Louisiana speedster Corey Wren shares his college choice


Louisiana speedster Corey Wren shares his college choice

Corey Wren said earlier this week his college choice was down to Arizona State, Georgia and Houston. He just needed a few more days to share his final choice with the world.

When the 3-star ATH from John Curtis High School in Louisiana did so on Friday evening, he let everyone on Twitter know he was going to be a Bulldog.

Why did he choose Georgia?

“Iron sharpens iron,” Wren said earlier this week. “I have them in my top 3 because I know I’ll be competing against some of the best in college football. Future NFL players. I wanna learn from that.”

This is the rare commitment story where the national rankings from a well-respected service are probably not the ultimate gauge about what Wren can be on Saturdays here.

It is not his 3-star rating. Nor is it his slot as the nation’s No. 35 ATH and No. 515 overall prospect (per the 247Sports Composite rating) that matters the most here.

10.41 seconds matters more. That’s the key number which defines Wren here. That was his best time in the 100 meters this spring.

The 5-foot-9.5, 176-pound rising senior isn’t the biggest prospect. That’s why his final ranking will not climb to the rare air of 5-star territory.

There are very few high school track stars and even fewer football players who have that type of speed. Wren posted the fastest 100 meters (10.41) and also the fastest 60 meters (6.83) in Louisiana this season.

Georgia needed a speedster (see Mecole Hardman Jr.) in this class. Wren will certainly fill that lane. Hardman did not even post track times this low while he was coming up in high school.

“I’m ready to compete,” Wren told DawgNation shortly after making his decision.

His father, Clarence, told DawgNation earlier this week the Bulldogs had a great shot to land this commitment. Receivers coach Cortez Hankton was a big reason why.

“Coach Hankton doesn’t mind coaching,” he shared with DawgNation. “With Corey, a lot of schools like Ohio State wanted him to play WR but didn’t seem to realize he comes from a run-heavy offense and he would need to be coached a bit and Hankton is up for that challenge as well.”

Clarence Wren made sure to emphasize the terms “coached” and “coaching along that statement.

“I think Georgia is a great fit for my son,” Clarence Wren stated.

His son wound up coming to that same conclusion in picking Georgia.

RELATED: Get to know Corey Wren and his “CoSavage” alter ego on and off the field

Corey Wren is now the 15th public commitment for the Bulldogs in the 2020 class. (Corey Wren/Twitter)

What Corey Wren can do on a football field

Speed. Pure unadulterated speed.

Wren will bring that to the Georgia offense. He told DawgNation that he was timed at 4.31 seconds in the 40-yard dash at a Mississippi State camp last summer. He only had a handful of races for the track team this spring before a hamstring injury shut him down.

That’s where that 10.41 official time in the 100 meters came from.

He plays in an old school “Veer” offense for one of the most storied programs in Louisiana high school football history. That’s a program which does not throw the ball more than 10-12 times per game.

It means that Wren touches the ball a lot of swing passes, quick screens, flares and on jet sweeps from the receiver position. He also will carry the ball between the tackles as a run threat.

Wren had 82 carries for 886 yards (10.6 yards per attempt) and 10 touchdowns for a 13-0 state title team in 2018. He broke loose for a 94-yard romp on one of those carries. He also displayed what speed can do in his sophomore year with 269 yards on 13.5 yards per touch with another five scores on the ground.

Georgia receivers coach Cortez Hankton saw all that on his film. When he shared what he thought about all of that with Wren, the second-year receivers coach scored points with Wren for his honesty.

That’s when he started telling Wren what he needed to hear. That’s what Clarence Wren picked up on.

“One thing Coach Hankton said was he didn’t sugarcoat anything,” Wren said. “He told me straight up about my film. He said my film shows that I can run, but he said ‘I want you to come here and play receiver for me. You’re not showing me really any catching’ and he told it to me straight like that.”

Hankton said the one thing he can’t teach him to run the way Wren can.

“But he said what he can teach me is going to be route running and consistent catching,” Wren said. “I really applaud that of him. He doesn’t sugarcoat it with me. I really don’t like it when people tell me I can come here or come to a school and star right away. To be the face of the program. I just don’t feed into all of that. I want somebody to tell me I’m going to have to come in and work for something with a full head of steam.”

Corey Wren-UGA recruiting-Georgia recruiting
Corey Wren was timed earlier this spring at 10.41 seconds in the 100 meters. (Corey Wren/Twitter)

What Corey Wren means for the 2020 Georgia class

Wren is known for his speed. But he wants to be more than that.

“I don’t just want to put myself in the category as a speed receiver,” Wren said this week. “I want to be that speed receiver but I also want to be able to high point a ball and run through tackles. Because I don’t ever want to limit myself into a category as a player or anything.”

The decision now gives the Bulldogs 15 public commitments for the 2020 class. Georgia is not expected to sign a full class this cycle and it means the remaining eight-to-nine scholarship slots will be at a premium.

Wren is now the only pledge with a 3-star rating in the class for Georgia at this time. Texas kicker Jared Zirkel, who chose UGA earlier this month, is also rated as a 2-star prospect.

The rest of the class is made up of 4 and 5-star prospects at this time.

Wren is without a doubt the fastest commitment in the Georgia class at this time. Georgia now has three wide receivers committed for this class. It was expected to complete the number of scholarship slots at the position that the Bulldogs were looking for in 2020.

Georgia now has to fill other key areas with positions groups like the defensive backs, defensive line, offensive line, running back and tight end expected to see at least two names go up on the board at each of those respective positions.




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