On the last weekend of May, Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs won a competitive recruiting battle for four-star defensive lineman Carter Luckie. Luckie, a 6’5″, 265 pound defensive lineman from Norcross, Georgia, chose to stay in-state and commit to the Bulldogs.
Staying close to home is nice for Luckie and his family. A drive from his hometown of Norcross to Athens is just over an hour. Luckie committed to the Bulldogs just a day after his official visit.
He chose Georgia over NC State, Florida State, Ohio State, and many others. In total, he had 33 Division I offers. Luckie was the 318th nationally ranked player, 39th ranked defensive lineman, and 40th ranked player in Georgia.
Family Ties That Bind
In addition to being super close to his family as he is just 50 miles away, he gets to be even closer to his older brother. Luckie’s brother, Lawson, is a tight end on the team. Having his brother at the same school as him should help him tremendously in more ways than one both on and off the field.
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“The Georgia culture is hard work and grind and that’s what I like,” Luckie said back in February. “We toured the facilities a bit and then me and coach Scott met and went over some of my film to show me some stuff I can improve on and also some positive things.”
Georgia’s Elite Recruiting Machine Keeps Rolling
With the addition of Luckie, Georgia currently has 27 recruits, five of them five-stars and 20 four-stars. Georgia currently ranks second in the country in the best recruiting class in both the SEC and the country. The only school they are trailing are the Texas Longhorns.
Georgia is most certainly using its large NIL budget to its advantage. Coach Smart is spending just over $18 million in hopes of returning to, competing in, and winning the national championships.
Where Luckie Fits in Georgia’s Defensive Future
Most likely, Luckie is not playing his freshman year as he is joining a roster with ten defensive linemen, plus two recruits in addition to him. Playing time will be tough to earn, but Luckie is most definitely up for the challenge. In fact, he enjoys it and is looking forward to it as he mentioned their culture being hard work and a grind which he enjoys and needs.
He also mentioned, “The red and black goes deep. Go Dawgs!!!” He even responded to Hayes Fawcett’s Instagram post, saying, “Let’s go!!!” and adding two dog emojis.
Georgia and Smart continue to develop and replace players to strengthen their strong defensive lineman pipeline. Even after losing Mykel Williams and Jalon Walker to the NFL Draft a couple of months ago, they continue to find elite talent to replace them.
The more Coach Smart and company can develop and produce first-round NFL talent, the more high school recruits will want their chance to do the same.
It is unknown if Luckie can do the same, as he has not yet graduated from high school. However, he is definitely hungry and grateful for the opportunity. Lawson may even see more playing time in his junior season, as he got an increased workload in his sophomore season. He had 24 catches, 348 yards, and three receiving touchdowns, which were much better than his freshman season.
However, the main reason he did not log many snaps or receptions his freshman year was that his teammate and one of the best collegiate tight ends of the last five years, Brock Bowers, was also there.
