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Who has more talent in Georgia football than Texas football?

Posted on by Kennedy
Who has more talent in Georgia football than Texas football?

AUSTIN, Texas – Georgia is in Austin today to take on a Texas team that is the consensus No. 1 team in the country. It is the first meeting between the two schools on the Texas campus since 1958.

The easiest way to preview the top-5 matchup is to find the answer to two questions.

  • Which team has the more talented squad?
  • Which team is currently playing better?

The answer to the second point is not that difficult to find.

Even when it comes down to the teams each program faces in 2024, the Longhorns have a clear edge. They are undefeated and the major national statistical rankings in major statistical areas favor the home team.

Of particular note is the fact that Texas leads the country in scoring defense (6.3 ppg) and Georgia ranks 20th overall (17.2 ppg). Texas also ranks seventh (43.2 points) in offensive rating and the Bulldogs are 35th in that category (33.5 ppg).

But this is the SEC. Players are important. These players are evaluated and recruited in high school to make a big impact in big games like this.

The way each program has converted these prospects into true NFL prospects also matters.

There comes a point in every top-10 matchup where the number of future prospects Sunday is more important than the number of former high school All-Americans and 5-star players on each roster.

However, the volume's recruiting story produces another clear winner.

DawgNation examined a number of key metrics for each program. (NOTE: All recruiting rankings used below are from the 247Sports Team Composite Rankings.

  • Average recruiting class ranking (2020-2024)

Georgia: No. 2 nationwide (average rating 2.0)

Texas: No. 7 nationally (average rating 7.4)

  • Average recruiting class ranking (2021-2024)

Georgia: No. 2 nationwide (average rating 2.3)

Texas: No. 7 nationally (average rating 7.0)

  • 5-Star Recruits Signed (2021-2024)

Georgia: 19 (13 remaining; 4 going to the NFL; 1 remaining via the transfer portal)

Texas: 11 (10 left; 1 goes to the NFL)

  • Check out the number of former 5-star prospects who started in 2024 for each school

Georgia: 5 (0 attack, 5 defense)

Texas: 5 (4 attacks, 1 defense)

  • Top 100 Overall Signed Prospects (2021-2024)

Georgia: 41 (13 attacks, 28 defenses)

Texas: 20 (12 attacks, 8 defenses)

  • Former top 100 overall prospects who started for each team in 2024

Georgia: 15 (5 attack, 10 defense)

Texas: 10 (5 attack, 5 defense)

  • Additionally, the average HS prospect rankings were recorded for starters on both sides of the ball

Attack: Georgia No. 259 overall; Texas No. 238 overall

Defense: Georgia No. 211 overall: Texas No. 426 overall

Georgia: 80 percent

Texas: 72 percent

  • Age and experience are important. Check out which HS classes the starters for each team came from:

Georgia: 2019: 2; 2020: 4; 2021: 7; 2022: 12; 2023: 6

Texas: 2018: 1; 2019: 1; 2020: 4; 2021: 7; 2022: 8; 2023: 7

  • Development is also important. Here are the number of players who appeared at each position in the latest ESPN 2025 NFL Top 5 Draft

Georgia: 9 (6 attacks, 3 defense)

Texas: 6 (2 attacks, 4 defense)

The results show that Georgia recruited at a higher level. The Bulldogs have signed more elite 5-star players and recruited more elite 100 national recruits in the last four recruiting cycles.

While the data for each program's 2021 recruiting class is skewed due to the many NFL or transfer portal departures, it was included because these classes still provided a large number of starters for each program (14) prior to this game.

While we've focused on 2024 starters so far in this comparison, elite-level recruiting also plays a big role in the depth and players each team uses on special teams.

DawgNation was also able to identify several interesting personnel notes leading into the matchup. The elements listed below help shape the data presented so far.

  • Texas has the best QB in the country from the 2021 cycle and the 2023 cycle on its roster. Starter Quinn Ewers came through the transfer portal from Ohio State. The Texas native was the best young player in the country in 2021. The same goes for former 5-star quarterback Arch Manning. Manning was also the No. 1 overall prospect in the country in 2023.
  • The presence of these two players and their No. 1 overall ranking boosted the Texas average when it came to the high school recruiting rankings of their offensive starters this season.
  • Texas had a graduate DL who graduated from high school in 2018. This is former 3-star DL Jermayne Lole. He played at Arizona State and Louisville and is now a graduate transfer at Texas. He took full advantage of his redshirt options and COVID-19 bonus year for the 2020 season.
  • Texas and Georgia also have starters that emerged from the 2019 recruiting class. That's sixth-year LB David Gbenda for the Longhorns and starting OT Xavier Truss for UGA. Dan Jackson from Georgia also graduated from high school in 2019.
  • Speaking of Jackson, the Longhorns have their own walk-on starter at safety story in safety Michael Taaffe. Taafee was a zero-star recruit and had no national prospects coming out of high school. He is the sixth generation of his family to visit Texas.
  • Jackson and Taaffe started every game for their respective teams. And this despite the fact that they were not classified as interested at all. As a result, an overall ranking of #1600 prospects was used to compile the respective rankings of high school prospects.
  • Texas also has another defensive starter in EDGE Trey Moore, who had no stars coming out of high school. The first-year transfer from UTSA was not rated as a prospect by the national services. Still, he's listed on the 2025 NFL Mock Draft boards as one of the top five players in the country at his position.
  • Both teams used the transfer portal to stock their teams. It's interesting to note that Texas found six players through the transfer portal who started a game in 2024. The ratio is divided with three players each in attack and defense. The Longhorns will use two possible starting receivers who came out of the transfer portal.
  • Georgia started four players this fall who came through the portal. These Bulldogs were all on offense, with three of those starters at either wide receiver or tight end. Georgia's starting defensive line is 100 percent high school.
  • The Longhorns have benefited from the great consistency of their starting lineup. While they suffered a 5-star deficit this year due to injuries, they were remarkably healthy on offense. Texas has had the same five offensive line starters in every game this year.
  • For comparison: The Bulldogs had to mix seven different starters in their OL.
  • Texas also had the same starter at eight of the 11 defensive positions this season, including the same four names in the top four this fall. Georgia has seen eight different players start its defensive front in 2024.

Have you subscribed to the DawgNation YouTube channel yet? If so, you'll see special 1-on-1 content with key 2025 prospects like Ethan Barbour, Ryan Montgomery, Elijah Griffin and Justus Terry

SENTELLS INTEL

(Check out the latest Georgia football recruiting news.)

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