Georgia Football: Recruits React to Bulldogs Adding Indoor Practice Facility

The Georgia Bulldogs football team tabbing Greyson Lambert as their starting quarterback wasn’t the only big announcement out of Athens on Monday.

The Bulldogs also released photos of a $30 million project that will add an indoor practice facility on campus.

According to Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald, there will be a groundbreaking ceremony for the facility in December and it’s expected to be completed before the 2017 season.

The news was a welcomed development for Bulldogs head coach Mark Richt, and something that he and his staff have been harping on in their recent recruiting efforts.

How are recruits reacting to the renderings of the new facility and what are their thoughts on its design and use? 

For 2016 3-star corner and current Georgia pledge Chad Clay, the news of an indoor facility is something that creates excitement about his future at the next level.

“[Georgia] already has beautiful facilities, but now with the indoor, it’s perfect,” Clay told Bleacher Report. “Because here in Georgia, we have all types of weather. In August and September, we may not have to go outside all the time when it’s 100 degrees. Then later in the year toward bowl season, you don’t have to practice in the snow or freezing temperatures. I think it helps keep practices productive. Some days, it might rain really hard and you can’t get things done like normal. With the indoor, you can go on about your business and get quality work in.”

Clay—who is a solid pledge despite schools such as Oklahoma making a push for him—also said the facility is something the Bulldogs coaching staff has been pumped about.

“They told us [about it] and said it would be up and complete for the majority of the time our class is here,” Clay said. “That’s pretty cool to be a part of the first class that will use it.”

While Clay is already bound for Athens, a pair of top targets for the Bulldogs in the 2017 cycle also had favorable views on the new addition to Georgia’s campus.

While he admits he wasn’t previously aware of the project, 2017 4-star athlete Jamyest Williams said it’s something that shows the Bulldogs commitment to maintaining a program that can compete for championships in the future.

“Today was my first time hearing about it,” Williams said. “I think that it’s very nice and I think it will will help the Bulldogs in the future.”

Likewise, fellow 2017 standout and 5-star corner Deangelo Gibbs has been a fixture on Georgia’s campus in recent months.

Gibbs noted that the new facility helps Georgia in the rapidly growing arms race in the SEC, where most programs already have indoor facilities.

“I think it looks great,” Gibbs said. “Every time I go up there, the coaches are talking about it and they are excited about it coming together. That’s been a big project for them. It’s cool for Georgia to get an indoor facility because a lot of other top programs already have them. I can’t wait for it to be ready so I can check it out when I get back on campus.”

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