Four-star offensive lineman and Evans junior Mason Short de-committed from his long-standing pledge to Alabama Tuesday morning. And then just a few hours later, Georgia Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart showed up in his helicopter to Evans High to pay a visit.
These developments likely spring from the aftermath of Alabama coach Nick Saban announcing his retirement last week. The Crimson Tide announced former Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer has Saban’s successor.
According to a post on social media site X (formerly Twitter) from recruiting analyst Hayes Fawcett, Short informed him that he would be de-committing from Alabama, a school he’s been committed to since April.
The 6-foot-6, 315-pounder is the Augusta area’s most highly decorated football prospect for the 2025 season and has a scholarship offer from virtually every blue blood college football program you can think of, including the likes of Ohio State, Florida, Florida State, Auburn, Tennessee, South Carolina, Clemson and Miami.
Clemson and Ohio State both paid a visit to Evans within the last week, and Short himself went on a visit to Georgia last weekend — a visit that had already been planned before Saban announced his retirement.
Georgia is coming off a 13-1 2023 campaign where it lost by a field goal to Alabama in the SEC Championship game. That loss sent the Tide to play Michigan in the College Football Playoff and prevented the Bulldogs from having a shot at a historic three-peat.
The Dawgs made the most of it by drubbing a short-handed Florida State squad 63-3 on Dec. 30 in the Orange Bowl, and according to 247sports.com, UGA turned in the top-rated recruiting class for the 2024 cycle.
If Smart and Company can sway Short to Athens, he’d be a major get for Georgia’s 2025 class.
