Georgian-born Raiders ready for long-awaited homecoming

9/13/2018 5:00:00 PM | Football

By: by Josh Vardaman

ATHENS, Ga. – Georgia is often regarded as a hotbed for college football recruiting.

Teams from across the country scour the Peach State's high school football action on Friday nights during the fall looking for talented players to add to their roster.

Middle Tennessee is no different.

"Georgia has always been one the of the top states in the country as far as producing high school talent," head coach Rick Stockstill said. "There's excellent high school coaching in Georgia … they coach hard, and when the athletes get here they're already coached well."

Stockstill and the Blue Raider coaching staff have built themselves a recruiting base in Georgia, resulting in a few commitments from the state in every recruiting class.

This year, 21 players on MT's roster hail from the Peach State. That's the second most common state on the roster behind the 38 coming from Tennessee.

Tons of key players are included in the Georgia group, including receivers Ty Lee, CJ Windham and Ruben Garnett; linebackers Khalil Brooks and Chris Melton; defensive linemen Rosheem Collins, Trae Philpots, Tyshun Render and Jordan Ferguson; center Josh Fannin; defensive back O.J. Johnson; and senior punter Matt Bonadies. Talented freshman quarterback-turned-receiver-turned-safety Luke Shiflett also highlighted this year's recruiting class, and he hails from Dalton in the state's northwest corner.

"It's a great bond between all of us," Brooks said. "It's followed through high school and kept going since we came here to MTSU."

Despite having so many contributors from Georgia, Middle Tennessee rarely travels to the state in the southeast.

Since legendary coach Boots Donnelly took over the program in 1979, the Blue Raiders have only played against Georgia-based teams 16 times, and only nine of those games were played in the Peach State, one of which was a neutral-site matchup in Atlanta with Georgia Southern.

The last time MT traveled to Georgia for a game was in 2012, when it handled Georgia Tech 49-28. That makes this weekend's matchup between the hedges with the Georgia Bulldogs a kind of homecoming of sorts, because none of the 21 Georgians on the Raiders' roster have played in their home state while donning the blue and white.

"I'm just ready to go and really pumped up," Lee said. "I'm just ready to show everybody from back home what I've been doing here, and ready to shine."

Having so many players from the same state creates obvious opportunity for smack talk about high school football.

Perhaps none of them have more room to talk than Lee, whose Colquitt County Packers were named national champions after a second straight state title and undefeated season in 2015 under legendary head coach Rush Probst.

"They already know about what we do where I'm from," Lee said. "We're just tougher down there."

As Middle Tennessee prepares for Saturday's matchup with the Bulldogs, its 21 Georgians know the aftermath of Hurricane Florence won't do anything to dampen their homecoming.

It's a game that's been far too long-awaited.

"My family members can go to the game and see me play, and it's the opportunity for me to show I can play at the highest level, at the SEC level," Brooks said. "We're just excited to show what we can do."

Josh Vardaman is the staff writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Vardaman and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.