4-Star Chad Clay Commits to Georgia, Says 'Goal Is to Get the No. 1 Class' Now

Georgia’s 2016 recruiting class took a huge step forward in powering toward a top-rated recruiting class when 4-star corner Chad Clay committed to the Bulldogs on Monday.

The 6’1”, 180-pounder, whose father, Willie, was a standout safety in the NFL for eight seasons, chose the Bulldogs over Florida, Georgia Tech and Ohio State among others.

The Buckeyes, in particular, made a late run at Clay, but he chose to stay closer to home for a few reasons.

For starters, his bond with the coaching staff played a pivotal role in his decision. 

“It’s just the relationships I’ve built with all of the coaches there,” Clay told Bleacher Report. “They are a winning program. I’m from Georgia, so they have always been showing me love.”

While his father starred at Georgia Tech, his mother is a Georgia grad—which made for an interesting spring at the Clay household. Although Chad notes his parents left the decision up to him, he admits his mother had an affinity for one particular coach.

“My mom seems to talk about [Georgia defensive coordinator] Coach [Jeremy] Pruitt a little more than some of the other coaches,” Clay said with a laugh. 

In the end, Clay—who mentioned sports medicine, business or broadcasting as potential majors in college—cited his comfort level with being a student on Georgia’s campus as a huge factor in his choice.

“It’s [Athens] where I can see myself off the field,” Clay said. “I wanted to find a place that I could succeed as a student in the classroom and just where I fit in on campus and with the football program. It feels like home even when it’s not football season.”

Clay contends that he will still take his official visits in the fall.

However, his next order of business is to get to work on helping the Bulldogs land a handful of other top prospects from the Peach State. 

Some of the notable standouts included in that group are players such as 5-star defensive tackles Julian Rochester and Derrick Brown, 4-star defensive tackle Antwuan Jackson, 4-star receiver Kyle Davis, 4-star athlete Mecole Hardman and 4-star safety Nigel Warrior.

“A lot of people know we’re close because we play against each other on Friday nights,” Clay said. “We all played together in the Rising Seniors game and we’ve built a bond with one another. If we just take all of those people and go to the same school, I think we’d have a really good chance of winning. People always talk about how much talent there is in Georgia. So instead of everyone in Georgia going all over the place, we can just play together in college.”

Hopping on the other side of the fence to play recruiter is a role that suits the outgoing Clay.

Georgia has had just two classes finish inside the top five of the 247Sports team rankings in the last decade.

However, the metro Atlanta product didn’t hesitate when asked about his plans for Georgia’s 2016 class. 

“Our goal is to get the No. 1 class,” Clay said.

Sanjay Kirpalani is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand and all recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.