Watts Dantzler Makes It Official, He's Going To Be A Georgia Bulldog

The recruiting saga of Dalton, Georgia's own, Watts Dantzler has come to a fortuitous end for the Bulldogs as the top offensive line prospect in the State of Georgia has opted to commit to the Georgia Bulldogs over the Auburn Tigers. The decision comes as no surprise to some as speculation was rampant for months that Dantzler would commit to Georgia.

The surprise, however, was in the timing of his decision. Many felt they would have to wait until November 16th—Dantzler’s 18th birthday—to find out for certain. Instead, Dantzler changed his mind and opted to honor his father by announcing his decision on Father’s Day.

His father, Danny Dantzler, played for former Georgia Bulldog coach, Vince Dooley, from 1971-73, as an offensive lineman. Danny, coincidentally, also tussled between Auburn and Georgia when he was a prospect but he eventually chose Georgia—just as his son Watts did today. 

The parallels are too obvious to be ignored and there is little doubt that Watts’ chose them for that very reason. He was very close to his father and, even though he knew his decision on where to play would ultimately be his to make—fully supported by those who love him—he always figured it would be Georgia in the end.

Said Watts:

 “Georgia was the best school for me because basically I felt at home there,” said Dantzler, whose father lettered as an offensive lineman at Georgia from 1971-73. “I’ve been going there since I was a little kid and always dreamed of putting on the red and black. Hopefully soon that will be a reality." (Chip Towers, AJC, 6/20/10).

The day’s events were dampened only by the absence of Watts’ father who passed away18-months ago from Lou Gehrig’s Disease. It was part of the reason he chose to announce now as opposed to November, what better way to include his father than to announce on Father’s Day where the spirit of him would be most appreciated and most felt among those around him,

"Doing this on Fathers Day truly means more than anything to me,” Dantzler said. “I had and still have the best dad in the world and I know he’s going to be proud of me today." (Chip Towers, AJC, 6/20/10)

It was a good day for Watts’ and his family.

Even more, the Georgia Bulldog nation can take pride in the fact that they were able to land another phenomenal in-state product for their 2011 class. Dantzler’s commitment brings the total to 12 and counting.

Despite the recent flack about the “Dream Team” approach to luring in top prospects, Georgia has done a nice job of locking down the guys they want this year—from an in-state perspective—Dantzler had offers from Tennessee, Auburn, Vanderbilt, and Alabama just to name a few.