Craig Dandridge: Georgia football commit gets a strong endorsement from a ‘DGD’ and longtime NFL DB
This Sentell’s Intel rep on Georgia football recruiting has the latest with 4-star WR commitment Craig Dandridge. He ranks as the nation’s No. 27 WR and the No. 176 overall prospect for 2026 on the 247Sports Composite. The Rivals Industry Ranking has him as the No. 37 WR and No. 219 overall.
There is a moment in early June that stands out in the recruiting story of Georgia football commitment Craig Dandridge.
When he committed to UGA almost a month ago, this cache of intel was too good to crack open within his DawgNation commitment story.
This one involving a former UGA great, a true “DGD” and a former NFL vet deserves its own headline. This specific scene took place during an early morning practice at Cambridge High School.
During a break, one of his assistant coaches spied what he was wearing. Dandridge, fresh off an impactful official visit, had put on a pair of UGA gloves.
4-star WR Craig Dandridge has UGA among his final six schools. He’s already taken official visits to Stanford and Georgia and has OVs left to Georgia Tech, Tennessee and Oklahoma. (Jeff Sentell/ DawgNation) (Jeff Sentell/Dawgnation)
Enter the first-year DBs coach. He walked up to Dandridge.
“I want to know what you are doing here,” said the coach, who happened to play 10 years in the NFL and earn a reported $26 million over his career.
“Are you trying to say something with this?” he said while pointing to the Georgia gear. “Because I want you to know that means something to me. It’s part of me. It’s in my heart.”
How could it not? Tim Jennings came to UGA as an 11th-hour signee in the 2002 class. He played above his 5-foot-9 frame and lone other scholarship offer to South Carolina State in his hometown.
When he clocked a 4.32 in the 2006 NFL Combine, it meant the game he showed in Athens plus that speed allowed scouts to overlook a less-than-prototype frame. He was taken in the second round by the Indianapolis Colts.
Dandridge, at the time, played off the question somewhat. Gloves and gear choice are often overanalyzed by fans when it comes to recruiting.
In this case, the question was on the mark. Georgia was already in Dandridge’s heart, too.
The team was already “special” to him. He said it was “more than just a football program” when breaking down why he chose to be a Dawg. He would even make a silent commitment well in advance of his birthday commitment ceremony at Cambridge.
That’s something that Jennings was happy to see. Before his commitment went public, the former Georgia corner was asked if he would like to see Dandridge in the red and black.
“Hah hah,” Jennings said. “How would I feel? I kind of already asked myself that question. I give him a hard time every day at practice because I know he’s not going to tell you what he is going to do. Which he shouldn’t. But every day in practice if he’s wearing some red and black I tell him ‘You know that’s going to come with a lot now as far as how you work and how you prepare’ so I just always want to put that bug in his ear that ‘Hey that’s something different right there so if you do decide to take that – which I would love – it’s all about your work ethic. It is all about what you are going to put into it and what you are going to get out of the game from that’ and that’s one thing with Kirby Smart. He’s not going to shy away from it and from that work.”
“I mean once you step on campus you are just a guy. But you are going to have to prove every day that you belong there. I just want to instill that in him every day that he comes to practice. I don’t care where he goes to school at. When you step on that practice field, you are going to go to work. And if you wear that red and black, which I would love, it is going to be even worse. You’re going to have Dawgs after you every day and I chirp with him every day in practice like ‘Wooh Craig I wish I could just line up against you right now’ just to give him the understanding of what it is going to be like every day at practice. I would love for him to put it on but also I’ve been letting him know it is going to come with a whole different amount of sacrifice and hard work and dedication.”
Let’s not get it twisted here. Jennings just described what makes UGA special in his eyes. That’s not because he thinks Dandridge is a marginal Saturday talent.
Far from it.
“He’s definitely a guy that could play Division One football on a Saturday even the potential to be a Sunday football player,” Jennings said. “Man, just the athletic ability. To see how he comes to work every day and actually work on his craft.”
“It’s just the little things that I notice about him. Even when they are going through their offensive installs. He’s running the routes. He’s making plays. I cut on the film he’s making plays, but it is things outside that segment that impress me the most.”
Jennings has already collected his own Intel here. He was at another school last fall. Dandridge put up two TDs on his team in 2024. He saw Dandridge through spring practice and 7-on-7 season this summer.
There’s a lot that he’s noticed about his game besides the highlight plays that led to 58 catches, 1443 yards, 24.9 yards per catch and 14 touchdown catches as a junior.
“When they’re not in the offensive period you see him on the side working on his releases,” Jennings said. “He’s actually working on his craft that he is going to use in the game. For me, that’s what stood out the most when I first got to Cambridge. You don’t see a lot of that from high school football players. That’s when you know this kid is different. That’s one of the things that I admire about him, man. Just the work that he puts in not only, but he’s able to do the extra little things that the other guy is not doing. That’s what is going to separate him from the rest. That’s why I can see him playing early on Saturdays to be honest with you
