'20 GA OL Tate Ratledge (UGA commit)

#1,180
#1,180
RyanWalkerPGH said:
I do believe there's a lot of truth to that. Really it comes down to this in my opinion. You can't bring in Tee Martin, Derrick Ansley, and Jim Chaney and come out this flat in recruiting. Obviously new recruits will probably enter the fold. But a lot of Tennessee's truly elite top targets are about to be off the board already. That's concerning. Mitchell Mayes, Rakim Jarrett, Tate Ratledge, Justin Rogers, Myles Murphy. There's a handful of 5 stars that will be left on Tennessee's board in Reggie Grimes, Arik Gilbert, and Darnell Washington. But let's be honest, Tennessee probably doesn't lead for any of those three. Tennessee almost has to clean up with the highly ranked instate guys to really have a successful class. It feels imperative at this point. Just my perspective. Everybody can go ahead and continue grilling me now.
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I understand the way everybody is feeling currently, I do. However, I think people are forgetting how much things change from now until December/February. Even worse case scenario we will still get 7-10 4 stars. They’ll be a couple kids that will decommit from Bama, UGA, Clemson, etc that we will be right there for at the end.
 
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#1,181
#1,181
Meanwhile, Tennessee and Georgia have been battling hard for Ratledge, but the Vols have always been working from behind. They leapfrogged Alabama following Brent Key’s departure and got Ratledge on campus several times. Still, the Rome standout’s relationship with Sam Pittman plus his ability to potentially see the field sooner at UGA (they’re set to lose both tackles to the draft after the season) has given the Dawgs some confidence heading into he final days of Ratledge’s recruitment.
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VQ
 
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#1,183
#1,183
Recruits are impressionable. They will believe these coaches that they’ve known for years at this point in their recruitment. If they are telling him he is the best and promising playing time. Kids believe it.
 
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#1,187
#1,187
I think it’s all BS. Kirby and Pittman have been messing around way too much with trying to flip Paris Johnson for them to be that confident in getting Tate. Where on the other hand we seemed to have backed off of Paris. Surely his family is smart enough to realize that Kirby has signed 5 stars on 5 stars at the tackle spots and regardless what sunshine they Pump this kid that he’ll ride the bench for a minimum 2 years
 
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#1,188
#1,188
I think UGA and UT both can sell early playing time in this one, so neither have an edge there. As VQ just said, UGA is losing both starting tackles after this season. Vols just signed two five-star OTs in the 2019 class. If I'm Tate, I absolutely give the edge to UGA in that one, but you could also argue that UT should be appealing because those two five-stars haven't proven anything yet.

Still, think he's a Dawg. Gross.
 
#1,189
#1,189
About this time a year ago, Alabama was the school all were chasing. Georgia was right there and Clemson, Florida and Tennessee were in the mix, but Ratledge was leaning towards the Crimson Tide due to his connection with offensive line coach Brent Key. Fast forward to the end of 2018 and Key was coaching his final game at Alabama and on the move to his alma mater, Georgia Tech. That move all but removed Alabama from this race. Georgia was still Georgia. And over the past 18 months, Bulldogs offensive line coach Sam Pittman has really developed a strong relationship with Ratledge. Georgia may the in-state school, but Ratledge is from Tennessee and much of his family are true, die-hard Volunteer fans. There is a lot of orange in the houses Ratledge spends the holidays at. Over the last three months, this has become a heated race between Georgia and Tennessee, with others slowly fading out. Ratledge is now set to announce his decision Monday, May 13 at his school around 9 a.m. and we know it will be an SEC school, but which one? That is the only question that remains.
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Case for vols v. uga
“In recent months, Tennessee has made up considerable ground with Ratledge, especially after Key left Alabama for Georgia Tech. The Vols have made this a true two-horse race between them and the Georgia Bulldogs, with the four-star offensive tackle having real Tennessee ties (his family is full of Vol fans) and relationships with UT tight end signee Sean Brown and 2020 quarterback commit Harrison Bailey. "Still, Ratledge has always been close with UGA offensive line coach Pittman, making this an uphill battle for Tennessee. Will Friend & Co., have closed the gap but will it be enough? What is the impact of Tennessee signing two blue-chip tackles in the 2019 class? Soon enough, time will tell.”
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-Simonton
“The main question I had in terms of Ratledge's recruitment was just answered - would he wait to decide or would he go ahead and pull the trigger? Having gone with the latter, I believe he's headed for Georgia. "He's put in several recent visits to Athens, has developed a deep relationship with both Pittman and Kirby Smart, and he seems sold on the depth chart at the tackle position in Athens. The longer he waited, the more I think Tennessee would have gained ground, but it looks as if G-Day really sealed the deal. He was on our list to watch that weekend as a possible commit, as it felt like Georgia was surging. That he is deciding soon after that visit bodes well for the Bulldogs.”
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-Reuse (UGA)
 
#1,190
#1,190
Joe Dirt said:
You ever see a fat, bald guy driving a lambo? Just because he's driving a sexy car doesn't mean he's gonna pull a$$ with it.
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A guy driving a lambo is gonna pull all the a$$ he wants because he has money to throw around. And money, and the things it can buy, can be very sexy to a lot of women and men.
 
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#1,191
#1,191
DaddyChad said:
What a crock of BS! There is no way in hell that Georgia has PT available over Tennessee. How in the absolute F can they sell that?
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It’s smoke and mirrors. They are telling him about our two five star tackles we just signed and saying look who we have leaving but I’m sure not discussing who they signed to back those guys up. Kids look more at who is leaving and who was just signed and tend to forget who was signed the previous yrs. I think it’s why people said if he waited TN would have better shot if he saw how our five stars looked and positions played
 
#1,192
#1,192
Joe Dirt said:
You ever see a fat, bald guy driving a lambo? Just because he's driving a sexy car doesn't mean he's gonna pull a$$ with it.
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That’s exactly what it means. Was in Cincinnati on a business trip and we stopped by in the evening by the Tropicana. Valet was full of expensive cars and beautiful women, and uuuuugly dudes.
 
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#1,193
#1,193
Reading those quotes tells me that Ratledge is big on relationships. Alabama and Brent Key led based on his relationship with Key, then Key left. Now UGA and Sam Pittman seemingly lead based on his relationship with Pittman. Tate has never really talked up his relationship with Will Friend, instead talking about he is pretty much all business. I think that approach is going to cost us in this case, and his relationship with Pittman will overtake the seemingly natural draw to Tennessee from his family.
 
#1,196
#1,196
If the rest of his recruiting buddies commit to UT, it's possible we could get back in it in the fall. In the meantime, he'll be peer-recruiting against Bailey for some of these same guys-- which is one reason both UT and UGA wanted him to commit now instead of waiting till summer.
 
#1,197
#1,197
Big Gucci Sosa said:
Friend is kinda useless
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The funny part of the Friend hate is that he gets no credit at all for two 5 star OL signing a few months ago, or the other 4star OL or anyone else for that matter. If Ratledge committed to UT on Monday he would get zero credit for that as well. He's the Rodney Dangerfield of Pruitt's staff.
 
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