Georgia Football Recruiting: Loss of Recruits Must Be Made Up on Signing Day

Mark Richt and the Georgia Bulldogs have now lost five recruits from the class of 2012 for various reasons. It's unfortunate, but all can be forgotten and made up by having a huge National Signing Day.

The most recent recruit to decommit from Georgia is 3-star offensive lineman Chester Brown. It would be more of a crushing blow had he been a 5-star player, but no matter how you look at it, it's still a setback for the Bulldogs.

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Brown cited family issues as his reason for decommitting. (UPDATE: The AJC reports immigration issues as the reason for Brown's decision to look elsewhere.)  

Listed at 6'5", 340 pounds, it didn't matter Brown was only a 3-star player, because he could have developed into something truly special with that big body of his. 

Now, the Bulldogs are down to 16 verbally committed players, which means National Signing Day has to be big. 

Since National Signing Day is just over a week away, those uncommitted players aren't going to announce their decisions until Feb. 1 or after. If they've waited this long, they'll continue to do so in order to have more spotlight on them for the big day.  

This means that during the next week, Richt and his staff have to do everything in their power to reel in some big-name recruits. 

Currently, Georgia is a top five recruiting class, but that could easily disappear in a matter of minutes if the Bulldogs don't continue to build upon their talented 2012 recruiting class. 

Losing recruits always stings, and because Georgia has lost five already, it definitely raises cause for concern. The number kept growing, and that's why it's a problem. 

Although, two of the five are junior college players who have yet to meet transfer requirements. Another decided to flip to Oklahoma State, and the other signed with Marshall as a Prop 48. 

Bulldog Nation shouldn't fret too much, because Richt is still after some quality recruits. Losing Brown hurts the future of the offensive line, but there is still time to fix the recruiting class.

4-star offensive lineman Avery Young becomes even more of a must-get now that Brown has left. Young is listed at 6'6" and 273 pounds, and he is also considering Auburn and Florida, so it won't be easy for the Bulldogs. 

Linebacker Josh Harvey-Clemons and others, such as defensive end Josh Dawson and wide receiver JaQuay Williams, will need to be signing with Georgia next week to help ensure the Bulldogs maintain their status in the recruiting rankings. 

Schools lose players all the time, but the key is to not let it ruin the class as a whole.

With the biggest day in college football recruiting quickly approaching, Georgia can make up for its losses by bringing in even better talent.