Credit goes to Tracy Rocker for bringing Julian Rochester to Georgia

ATHENS -- Initially, Georgia wasn't on Julian Rochester's mind.

Early in his recruitment, the big defensive tackle prospect didn't connect with Georgia, for whatever reason. Early on, it was Auburn that caught Rochester's eye during his sophomore season at McEachern, which made him think he wouldd wind up playing for the Tigers when it was all said and done. He was taking frequent visits and enjoying the possibility of putting on an Auburn uniform in college.

But as Rochester learned, Georgia wasn't going to go away -- especially when it came to defensive line coach Tracy Rocker's persistence on the recruiting trail.

When Rochester attended the Rising Seniors Bowl and Georgia's junior day a year ago, things began to change. He soon saw Georgia in a different light.

And a lot of the credit goes to Rocker's steady approach at landing the 6-foot-5, 327-pound prospect.

"His first pitch was him just telling me how much he wanted to coach me," Rochester said. "He told me all my intangibles from my size and talent I didn't even know about. So he broke it down, and it was just like, I really could do this.' He always stayed with it, even when I was shooing Georgia off. So when I came on, he stayed with it. He never changed on me any day. That's when I knew he was the coach I wanted to play for."

Rochester committed in May and stuck with Georgia through the program's coaching change -- from Mark Richt to Kirby Smart. Rochester was a priority recruit for Richt, who was fired a day after Georgia's regular-season finale win over Georgia Tech.

Richt had plans for Rochester to be a big cog for Georgia's defensive line, which Smart certainly does, too.

"He's a big D-lineman. He's gonna play inside for (Georgia)," Richt said. "He's a big man. I think he's gonna be a whale of a football player."

Rochester admitted he hesitated briefly about his college destination after Richt's firing. But those close to Rochester advised him to stay calm and be patient. Rochester then met with Smart and was excited about his decision to keep Rocker, considering he's the coach who got the local product interested in Georgia in the first place.

"I was unsure the day Coach Richt got fired," Rochester said. "I just didn't know. But I didn't want to turn around and say, 'I don't want to go here anymore.' I just wanted to stick it out and see because I didn't want to look like a quitter. I already gave all my loyalty and took, what, two visits, so all my loyalty was still there."

Some of McEachern's coaches, who were fans of Georgia, told him to hang in there through the coaching change. Rochester said he was glad he didn't rush a decision he would later regret.

Rochester has been on campus for nearly a month after enrolling early. He has participated in the offseason weight training program, which only the Georgia strength and conditioning instructors can lead and supervise. He already has set some high goals for himself, too, saying that he wants to earn a starting spot early and become an All-SEC Freshman player.

Rochester might not have wanted Georgia at first. But once he became attached to the program, there was no letting go. After he committed, he said he was constantly on the phone with other recruits trying to nudge them to Georgia.

And to think, Rochester might not have been at Georgia if it wasn't for Rocker's persistence.

"That's one of the realest coaches I've ever met," Rochester said. "It's hard to find a real, solid coach that's going to keep it real with you on the field and keep it real with you off the field. He's going to coach you hard, he's going to get in your butt. Off the field, he's going to be your best friend."

This story was originally published February 9, 2016 at 9:21 PM with the headline "Credit goes to Tracy Rocker for bringing Julian Rochester to Georgia ."