University of Georgia Athletics
Richt's First Recruiting Class At UGA Looks Strong
February 07, 2002 | Football
Feb. 7, 2002
By KEITH PARSONS
AP Sports Writer
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - In his first full season on the job, Georgia coach Mark Richt has a recruiting class with a distinct flavor: 22 of the 29 are from instate.
"One of the main reasons I came to Georgia was I felt like the state ... had the type of players it takes to win a championship," Richt said Wednesday on national signing day. "I felt like if we could keep the best players in the state of Georgia ... that we were going to have a tremendous amount of success.
"To hit 75 percent of our class with Georgia kids, I'm as thrilled as I can be."
Four of the recruits enrolled in school for the spring semester, so they officially count toward last year's list. The NCAA allows a maximum of 25 recruits each season.
The Bulldogs were ranked fourth by the National Recruiting Advisor and in the top 20 by most other analysts.
Probably Richt's biggest coup was signing offensive lineman Max Jean-Gilles of Miami, who chose the Bulldogs over his hometown Hurricanes. Georgia could start all seniors on its offensive line next season, so that position was a priority.
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