Georgia was always on prospect’s mind. Patience pays off with offer, commitment

Dylan Fairchild’s first and only game visit to his dream school came on a nightmare afternoon.

The four-star offensive lineman prospect in the Class of 2021 made the trip to Athens for Georgia’s game against South Carolina on Oct. 12, 2019. He had been lightly recruited by offensive line coach Sam Pittman to that point, and the Bulldogs fell to the Gamecocks 20-17 in a shocking upset that day.

The following March, Fairchild visited Georgia again. This time, new offensive line coach Matt Luke extended him an offer to come play for the Bulldogs. He committed that day, setting himself up to play his college football for the school he always wanted an hour and a half from his home in Cumming.

Fairchild hasn’t always been a highly-touted prospect. The offers didn’t start coming until late in his sophomore year, and he only attended one team camp, making the trip to South Carolina.

This is partially attributed to his relatively small size, as he played last season at 270 pounds.

“I knew that I was undersized playing especially guys from Camden (County High School) and McCallie (High School in Tennessee) and Hewitt-Trussville, schools like that, some of the best high schools in the country,” Fairchild said. “Going against that kind of competition, I knew I needed to get stronger and bigger.”

Pittman didn’t have a ton of communication with Fairchild, but then he left to take the head coaching job at Arkansas. After Georgia hired Luke in December, the interactions increased.

By that point, Fairchild held offers from Auburn, Tennessee, South Carolina and Florida State, among others. But on March 4, he received that long-awaited offer from Georgia, the team he grew up watching.

“(Luke) told me when he offered me, ‘We’re going to recruit you,”’ Fairchild said. “Nobody’s going to outwork him in recruiting, and he held up to that.”

The new coach saw added size, as the 6-foot-5 Fairchild made it an emphasis to bulk up in the weight room in the offseason. He also saw athleticism and agility that is always needed on an offensive line. Part of that skill set comes from Fairchild’s wrestling career. He won a 7A state title in his junior year with a 47-0 record, wrestling at a new weight of 285 pounds.

“I think it teaches leverage and mobility and things like that,” Fairchild said. “I think the most important thing that it teaches is a mentality that not a lot of sports can teach, not even football.”

With any recruit, however, Luke pointed out some things to work on. In addition to continuing to get bigger, Fairchild is working to improve his football IQ heading into his senior season.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s an uncertainty exactly what that senior season will look like. While it was a relief to get the offer out of the way before college visits were shut down, Fairchild also noted the altered format of communication helped him in choosing his school.

“I think doing the Zooms and stuff like that gave me more time and more of an opportunity to ask really specific questions,” Fairchild said. “I think it helped me make my decision.”

Pandemic or not, visiting schools can be expensive and time-consuming during the school year. Fairchild wanted to make his decision before his senior year and he did just that, committing to Georgia on May 30.

Fairchild will join an offensive line group that Pittman developed into one of the best in the nation over the past four years. Despite the depth and talent up front, however, freshmen have an opportunity to earn some time. Andrew Thomas and Cade Mays are just two names to see substantial playing time in their first seasons.

“Coach Smart told me, ‘We don’t play the best tackle at tackle or the best guard at guard. We play the best five linemen on the team,’” Fairchild said. “He told me, ‘We have 12 active guys that are on the line that play every game.’”

For now, Fairchild said Luke’s plan is to put him at tackle. However, things are subject to change, especially with the versatility the young lineman possesses.

No matter which spot he ends up at, Fairchild will come to Athens knowing that if he proves himself, he will find himself living his dream before he knows it.