The book is not yet closed on the 2026 college football recruiting cycle, but Georgia already has its sights set on the following class and made a marquee addition to its 2027 haul. Kemon Spell, the No. 7 overall recruit and top running back in the nation, per 247Sports, committed Monday to the Bulldogs and is the second five-star prospect in his class to pick a destination.
Spell is a McKeesport, Pa. native and a longtime Penn State commit, but when the Nittany Lions fired coach James Franklin midway through the 2025 season, the prized running back decommitted from the in-state program and reopened his recruitment. Georgia, Notre Dame and Miami pushed hard to land his talents once he began a new college search, and he picked up new offers from Nebraska, Oregon and Ole Miss.
“It’s just the love and relationship between all the coaches,” Spell said to 247Sports about his relationship with Georgia. “I got down there the first time and got to meet Kirby Smart. It was nothing but great. It’s been great every other day since then, and we’ve talked every other day, for real.”
Even with an ankle injury sidelining him for three games early in his junior season at McKeesport, Spell rushed for 1,755 yards and scored 32 touchdowns as a ballcarrier, receiver and kick returner.
Spell not only highlights the 2027 running back class but also stands as one of just nine recruits to hold five-star status early in the cycle. He debuted in the 247Sports rankings as the No. 59 overall player and has done nothing but climb the ladder over the last year and a half.
“Overall, it’s a great school and great place for me to be,” Spell said. “It was just, as soon as I got there, the love and relationship I had with the coaches, it was just a spark. It’s a place that’s a home feel. That’s what it felt like when I got there.”
It is still extremely early in the 2027 recruiting calendar, but Georgia is off to the kind of start that should result in the Bulldogs contending for the nation’s No. 1 class. They stand sixth nationally in the team rankings after Spell’s commitment and already have pledges from three players who rank No. 54 overall or better. Cornerback Donte Wright (No. 34) and offensive tackle Kelsey Adams (No. 54) round out the class headliners.
Kirby Smart is set to put the finishing touches this week on his No. 6-ranked 2026 class. Smart has never compiled anything other than a top-10 haul during his Georgia tenure, and that will remain true when the ink dries on this class come Wednesday’s National Signing Day. He also has three No. 1 classes to his name over the last decade.
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