The buzz over the last few days was how many offensive linemen could Georgia possibly wedge into its 2020 class. The potential additions of Andrew Raym and Sedrick Van Pran were being widely discussed. The subtraction of Akinola Ogunbiyi from the Georgia football commitment board was not.
Ogunibiy, who was at one time committed to Texas A&M prior to his strong interest in Georgia, is set on playing his college ball in his home state.
My recruiting is 100% over. I will be playing football and attending The Texas A&M University!!! #GIGEM #GIGEMGANG20 pic.twitter.com/SCLBNN2hSo
— AKI® (@AkinolaOgunbiyi) June 23, 2019
How sudden was this move? He announced his commitment to Texas A&M while his Instagram and Twitter bios still read he was committed to Georgia. It was only a few minutes before those accounts were updated to reflect how set he was on playing at Texas A&M.
Ogunbiyi explained the decision to DawgNation. His reasoning will explain a lot.
“This decision was bigger than football my Mom had a stroke back in March 2018,” Ogunbiyi said. “It has been weighing on me.”
His mother has not made the gains he wanted to see that would make him comfortable with moving a time zone away to play college ball in Georgia.
“Not much improvement has been made since,” Ogunbiyi told DawgNation.
Ogunbiyi, who was quickly becoming a favorite among fans in this class, expressed a sincere message for DawgNation.
“Just let them know no love was lost for Georgia,” he said. “I loved it there and I loved the staff I just had to make the best decision for my Mom.”
The decision was seen as a surprise to several members of the UGA class for 2020, including fellow OL Tate Ratledge. Ogunbiyi had recently tweeted to Ratledge on June 18 about the upcoming Opening finals in Texas about representing for the class together.
Ogunbiyi had also just recently take another unofficial visit to UGA earlier this month and came away impressed with all things about his future with the program. He was even recruiting other elite Texas prospects like 2021 4-star WR target Latrell Neville to join him in Athens.
Now, he’s an Aggie. It just goes to show how back-and-forth these tough decisions are for these young men.
When his mother’s health is a part of his thought process, his rationale really requires no further analysis.
Ogunbiyi had been an active supporter of all things Georgia over the last few months since his G-Day commitment to the Bulldogs.
GEORGIA IS TRULY SOMETHING DIFFERENT HAD THE BEST TIME OF MY LIFE THIS WEEKEND!!!! #GODAWGS 🐶 pic.twitter.com/sturCYngN9
— AKI® (@AkinolaOgunbiyi) June 9, 2019
The rising senior from Sugar Land HS (Kempner, Tex.) had even been reaching out to Van Pran for some time to join the class at Georgia.
We waiting on you @LXIII_NOVA!!! 💯🥴 https://t.co/Hkx3BkhrGH
— AKI® (@AkinolaOgunbiyi) June 17, 2019
That decision from the nation’s No. 11 offensive guard prospect for 2020 drops the Bulldogs down to 14 commits in their 2020 class.
Georgia now has just three OL commitments for the current class with names like Raym and Van Pran definitely still in play.
