Demarcus’ decision: Will it be Georgia, Auburn or Alabama for Chilton County star?

Published Jul. 24, 2023, 11:07 a.m.
By Ben Thomas
Five-star Chilton County linebacker and longtime Georgia commit Demarcus Riddick will announce his final college choice at 4 p.m. Wednesday at his school.
Riddick has said he wants to honor his mother on her birthday.
He is expected to decide whether to stick with the two-time reigning national champion Bulldogs or flip to either Auburn or Alabama. Most recruiting experts believe it will be an in-state choice at this point.
“When you know both in-state schools are pressing and you know there is a final decision date set, that is a strong indication that there is going to be a change,” said John Garcia Jr., national college recruiting analyst for Rivals. “It’s just precedent. You don’t set a final date if you’re sticking with your school, especially in the offseason. There is a sense of finality here.”
Chilton County coach Marvin Morton told AL.com on Sunday afternoon that he didn’t know which school Riddick would choose on Wednesday, but he did think this would be his final decision.
“He hasn’t told me,” Morton said. “I told him if he wanted to share, he certainly could. I didn’t want to pressure him by asking. But he did tell me this decision Wednesday would be it. This will be where he wants to go. I think he will have a peace of mind about it all at that time.”
Riddick has been committed to Georgia since last November. The No. 3 senior prospect in the state, according to the 247 composite rankings, finished last season with 109 tackles, including 19 for a loss, and seven sacks. He also had 11 QB hurries.
Alabama turned up the heat following Riddick’s Georgia commitment, even letting him be the only prospect to ride to the A-Day game with coach Nick Saban. When Auburn hired Hugh Freeze, the Tigers became a big factor as well.
The race has been on ever since.
“Going back to when he committed, I know it was somewhat of a surprise because it happened so early,” Garcia said. “It forced everyone to kind of double down at that point and then a month later Auburn had its new coaching staff, and he was one of their first priority recruits. Here we are almost eight months later to the day, and the recruitment has been non-stop because of his talent.”
Garcia said Riddick’s potential reminds him of a former in-state and Alabama linebacker.
“The more I think about it, I see some of Rashaan Evans maybe in terms of not everything is figured out right now, but you can just see it physically and athletically there,” he said. “Once there is a singular focus and once it’s all about buying into one role in the SEC, that light bulb is going to go off and he might not look back until he bumps his head on the ceiling at the highest level on Sundays.”
The question is if it’s not Georgia – and it appears it won’t be – will it be another chip in Alabama’s already impressive 2024 recruiting class or will it be the first major pull for Freeze and company?
This decision, more than most commitments these days, seems to be shrouded in mystery.
The On3 Recruiting Prediction machine shows a tight battle between the two in-state schools with Alabama holding a small lead. Still, experts have said there is confidence in the Auburn camp as well.
“This is still trending toward Alabama, but Auburn has made up ground this summer,” said Chad Simmons, On3 director of recruiting. “At one time, (Booker T. Washington linebacker) Joseph Phillips was all but committed to Georgia, then he committed to Auburn.”
Garcia told AL.com over the weekend, he would still give a slight edge to Alabama as well since the Tide started its recruitment a little earlier than did Auburn, but …
“We hear Auburn is pretty confident,” he said. “It’s become more entertaining than just will he flip or won’t he. Now it’s more a matter of when he flips, which school is going to grab him. It will be fascinating.
“Auburn has kind of sneakily put together a real strong defensive class. They’re recruiting better on defense than offense, which is not necessarily what we would expect, and Auburn has some flip magic in this coaching staff. We saw it at the end of last cycle, and we’re starting to see it come up a little more in this cycle. I’m not counting them out at all.”
Longtime recruiting observer Randy Kennedy of Sports Talk 99.5 in Mobile said the commitment of Riddick could be the most consequential in the state since Julio Jones got the Alabama dynasty rolling with his commitment in 2008.
“Hugh Freeze and his Auburn staff have had laser focus on two in-state commits – Alabama commit Perry Thompson of Foley and the Georgia commit Riddick,” Kennedy said. “If the Tigers can flip one or both of those recruits from their biggest rivals it will signal a new day for recruiting in Alabama where Auburn is again a player for the state’s best prospects. That hasn’t been true for the past several years.”
Morton said Riddick has handled the pressure well over the last eight months.
“It’s been good and bad,” the coach said. “Obviously, it’s been good as far as visits and interacting with coaches and exposure. At the same time, I’m sure every time he turns around, he hears, ‘Where you going? What school are you picking?” I know he’s ready to move forward.”