The recruiting battle for 2027 five-star running back has long been viewed as a two-team race between Tennessee and Ohio State.

Ole Miss and Georgia, however, are also in the mix. And both programs are scheduled to host the five-star recruit on official visits over the next two weeks.

Gabriel Georges, who visited Ohio State and Tennessee the last two weekends, will visit Ole Miss this weekend. He’s scheduled to be in Athens the following weekend.

On3’s Steve Wiltfong reported earlier this week that both of those visits are still expected to happen.

The visit to Ole Miss makes sense. They have a couple of Gabriel Georges’ former teammates from Baylor School on the roster, and the Rebels don’t have a running back committed for the 2027 recruiting cycle.

Georgia, on the other hand, already has a commitment from 2027 five-star running back Kemon Spell, who is ranked slightly above Gabriel Georges.

There’s been speculation that Georgia may cancel the visit with Gabriel Georges so they don’t “rock the boat” with Spell.

But there are two reasons why the visit may still happen, and neither reason is good for Tennessee.

Update:

Gabriel Georges’ uncle confirmed to On3’s Steve Wiltfong on Wednesday that the visits to Ole Miss and Georgia will happen.

“We’re going to go through with the process, and we’re going to give Ole Miss and Georgia the opportunity to make their pitch,” said Gabriel Georges’ uncle.

The two reasons why Georgia may still bring David Gabriel Georges in for an official visit

I think the first reason is obvious. You never know what may happen down the road with a player. The transfer portal is an option for every player after every season. If Gabriel Georges ever enters the portal, he’ll instantly be a highly coveted player. And the relationships he developed during the recruiting process could prove to be key (we saw this play out with Tennessee basketball and Wake Forest transfer Juke Harris this offseason). It wouldn’t be a bad idea for Georgia to get Gabriel Georges on campus for the official visit to strengthen the relationship in case something changes down the road.

The other reason is because Penn State is still actively recruiting Spell, who is from Pennsylvania and was previously committed to the Nittany Lions.

“Kemon Spell remains firmly committed to Georgia despite continued interest from Penn State,” reported 247Sports’ Tom Loy on Wednesday. “The Nittany Lions will continue to do everything in their power to keep him home, but he is adamant about playing for the Bulldogs.”

Now, it doesn’t sound like Spell is going to flip from Georgia, but nothing is ever certain in college football these days. We see unexpected flips and last-minute decisions all the time. It’s not wise for anyone to speak in absolutes about a recruit until they sign (and even then we’ve seen players ask for their release).

Similarly, I don’t see Gabriel Georges committing to the Bulldogs if Spell flips. He would obviously be the backup plan for Georgia, and he doesn’t seem like a backup plan type of player.

But again, recruiting is crazy right now. We saw a bizarre situation with Legend Bey and Tennessee last December where he flipped to the Vols on signing day, only to ask for his release days later. And I think all Tennessee fans remember the panic attack they felt when five-star offensive lineman David Sanders took an unexpected visit to Ohio State just before the early signing period in late 2024. Tennessee held on to Sanders, but there was some real nervous folks in orange and white during the 11th hour.

This is still primarily a Tennessee vs Ohio State recruiting battle, but we can’t rule out Georgia trying to pull a Kentucky and go full dirt dauber and try to mess it up for everyone (a Phillip Fulmer reference for the over 40 crowd).

“They don’t want s—t, they just want to f—k it up for you.”

Former Vol DB Buck Fitzgerald on Phillip Fulmer’s message to the locker room before playing Kentucky every year 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/D6Y4BMSaH3

— zach ragan (@zachTNT) October 1, 2025