it was one he wasn’t unfamiliar with, said St. Joseph’s Prep coach Tim Roken.

“He went through a process when he came in as a freshman where he had guys that were in front of him that he could learn from,” Roken said. “He didn’t have to be the guy as a freshman. Then came his junior year when those guys left and moved on. Now it was his show.”

Swift, who was a second-round pick by the Detroit Lions in the 2020 NFL draft, developed a close relationship with Georgia’s staff early in his high school career. Head coach Kirby Smart and running backs coach Dell McGee would make frequent visits to the Philly area to ensure that comfort.

Besides Swift, other Philly-area standouts, like Archbishop Wood’s Mark Webb, now a Los Angeles Charger, have found success in the Bulldogs program. And on Monday, Imhotep Charter graduate Tykee Smith, a junior defensive back, will help No. 1 Georgia in its bid to defend the national championship against No. 3 Texas Christian at 7:30 p.m.

“Definitely a blessing,” Smith told The Inquirer on Saturday. “Just to get an opportunity, coming from where I come from, totally a blessing.”

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Over the years, Georgia has heavily recruited the Northeast, with Philly being a focal point, having some of the top football programs in Pennsylvania.

North Penn’s Yazeed Haynes, a wide receiver who withdrew commitments to Rutgers and Penn State, signed with the Bulldogs last month and joined them as an early enrollee. Imhotep Charter star running back Jabree Wallace-Coleman gave Georgia its first commitment in the class of 2025.

Many more offers have been extended to players in the Philly and South Jersey area, even two before the players had reached eighth grade. Georgia defensive backs coach Fran Brown, who was hired in February, is a Camden native who was known for recruiting well at Rutgers. He had already forged close relationships with many of the local players.

“I’m just trying to make sure I fit in, make sure the kids come here and be able to feel [comfortable],” Brown told The Inquirer. “But it’s University of Georgia. For itself, it speaks on its own. That logo itself, and then me coming and being able to talk and just having a good plan for them to be successful.”

Brown said a main part of recruiting is laying out a direct vision for the prospects. It helps those recruits understand the potential they could have in the program.

“Fran is a huge piece on why they’re going to continue to push hard to recruit the Northeast,” Roken said. “Whether it’s North and South Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio ... Maryland-D.C. area is a hotbed for some really good talent.

“There’s schools, if you don’t have a connection in the Northeast or you haven’t really got kids from the Northeast, you’ve got to know where those top guys are. More of that upper echelon of college football programs have been showing they’re making a footprint here in the Northeast.”

With college football coaches under enormous, unrelenting pressure to win now and win often, it makes sense that recruiters will go where they’ve had success before.

Albie Crosby, who coached Haynes at Neumann Goretti as a junior and previously coached Smith while at Imhotep Charter, has sent dozens of players — some of whom are now in the NFL — to colleges around the country. Crosby, who led Neumann Goretti to a PIAA Class 3A state championship appearance this season, believes there are several factors that determine why colleges might target certain areas.

Often those who get the first opportunities to shine can prop the door open so that others may follow or they can ensure that the door stays closed behind them. The athletes who have gone on to Georgia’s program, Crosby said, can make an immediate impact.

“That’s what the SEC likes about our young players,” Crosby said. “They’re tough and they’re smart. They have good football IQs.”

» READ MORE: These coaches are changing lives at Imhotep Charter and Neumann Goretti through football

With more athletes being recruited at a younger age, Roken — who led St. Joe’s Prep to its seventh PIAA championship this year — believes it’s a way for college coaches to track development while showing legitimate interest.

Since 2015, the Prep has had more than 25 major-college commitments. Besides the high level of competition surrounded by programs in the area, athletes are buying into the development process earlier.

The Hawks’ Anthony Sacca, a sophomore linebacker, and Ausar Heard, an eighth-grader who plans to enroll at the Prep in the fall, have received offers from Georgia, both being recruited by Brown.

Heard — whose older brother, James, is heading to West Virginia as an early graduate from Camden in the class of 2023 — last week competed in the Under Armour Next 8th Grade Game in Orlando. Ausar said his training has become the norm at just the age of 14.

“You have to have a certain level of urgency to make it in this area,” said Ausar’s father, James Sr. “The grit along with advanced training that these young men in this area are getting I believe play a huge part in what connects them to these college programs.”

With the top high schools, seven-on-seven programs, and training camps in the area, the Northeast has established itself as a recruiting landmark. And the Bulldogs’ program has certainly taken notice.

“When you look at the young people who have come out of here and gone to the SEC,” Crosby said, “why wouldn’t they come here? Every time they’re coming, they’re not hitting silver, they’re not hitting gold, they’re hitting platinum. They’re getting diamonds in the rough.”

Colin Beazley contributed reporting to this story.