With 31 players on Georgia’s roster receiving scholarship offers from Ohio State after high school, there will be plenty on the opposing sideline at Saturday’s Peach Bowl than Ryan Day and the Buckeyes. once considered playing for them.
Five particular Georgia players who seriously considered Ohio State as rookies were Jaheim Singletary, Kendall Milton, MJ Sherman, Earnest Greene and Christen Miller. Singletary was actually committed to Ohio State before eventually switching to the Bulldogs, while the other four all had the Buckeyes in their last four schools (or less).
Milton, who is listed as a co-starter at running back after rushing for a career-high 113 yards in the SEC Championship Game, is the only one of those Bulldogs who is likely to play a big role in the Peach Bowl. . Sherman has played just 42 defensive snaps this season as a backup rusher, per Focus on professional footballwhile the other three are freshmen in red shirts.
But with every Georgia player available at Peach Bowl media day, it was a chance for eleven warriors to catch up with them all and ask them about their memories of being drafted by Ohio State, what they liked about the Buckeyes back then, why they chose Georgia and what they think about playing against Ohio State now.
CB Jaheim Singletary
Around this time two years ago, Singletary looked set to play for Ohio State. He signed with the Buckeyes on January 1. Feb. 2, 2021, just a day after the Buckeyes defeated Clemson in the college football playoff semifinals.
Engaged… #Zone6 pic.twitter.com/1NOeDcyfiH
– Jaheim Singletaire (@Jaheim2_) January 2, 2021
The move came at a time when rookies were unable to make visits due to COVID-19, and Singletary said he was committed to the Buckeyes because of the communication he had. with Ohio State coaches at the time as well as several relationships he had with Ohio State. From his high school, Trinity Christian Academy, which produced former Buckeye defensive backs Shaun Wade and Tyreke Johnson and running back Marcus Crowley.
“COVID was there at the time, and I couldn’t visit a lot of places. And Ohio State, the communication that we could have with the coaches, Ohio State was doing a really good job at the time,” “said Singletary to Eleven Warriors. So I just went with the flow of how everything was going. Then I had some mates from my town who went to Ohio State and they had a good balance sheet.
Seven months later, however, Singletary opted out of Ohio State after continuing the recruiting process.
“At the end of the day, the decision my family and I made, it wasn’t really that hard,” Singletary said of the disengagement. “It was just the best decision for me and my family at the time.”
In November 2021, the five star cornerback got involved in Georgia, which he came to feel was the right place for him.
“Just the feeling,” Singletary said when asked why he chose Georgia. The feeling they gave me and my family. The track record of everything, knowing that Kirby Smart is a great coach, all the staff are great, and knowing that I’m going to be a better man and a better football player at the end of the day.
He described it as both ‘a bittersweet feeling’ and ‘a dream come true’ to now face the school he originally signed up for with a spot in a national championship match. stakes.
“At one point I dreamed of playing for them, and now I’m in Georgia, a place that I love,” Singletary said. That’s crazy, because I was just talking about that part of the week, when we had the first one (Battle for Bowl Week event with Ohio State). It’s just a good feeling though. Because I know it’s a very good program, a very good team and the level of competition, I know that in the end it will be a good thing.
RB Kendall Milton
Milton was a top running back target for Ohio State in the 2020 recruiting class, and interest in Ohio State since Milton’s end was mutual. the four-star running back From California, he made several visits to Columbus as a rookie, including an official visit to OSU after placing the Buckeyes in their top four schools with Georgia, Alabama and LSU.
“I just remember going through the process, there was a lot of culture involved in that school,” Milton recalled when asked about being drafted by Ohio State. “I remember going through practices and all my visits and everything, a lot of competitive practices. Lots of tradition from players to coaches.
Milton said he has a good relationship with Ohio State running backs coach Tony Alford, who was a big part of OSU making its top four.
“He was one of the coaches I kept in touch with quite often,” Milton said. “When recruiting, he was just a good guy. He was always open, honest. Honest on the plan, honest about his goals and what he wanted to get out of the whole process.
Ultimately, however, Milton decided that Georgia was the school that was best for him.
“I wanted to go somewhere where I would feel comfortable if I wanted to live there after football,” Milton said. “I put a lot of different things into the decision, including business opportunities and just life situations and just things I wanted out of college. And I felt Georgia offered more than any other opportunity I had, that’s why I made the decision. And I’m happy with that decision.
Having previously played against LSU and Alabama, Milton described it as “a blessing” to now have the chance to play against Ohio State.
“It’s definitely an exciting game, especially since I had the opportunity to be recruited by the coaches and to be in the facilities and to be around the schedule a bit,” Milton said. “It’s a great game that now, years later, we’re playing against each other in one of the biggest games of the season.”
LB MJ Sherman
Ohio State might have had a better chance of landing Sherman if there hadn’t been a coaching change after the 2018 season. When asked why Ohio State was one of his two last schools as a freshman, Sherman responded with a two-word response: “Urban Meyer.”
Still, the Buckeyes stayed in the running for Sherman — who was Michael Sherman when he was a rookie — until the end. He announced in April 2019, nearly four months after Meyer coached his last game at Ohio State, that OSU was one of his last two schools with Georgia. He said Meyer’s departure was a factor, however, in his decision to ultimately choose the Bulldogs over the Buckeyes.
the No. 33 global perspectives In the Class of 2020, he said he chose Georgia because of its close-knit family atmosphere and because “they push you to the T,” and he’s still happy with the decision he made three years later. .
“I feel like I’m sitting in the right place,” Sherman said.
Knowing that Georgia and Ohio State are CFP contenders on a yearly basis, he’s not surprised to now face OSU.
“It was inevitable,” Sherman said. “Because we both have dreams, both schools have dreams and a bright future to be here anytime, any day. It was just a moment before it happened, so again once it was just unavoidable. We both have great schools and great football programs and we had to butt heads sometimes.
OL Earnest Greene
Ohio State was one of the final four schools in line to land Greene, who was one of the Buckeyes’ top offensive targets in the 2022 class, in which he was ranked as the No. 45 global perspectives. Nearly a year after announcing his commitment to Georgia at the All-American Bowl, Greene wasn’t interested in talking about what he loved about Ohio State as a rookie, saying “I feel like it was so late that I would just focus on Georgia. at present.”
Having viewed Ohio State heavily, however, he said it felt “really ironic” — although, like Sherman, he’s not surprised it’s happening — to face OSU at CFP now in his freshman year in Georgia.
“Everyone knew this was going to happen when you consider the programs, so it had to happen,” Greene said. “But it’s just ironic that it happened in my freshman year.”
This weekend will be Greene’s chance to reunite with former high school teammate Kourt Williams, whom he played with at St. John Bosco High School in California, and he said his conversation with Eleven Warriors on Thursday will inspire him to connect with Williams.
“I actually have to reach out to Kourt, Kourt was my guy,” Greene said. “I haven’t spoken to him in a minute, so you just reminded me to contact him.”
DT Christen Miller
Like Greene, Miller was one of Ohio State’s final targets in the recruiting class of 2022 before choosing to sign with Georgia in February. The Buckeyes were Georgia’s best competition for Miller, welcoming him on numerous visits during his recruiting process, but he ended up choosing to stay in his home state of Georgia, which is a decision that he doesn’t regret even if he liked what he saw at OSU.
Early in my process, I just saw two good schools. And it happened in Georgia and I made the right decision going to Georgia,” Miller said. But Ohio State was a good program. That’s why they were in my top 10 schools at the end. But I feel like I made the right choice going to Georgia and being developed here in Georgia, so it all went well.
Christen Miller made several visits to Ohio State before choosing to play for Georgia.
Miller, who played four games during the regular season and could theoretically see action in the CFP after the NCAA passed a blanket waiver allowing players to participate in bowl games without affecting their redshirt eligibility, said he was excited to play against Ohio State, especially because his former high school head coach Miguel Patrick is on staff at Ohio State as a defensive quality control coach (though he will leave the Buckeyes after the season to be UAB’s defensive line coach).
“He coached me and got me through high school, so going against him is an amazing feeling,” Miller said. “I can’t wait to do it.”
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