Five-star defensive tackle Travon Walker from Thomaston, Georgia (Upson-Lee High School) has committed to Georgia, via a post on his Twitter account which followed a live announcement on a local news outlet.
Walker, a 6'5"/290 pound multi-sport athlete, is a highly coveted prospect in the 2019 recruiting class. He is rated as highly as the #7 overall player in the country by 247Sports and the #1 defensive tackle. Walker committed to Georgia over his other four finalists South Carolina, Clemson, Auburn, and Alabama.
With Walker's commitment to Georgia, the Bulldogs now have 13 commits for the 2019 class, 4 of those prospects holding 5-star status. The commitment gives the Bulldogs' 2019 Recruiting Class a 247Sports Team Score of 252.56 which is the highest nationally. This basically means Georgia has the highest star rating per recruit for any team in the nation.
Walker's committment to Georgia is a big miss for both Clemson and South Carolina, particularly Clemson. Georgia was the long perceived favorites to land Walker by recruiting pundits, but South Carolina made a late push for Walker's services and had pulled within striking distance of landing Walker after an official visit on June 2nd.
Despite missing on Walker, the Gamecocks are still in line to pull a very impressive defensive line haul in 2019, with commitments already from five-star defensive end Zacch Pickens and four-star defensive end Joseph Anderson, not to mention adding former five-star defensive tackle Josh Belk to the fray following his transfer from Clemson.
Speaking of Clemson, Walker's committment elsewhere is a huge miss for the Tigers. Clemson has only one defensive tackle committed for the 2019 class. Tayquon Johnson (Williamsport, Maryland) is a promising young player, but has a large developmental curve before he will be ready for ACC football. This is especially a problem for 2019, as Clemson will lose Christian Wilkins, Albert Huggins, and likely Dexter Lawrence after this season, leaving only 3 defensive tackles on scholarship for next season (Nyles Pinckney, Jordan Williams, and Darnell Jefferies).
Walker would have been able to contribute immediately along the depleted Clemson defensive front, but with his commitment to Georgia, the Tigers' coaching staff will have to revamp their search to find an impact defensive tackle in the 2019 class.
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