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Eli Lederman, ESPN Staff Writer
Five-star defensive tackle Elijah Griffin, ESPN’s top uncommitted prospect in the 2025 class, committed to Georgia over Miami and USC Friday afternoon, closing one of the nation’s most critical late-cycle recruitments seven weeks before the start of the early signing period.
Griffin, a dominant interior force from Savannah, Georgia, is the No. 5 overall prospect in the 2025 ESPN 300 and the nation’s No. 1 defensive tackle in the current cycle.
The 6-foot-4, 280-pound defender was once expected to extend his recruitment to the start of the early signing period on Dec. 4, but Griffin instead opted to commit to the Bulldogs following a visit to Georgia last weekend during the program’s 41-31 win over Mississippi State on Saturday.
With Griffin’s pledge, five-star defensive tackle Justus Terry, a former Georgia and USC commit, is the last uncommitted player among the top 10 prospects in ESPN’s rankings for the 2025 class.
Griffin is now the highest-rated member of Kirby Smart’s 2025 class, which holds commitments from 16 ESPN 300 prospects, including nine from the top 100.
The No. 2 prospect in the state of Georgia, Griffin leads an impressive defensive class bound for Athens in 2025, joining outside linebacker Zayden Walker (No. 16 in the ESPN 300), defensive end Isaiah Gibson (No. 30) and cornerback Shamari Earls (No. 75) among the seven ESPN 300 defenders in the Bulldogs’ incoming class. Georgia’s 2025 recruiting class sat at No. 5 in ESPN’s latest team rankings for the 2025 cycle prior to Griffin’s commitment from the gymnasium at Savannah Christian Preparatory School Friday afternoon.
The mid-October pledge ends a long-standing recruitment between Griffin and the Bulldogs that began when Georgia offered the talented young defender at 13 years old. Griffin made frequent visits to Athens as he blossomed into an overwhelming defensive wrecker at Savannah Christian, where Griffin led the Raiders to a state title game appearance in 2023 and began his senior season this fall with 69 career tackles for loss, including 33.5 sacks.
Griffin took an unofficial visit to Georgia in January before attending Junior Day events at Florida and Clemson this spring, then took official visits to Miami and USC in June. A month later, Griffin narrowed his finalists to Georgia, Miami and USC before attending the Bulldogs’ neutral-site opener against Clemson in Atlanta in Week 1 and returning to Sanford Stadium on Saturday.
Griffin was expected to visit Miami and USC again later this fall, but his recruitment closed earlier than expected, buoyed by a tight relationship with Bulldogs defensive line coach Tray Scott and years-long recruiting efforts.
Griffin’s pledge could mark the first of several dominos to fall for Georgia in the closing stages of the 2025 cycle as the Bulldogs seek to land their ninth-consecutive top-three class dating back to 2017. Georgia continues to chase Terry, ESPN’s No. 7 prospect out of Manchester, Georgia, and have made strides in recent weeks toward potential flips of ESPN 300 safeties Eric Winters (Auburn commit) and Lagonza Hayward Jr. (Tennessee commit).
With Griffin off the board, Terry stands as the highest rated of the eight top-100 prospects who remain uncommitted entering the weekend in a group that also includes four-star athlete Michael Terry III (No. 24 in the ESPN 300) and safety Jordan Young (No. 39).
Junior defensive end Jahkeem Stewart, ESPN’s No. 1 prospect in the 2026 cycle, is also expected to announce a commitment between now and the early signing period after reclassifying into the 2025 class on Oct. 5. Stewart has scheduled visits to Ohio State, LSU and USC over the next month and attended Oregon’s 32-31 win over the Buckeyes last weekend.