Chase Linton has been sitting atop Georgia’s board since working out in front of the staff in July.
Two weeks short of the Early Signing Period, the blue-chip edge defender is officially a Dawg.
Linton, the No. 25-ranked DE in the Rivals250 out of Atlanta (Ga.) North Atlanta High School, committed to Georgia over Georgia Tech and Rutgers.
Georgia has been trending in the right direction with the four-star defensive end since offering him over the summer and checking off several of his boxes ever since.
“It’s been cool because some schools only look at stars, but Georgia was interested in me before I had these stars, so it feels a lot more genuine than the schools that reached out later on,” Linton told Rivals.
“It’s close to home, it’s a good program, and they think I can come there and make a difference,” he continued. “They like my speed rushing the QB, covering, and other third-down type of things.”
Linton has made a string of visits to check out Georgia since landing an offer in July when he was verbally committed out-of-state to Rutgers.
Since backing off that commitment in August, Linton was in Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the opener vs. Clemson, then hit Athens for games in September, October, and November — most recently for the Tennessee game over the weekend in Sanford Stadium.
Georgia Tech, Alabama, and Florida State have all hosted the blue-chip defender for visits this fall. The connections he’s developed in Athens with Chidera Uzo-Diribe and Kirby Smart have proven to stand the test of time.
“Coach Uzo-Diribe is a really cool coach. He’s direct, he’s honest, he’s genuine every time he speaks,” Linton detailed. “I’ve been talking to Coach Kirby a lot. He’s got such a big-time personality, but he’s humble. You can tell he’s genuine and a good person, and it’s been good for me to see the way he acts and talks.”
“They’ve been telling me about the guys that did stay home and went the league,” he added. “They’re big names and they’ve been hammering that.”
Now, Linton gets his crack at following in that same path.