Georgia Football Recruiting: Previewing UGA's 'Dawg Night' Camp

With the 2015 season kicking off next month, the book is almost closed on the offseason camp circuit.

However, a few schools are still expecting visitors to drop by until the end of this month—with Georgia’s ‘Dawg Night’ camp this weekend being one of the major events left on the calendar.

Head coach Mark Richt and his staff will have a number of the nation’s top prospects on campus this weekend.

As noted by Rusty Mansell of Dawgs247, more than 10 5-stars in the 2016 and 2017 classes are scheduled to be in Athens this weekend—including a trio of current commitments in quarterback Jacob Eason, offensive lineman Ben Cleveland and defensive tackle Julian Rochester.

There will be a few storylines to watch for Bulldogs fans. Let’s delve into a few of them in his preview of ‘Dawg Night.'

The Impact

As noted by Bleacher Report’s Andrew Hall, the 2016 class was jump-started at last year’s ‘Dawg Night’ camp when Eason and Cleveland both pulled the trigger and became the first two members of the 2016 class.

It’s not out of the question for the Bulldogs commit list—whether it be for the 2016 class or beyond—to grow in the aftermath of the camp.

The benefits of getting a large number of elite prospects on camp could also prove fruitful down the line.

If Georgia is to make a run at landing a top-five class, this weekend could play a pivotal role in laying the groundwork for the push toward an elite class.

Commits Coming in to Work

Eason and Cleveland are just two of the current 2016 Bulldogs commits who are scheduled to attend.

In fact, the majority of Georgia’s 12 commits are expected to be at Dawg Night—with 4-star receiver pledge Darion Anderson the only one who has confirmed he won’t attend due to his desire to rehab from a recent knee surgery, as noted by Jeff Sentell of the AJC.

Aside from getting on campus and working with their future coaches, there’s another added benefit for Georgia in having its current pledges in town over the weekend.

Given the wealth of uncommitted prospects on campus, players such as Eason will undoubtedly lend a helping hand to the coaching staff in pitching the ‘Dawgs to top prospects in attendance.

In particular, at The Opening last week, Eason mentioned his plans to be in the ear of top targets at Dawg Night.

“All the Georgia boys that are going down there, I’m sure there will be a lot of Georgia guys,” Eason told Bleacher Report. “Whoever is down there and whoever I see that I like, I will try to work on them.”

Top Targets on Deck

In-state prospects such as 5-star receiver Kyle Davis, 5-star defensive tackle Derrick Brown, 4-star athlete Demetris Robertson and 4-star athlete Mecole Hardman are among the players who Richt and his staff have been aggressively recruiting for quite some time.

Landing those players are pivotal to Georgia’s quest to make a run at landing the SEC’s top class.

"

@wizkhalifa Friday, then Dawg Night  boutta be a clean weekend

— KD (@KDSZN) July 14, 2015"

However, there are a few heavy-hitters hailing from outside the Peach State that are likely to be wooed by Richt and his staff—headlined by 5-star defensive tackle and No. 1 overall prospect Rashan Gary.

At The Opening last week, Gary spoke on his attraction to the Bulldogs program.

“That’s SEC ball,” Gary told Bleacher Report. “[Georgia] put a lot of players in the NFL with their style of defense. When I went there the first time, we talked about scheme and I like how I fit into their scheme.”

Another interesting player to watch is 5-star tight end and current Florida State pledge Isaac Nauta. 

Nauta was one of the more vocal recruiters for the Seminoles last week at The Opening, so flipping him may be a long shot. However, as Mansell noted, it is his second trip to Athens in a few weeks time, and he has some connections to the Bulldogs program. 

Tracking the Future

While a host of elite rising seniors will make their way to Athens, there will also be a number of touted underclassmen who will also be on campus this weekend.

Leading the crop of prospects from the 2017 class is 5-star in-state corner Deangelo Gibbs.

The 6’2”, 204-pounder was one of the few juniors invited to The Opening, and he was named one of the top corners at the event, according to 247Sports.

Another 2017 defensive back who turned heads at The Opening was 4-star athlete Jamyest Williams—who will be accompanying a few of his prep teammates from Archer High School in Lawrenceville, Georgia.

Williams recently released his list of Top 10 schools, and the homestanding Bulldogs surprisingly came in on the low end of it at No. 9.

As he told Chris Kirschner of the AJC, that’s because he hasn’t been told where Richt and his staff would like him to play, should he choose the Bulldogs.

“To be honest, I really don’t know where Georgia will play me at,” Williams said. “I don’t know if they want me to play offense or defense, so I would like a clear answer from them.”

Another pair of visitors to watch are a pair of out-of-state studs in 5-star running back Anthony McFarland and 5-star safety Jeffrey Okudah.

With quality prospects across the board in different classes bound for Georgia this weekend, the news coming out of Athens in the coming days is sure to send waves throughout the recruiting universe.

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

Follow @SanjayKirpalani