Georgia Suffers Major Recruiting Blow on Tuesday

Jul 15, 2025 5:33 PM EDT

The one thing that just about every program in college football has grown to understand is the fact that no recruitment is over until pen is put to paper.

On Tuesday, the Georgia Bulldogs got a refresher on that lesson regarding the recruitment of five-star defensive lineman James Johnson. The Miami product announced his commitment to the Bulldogs on June 28, but his time as a member of Kirby Smart’s recruiting class lasted less than a month.

With SEC media days in full swing this week, the Bulldogs saw the rug pulled out from under them as Johnson flipped his commitment to the Texas Longhorns.

Johnson had picked Georgia over Texas, Florida, Florida State and Miami.

However, the Longhorns were not willing to take no for an answer, and went back to the drawing board to sweeten the deal and get Johnson to Austin.

Georgia Bulldogs football coach Kirby Smart. — Source: © Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Tuesday has been a truly tough day for the Bulldogs when it comes to recruiting against Texas. In addition to losing Johnson, the Longhorns also went into the state of Georgia and landed a commitment from five-star linebacker Tyler Atkinson.

With the addition of Atkinson and Johnson, the Longhorns have the No. 6 recruiting class in the country and currently boast three five-star recruits in their class. This development leaves Georgia with quarterback Jared Curtis as the program’s only five-star recruit.

With this happening so suddenly, expect Georgia to make another run at Johnson.