Georgia football and Kirby Smart have turned their focus to the 2027 recruiting cycle. With the 2026 season on the distant horizon, now is the time to plan for the future. According to 247 Sports, the Bulldogs are set to lose an estimated 9 seniors at the conclusion of next season. That doesn’t include any player who declares early for the NFL draft or those who enter the transfer portal. Three such players who could leave are linebackers Chris Cole and Justin Williams.
This would make linebacker a position of need for the Dawgs in the 2027 recruiting cycle, which is probably why, according to Yahoo! Sports analyst Khosalu Puro, Garner (NC) High School 4-star Athlete AJ Randle Jr. was in Athens last Saturday. This visit was during Georgia’s first junior day of the January contact period. After spending a lot of time with Smart and DC Glenn Schumann, he was offered a scholarship.
Randle Jr. stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 210 pounds. He is ranked as the No. 326 recruit in the country, the No. 24 linebacker, and the No. 12 recruit in North Carolina. He also runs track. Randle has a documented 4.69 40-yard dash time, 4.57 shuttle time, 32’0″ vertical jump, and 9’8″ broad jump.
“After a great conversation with Glenn Schumann, I am Blessed to receive an offer from The University of Georgia,” Randle Jr. wrote on X.
Randle comes from an athletic bloodline. His mother was an All-American in track at Clemson, and his brother played college football for Texas Tech, UConn, and Michigan State. He also played briefly in the NFL.
As a junior, Randle Jr. amassed 84 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception, and 1 forced fumble.
