Less than a week after winning a second straight national championship, Kirby Smart’s chops on the recruiting trail for Georgia have not wavered.
Four-star junior safety Jaylen Heyward is the latest to board after signing on Friday.
Heyward, of Rockledge High School (Florida), is No. 40 in the 2024 ESPN 300 and the second-best safety in the cycle. He is the third highest prospect and the seventh ESPN 300 2024 member to announce for the Bulldogs.
He also considered Alabama, Florida, Michigan, Ohio State, and Colorado.
“Georgia has always been one of the best programs in the country,” he told ESPN. “Every year they have been among the best. I feel like a top guy who needs to be in a top program. On top of that, I have a good relationship with [co-defensive coordinator] Coach [Will] Muschamp and Coach Smart and [defensive backs] coach Fran Brown. Kirby was actually a DB trainer [previously at Valdosta State, LSU and Alabama]. I’ll be under him most of the time.”
Following Monday night’s 65-7 win over TCU in the College Football Playoff National Championship game, Georgia is the first program to repeat in the CFP era and the first to come back since Alabama in 2011 and 2012.
Heyward becomes the second top-three safety in the 2024 class to commit to joining Smart and the two-time defending national champions in six days. Peyton Woodyard of St. John Bosco, Calif., signed up for the US Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio on Saturday.
The 6-foot, 180-pound Heyward recorded 44 tackles with 8 passes defended, 3 forced fumbles and 2 interceptions for Rockledge in 2022. In two years for the Raiders, he made 72 tackles, broke 24 passes, intercepted three passes (in a returned two for touchdowns) and has conceded just one touchdown in 25 games.
“I will always give my best in every game,” he said. “I give them 100% no matter what, no matter what. They’re going to get me out of this. That’s why I’m committed to the Dawgs.”
The additions of Heyward and Woodyard continue a trend that Smart has clearly established – ensuring top defensive rookies continue to come into the fold.
Since 2019, Georgia has signed 20 defensive players that ESPN had ranked in the top three at their respective positions.
Georgia’s 2023 class, which sits second overall after the first signing period, includes six defensive players who meet those criteria — three linebackers, two defensive linemen and one safety.
His 2024 class now includes three defensive players — outside linebacker Demarcus Riddick (No. 38 overall, No. 3 OLB), Heyward and Woodyard (No. 43 overall, No. 3 S) — inside the top three in their place on the field.
“The entire coaching staff holds each other accountable,” Heyward’s father, Demetrice Thomas, told ESPN. “It’s clear that everyone has the same program. Georgia haven’t signed any players from the transfer portal in 2022. It’s obvious that they’re recruiting quality. They’re developing student-athletes. Plus, they’re don’t make promises they can’ If Jaylen works, he’ll come on campus as a boy and leave as a man.
