Why Georgia still leads Alabama and Ohio State for the prized 4-star defender
DawgNation Staff
@jeffsentell
Want to attack every day with the latest Georgia football recruiting info? That’s the Intel. This rep has the latest with 4-star Alabama DE/OLB target Tomarrion Parker. He ranks as the nation’s No. 10 DL and the No. 84 overall prospect for 2023 on the 247Sports Composite ratings.
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There was a time last summer when North Carolina was the team to beat for 4-star EDGE prospect Tomarrion Parker. That was until Georgia surged in that recruiting chase last fall at the beginning of the season.
The Bulldogs have been his leader ever since that point.
“I’ve always loved Georgia since I first got the offer,” he said recently. “I was always interested in how they played. They’ve definitely met every expectation I’ve had of them.”
It sounds like Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State are the schools to watch the closest right now at this point.
That said, the Alabama defender from Central-Phenix City High still has the ‘Dawgs on top after his most recent visit. Pulling a talented player the Crimson Tide wants out of Alabama is always going to be a major undertaking.
Why do the Bulldogs still lead?
“Communication wise,” Parker said. “Alabama has been communicating with me well but Georgia’s recruitment communication is definitely much better. With coach [Chidera] Uzo-Diribe. With coach [Will] Muschamp and Kirby [Smart] there, they all do a great job of communicating and keeping up with my parents. With what they have got going on. With what their plans are for me.”
“Georgia also definitely does a great job of contacting my school. Making sure my grades are right. Making sure I am doing the right thing. They go the extra mile. That second mile. They are all about second-mile extra mile living which I like.”
Parker said that Georgia continues to ascend in his eyes. It was finally winning the big game, finally beating Alabama and finally winning that elusive national championship.
It impressed him. But the Bulldogs have continued to flash their worth as a program at the NFL Combine and at Georgia’s recent Pro Day.
“Definitely the development,” he said. “As you can see their players definitely went out and did their thing at the combine. This reflects how much hard work and effort they put into their players development-wise. It reflects how much time and work they put into their bodies at Georgia from the training and treatment.”
“Overall it is just a wealth of help for us as players. Which I really like. Then the family vibe you get from Georgia is amazing. Which I love.”
4-star EDGE Tomarrion Parker ranks as the nation’s No. 10 DL and the nation’s No. 84 overall prospect for 2023 on the 247Sports Composite (Instagram)
Instagram, Dawgnation
“I still got a lot of one-on-one time with the coaches,” Parker said. “They spent a lot of time with me. The recruiting staff was amazing again. [Co-Director on On-Campus Recruiting] Angela [Kirkpatrick] that’s my ‘Dawg. She was with me the whole time. They were all showing love.”
“There were a lot of people there, but that didn’t affect me. They were able to show me that with all of that I am still one of their top players on the board.”
Parker got to hang out a little bit with Manning.
“He’s definitely cool,” Parker said. “He understands the spotlight he brings to his family with his family name. So he already knows. We all went out to have fun, but he pulled up in like church clothes. So you know he brings it. What he is all about. I started laughing when I saw that.”
“I get him with all that. That’s how he is. He’s just a cool and laid-back guy. He tries to be private and relax in private as much as he can with all of the offers and spotlight on him.”
There’s the thought that Manning choosing Georgia would augment an already robust recruiting appeal for the program. That’s a pretty big bar to clear.
The national champions have finished sixth, third, first, second, first, fourth and third in the final 247Sports TeamComposite rankings since Smart arrived.
Parker felt that Manning choosing UGA could add another gear to that juggernaut in Athens.
“It definitely will,” Parker said. “Especially on the offensive side of the ball. Knowing that a big-time quarterback like that could be committing to any school. It will definitely bring a lot of weapons and it would definitely help out Georgia in the long run if he did.”
The nation’s No. 84 overall prospect has now taken about “four or five” trips to Georgia. That’s as many trips as he’s taken to any school outside of nearby Auburn.
Parker is a pretty good bowler and his first deep dive Dawgnation story detailed his plan to follow a career in sports broadcasting. That will happen down the road after maybe about 100 more career sacks on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
4-star EDGE Tomarrion Parker ranks as the nation’s No. 10 DL and the nation’s No. 84 overall prospect for 2023 on the 247Sports Composite (Instagram)
Instagram, Dawgnation
Parker spent a lot of time on that recent visit with the new OLBs coach. Chidera Uzo-Diribe certainly made a good impression. He calls him “Coach Diribe” when they chat.
That was what made his most recent UGA trip so different.
“It was fun watching him and learning from him,” Parker said. “Learning how he coaches. Seeing how he coaches. Listening to him go into detail about why they do things in a certain way. Picking up new things that I can use for my season as well. It was definitely time well spent just from a learning experience.”
“It was good seeing the team work out. Seeing the team. I got to go out with them and see how the life of a student-athlete really is at Georgia.”
He got to see UGA practice on their first day in pads.
Parker said he is also planning an official visit to Ohio State at some point in April.
Check out his junior highlight reel below.
SENTELL’S INTEL
(check on the recent reads on DawgNation.com)
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