No. 3 Georgia and No. 2 Michigan play in the Capital One Orange Bowl on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN and ESPN App) in a College Football Playoff semifinal and one of the more intriguing games this bowl season.
The Dawgs have a dominant defense, while Michigan's run game has propelled the team to the position it's in today. The Wolverines' defense is much improved from last season under new coordinator Mike MacDonald with Heisman Trophy runner-up Aidan Hutchinson at defensive end, while Georgia's offense has withstood some bumps along the way.
The two teams have built their rosters in very different ways, but both are achieving similar results. Here is a look at how both Georgia and Michigan have strengthened their teams through recruiting and the success on the recruiting trail each team has seen over the past five years.
Georgia
ESPN 300 recruits
The Georgia staff has signed 84 ESPN 300 prospects from 2017 to 2021, including 13 five-stars and 60 commitments ranked inside the top 150.
Not all of those prospects are still on the roster, though, and this current team has 54 ESPN 300 recruits, 40 of whom are ranked inside the top 150. There are only two former ESPN 300 prospects left from the 2017 class, as six are now in the NFL. There are eight ESPN 300 recruits left from the 19 who signed in 2018, and 44 are dispersed on the roster from the 2019, 2020 and 2021 classes.
The five-stars still on the roster include defensive end Nolan Smith, offensive lineman Clay Webb, cornerback Kelee Ringo, offensive lineman Broderick Jones, defensive lineman Jalen Carter and linebacker Smael Mondon Jr.
Class rankings
Georgia has been overshadowed by what Alabama has done in recent years, but it's no surprise to see the Dawgs in the playoff this season, given what the coaches have consistently done on the recruiting trail.
Georgia was ranked No. 3 in the 2021 cycle and No. 2 in 2020 and in 2019. Coach Kirby Smart finished No. 1 in 2018 and No. 3 in 2017. Georgia and Alabama are the only two teams to finish with a top-six class in every recruiting class since 2017. Georgia is the only team during that time span to finish in the top three every year.
Stat leaders
As much talent as Georgia has recruited over the past five classes, quarterback has been an inconsistency. JT Daniels transferred in last year and played well at the end of 2020, but he has missed time this season because of injury.
Four-star D'Wan Mathis, a 2019 recruit, transferred to Temple. Both Carson Beck and Brock Vandagriff were ESPN 300 recruits but have combined for 24 pass attempts this season. Instead, the team has relied on senior quarterback Stetson Bennett, who had an FBS offer only from Middle Tennessee State out of high school.
Bennett was originally a preferred walk-on at Georgia, transferred to Jones College to play juco and then transferred back to Georgia after the 2018 season. He has completed 148 passes for 2,325 yards and 24 touchdowns this season.
Two running backs from the 2018 class have carried most of the load. Zamir White (No. 15) and James Cook (No. 54) have combined for 1,337 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Receiver has been another interesting position for Georgia, where the staff has recruited highly sought-after prospects, but injuries and a little bad luck have hampered them. True freshman tight end Brock Bowers has been a bright spot, though. He leads the team in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
Ladd McConkey, a three-star 2020 prospect, is the second-leading receiver on the team, followed by Jermaine Burton, the No. 99 prospect in 2020 who has 412 yards and four touchdowns.
Building a dominant defense
Georgia's offense has had some bumps along the way, but the defense dominated, allowing only 9.54 points per game, racking up 41 sacks and allowing only 254.3 yards per game.
Ten of Georgia's top 15 tacklers were ranked in the ESPN 300, nine of whom were in the top 75 of their respective classes. Georgia's defense, filled with depth and talent -- they have 25 ESPN 300 defenders on the roster -- has gotten the Dawgs to this point.
Linebacker Nakobe Dean is tied with Lewis Cine for the most total tackles with 61. Dean also has 8.5 tackles for loss and five sacks, along with two interceptions, five pass breakups and 20 quarterback hurries. Dean was the No. 24 recruit out of Mississippi in 2019 and has been a leader of the defense.
The defensive line features Jalen Carter, the No. 12 prospect overall in 2020, Travon Walker, the No. 46 prospect in 2019, four-star Jordan Davis and three-star Devonte Wyatt.
Michigan
ESPN 300 recruits
Over the past five recruiting classes, Michigan has signed 56 ESPN 300 recruits, 28 fewer than Georgia.
Twenty-four of those were ranked in the top 150, and of those, only 13 are still on the roster. Only one of those 13, however, is from the 2017 or 2018 classes. While many teams rely on a group of seniors to lead the team, Michigan has only one of its five ESPN 300 recruits from the 2018 class still on the roster.
The only ESPN 300 prospect remaining from the 2018 class is Heisman runner-up Hutchinson, who has been the heart and soul of the defense. Of the other four ESPN 300 recruits in that class, linebacker Cameron McGrone left for the NFL, while quarterback Joe Milton III, tight end Mustapha Muhammad and safety Myles Sims all transferred.
Class rankings
Michigan's class rankings have been a little up and down over the past five years, and Jim Harbaugh has done a good job making coaching changes over the past year to help create some consistency at a high level.
The Wolverines were ranked No. 6 in 2017, No. 20 in 2018, No. 8 in 2019, No. 11 in 2020 and No. 14 in 2021. The 2017 class was a little bit deceiving, though, because while it was a top-10 team, the staff saw quite a few departures from the class.
Of the 18 ESPN 300 commitments in 2017, only eight finished their careers at Michigan, which factored in to the lack of leadership and experience on last year's team and impacted the program overall.
Having a top-10 recruiting class is good on paper, but it didn't end up helping Michigan, which was a problem. The way Michigan is recruiting now, including the most recent 2021 class, it seems to be headed in the right direction.
Stat leaders
Michigan's recruiting numbers don't stand out on paper as flashy or rank highly among the elite programs, but the coaches have done a good job molding the talent they have this season and capitalizing on some of the experience on the roster.
Hutchinson and defensive end David Ojabo were the stars along the defensive line. Both were former ESPN 300 prospects and terrorized opposing quarterbacks. Hutchinson led the team in tackles for loss with 15.5 and broke the Michigan single-season sack record with 14. Ojabo had 12 tackles for loss and 11 sacks.
Linebacker Josh Ross is one of the few 2017 recruits (ranked No. 236 overall) still on the roster. His brother, James, played for Michigan, and Josh now leads the team in total tackles with 95. He also had 8.5 tackles for loss and eight quarterback hurries.
In the secondary, Daxton Hill is a former five-star whom Michigan battled with Alabama to get. Hill committed to Michigan, then flipped to Alabama, only to flip back to Michigan and sign with the Wolverines. Hill is tied with corner DJ Turner for the lead in interceptions on the team with two.
Hill also has 4.5 tackles for loss and 65 total tackles, and he is Mel Kiper Jr.'s second-rated safety in the 2022 NFL draft class.
The defense has some veteran leaders but has also gotten help from true freshman Junior Colson, who was ranked No. 144 overall in the 2021 class. Colson is fourth on the team in total tackles with 56 and also has three quarterback hurries, a fumble recovery and two pass breakups.
On offense, former ESPN 300 prospect Cade McNamara, who decommitted from Notre Dame and signed with Michigan, has taken over under center. McNamara has not made many mistakes this season and has improved as the weeks have gone on.
He has 2,470 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and four interceptions. The offensive coaches have worked in true freshman quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who was the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in 2021, and McCarthy has four touchdown passes to go along with 100 yards rushing and two rushing touchdowns.
The offense saw its best receiver, Ronnie Bell, go down with an injury at the start of the season, but it had a few other players step up. Cornelius Johnson, the No. 239 recruit in 2019, leads the team in receiving yards. Roman Wilson, a four-star in 2020, is second on the team with 378 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Three-star tight end Erick All has come into his own and has made some important plays for Michigan.
Building a dominant run game
Where the real bread and butter has been for Michigan on offense, though, has been in the run game. The Wolverines rank No. 10 in rush yards per game, No. 3 in rushing touchdowns, No. 14 in rush yards after first contact, and they have been led by Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum.
Haskins has 1,288 rush yards this season, which was ranked No. 13 among all backs, and Corum had 939, which was No. 55 overall. Corum ranks 14 overall in yards per rush, though, with 6.63 yards per attempt.
Haskins was a three-star prospect out of Missouri in the 2018 class, and Michigan was really his only big offer. Corum was ranked 120 overall in the ESPN 300 for the 2020 class and had offers from quite a few powerhouse programs.
The two backs have also benefited from running behind a very good offensive line. The Wolverines' line won the Joe Moore Award for most outstanding offensive line unit this season.
Offensive line coach Sherrone Moore helped mold a starting unit that has only one former ESPN 300 recruit in Trevor Keegan, who was ranked No. 171 overall in 2019. Outside of that, there are three four-stars and one lineman who wasn't ranked out of high school.
It's an impressive outcome with a mixture of unheralded recruits and ESPN 300 prospects who have combined to help move Michigan into the No. 2 ranking overall and a semifinal of the College Football Playoff.