How Georgia grabbed a four-star prospect from Tennessee’s back pocket
Georgia defensive line coach Tray Scott envisions his unit becoming “like the Steelers’ line.”
That is, Scott wants big-but-fast defensive ends and strong interior linemen. Bill Norton is certainly one of those: The 2019 defensive end out of Christian Brothers (Memphis, Tennessee) certainly has size, standing at 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds. Norton has a bit of burst about him, too, which makes him an ideal edge-rusher for Scott’s unit.
Scott and Georgia were the third school to offer Norton, after South Carolina and Tennessee. Now at 15 offers, Norton remains a hard commit to the Bulldogs. And he’ll arrive at Georgia right out of Tennessee’s back pocket.
“(Coaches) will see a dude that can move well and has good size, and they’ll offer them,” Norton said. “That’s what I thought it was, and then I realized that coach Tray really had a lot of interest in me. … that (relationship with Scott) formed, with Georgia being my top choice from Day 1.”
That relationship began before Norton’s sophomore year and when one of his former physical education coaches reached out to Scott. The next day, Norton and Scott spoke via a video-call. That led to Norton attending a camp in Athens the following summer, and UGA officially offered him on May 25, 2017.
It’s his relationship with Scott that Norton cites as one of his biggest reasons holding UGA in high regard. It also helps, Norton said, that Scott directly recruits all of his players as opposed to other schools who may have assistants do the job.
“That was something I hadn’t encountered yet with recruiting,” Norton said. “I was talking to a bunch of SEC coaches, other position coaches, they were just recruiting our state. (Scott) was recruiting his own players, and that allowed me to form a good relationship with him.”
That relationship lasted throughout Norton’s recruiting cycle, over a year after UGA initially offered him.
“Other schools, after I committed, they would just negative recruit Georgia,” Norton said. “It turned into schools giving me reasons not to go to Georgia, rather than reasons to go to their schools. And Georgia never negative recruited anyone.”
That’s certainly not to say Jeremy Pruitt didn’t try. The first-year Volunteers coach pushed hard for the in-state defensive end, and reportedly told Norton he was “going to be a Vol one day.” Norton never took an official visit to Tennessee, however. He attended a Junior Day event in Knoxville and took a few unofficial visits, the last on March 17.
The next day, he committed to UGA. He’s stayed committed since, and hasn’t made much of a secret about it. Norton said he’ll be “decked out in Georgia gear” when he signs his letter of intent Wednesday, rather than opt for the tense, last-minute uncertainty National Signing Day has become known for.
“It’s exciting,” said Norton, referring to December 11, when numerous high-profile UGA targets shut down their recruitment. “I’m excited for these next few years to come, and what they’re going to bring. I firmly believe that we’re going to get a national championship within the next few years.”