Georgia lands Elijah Griffin, No. 5 overall prospect and No. 1 DT - ESPN

Five-star defensive tackle Elijah Griffin, ESPN's top uncommitted prospect in the 2025 class, committed to Georgia over Miami and USC Friday afternoon, closing one of the nation's most critical late-cycle recruitments seven weeks before the start of the early signing period.

Griffin, a dominant interior force from Savannah, Georgia, is the No. 5 overall prospect in the 2025 ESPN 300 and the nation's No. 1 defensive tackle in the current cycle.

The 6-foot-4, 280-pound defender was once expected to extend his recruitment to the start of the early signing period on Dec. 4, but Griffin instead opted to commit to the Bulldogs following a visit to Georgia last weekend during the program's 41-31 win over Mississippi State on Saturday.

With Griffin's pledge, five-star defensive tackle Justus Terry, a former Georgia and USC commit, is the last uncommitted player among the top 10 prospects in ESPN's rankings for the 2025 class.

Griffin is now the highest-rated member of Kirby Smart's 2025 class, which holds commitments from 16 ESPN 300 prospects, including nine from the top 100.

The No. 2 prospect in the state of Georgia, Griffin leads an impressive defensive class bound for Athens in 2025, joining outside linebacker Zayden Walker (No. 16 in the ESPN 300), defensive end Isaiah Gibson (No. 30) and cornerback Shamari Earls (No. 75) among the seven ESPN 300 defenders in the Bulldogs' incoming class. Georgia's 2025 recruiting class sat at No. 5 in ESPN's latest team rankings for the 2025 cycle prior to Griffin's commitment from the gymnasium at Savannah Christian Preparatory School Friday afternoon.

The mid-October pledge ends a long-standing recruitment between Griffin and the Bulldogs that began when Georgia offered the talented