DT Tire West, No. 4 in the nation, made his college decision

Jalen Carter. Jordan Davis. Travon Walker. Julian Rochester. Tire West.

This last name may not be familiar to Georgia fans right now, but it won’t be for long. The 4-star boy from Tifton, South Georgia made his decision at college on Wednesday.

He chose to be a Georgia Bulldog. West’s name now belongs to that group of names that are some of the most impressive inside defensive line prospects who have pledged to play for Kirby Smart in Georgia.

It wasn’t a fickle choice as he had been planning on doing it that day for a long time. He chose this day to celebrate and honor his mother Savina Bathell for her commitment.

“My mom meant everything to me,” he said earlier this year. “She took care of me and us through and then. My mom is really my rock. My mother and my father.

Recruits sometimes know that. He did it here.

“I feel like I’m ready to come home and have a place I can call home,” he said in late October.

What was he looking for in a school?

“Somewhere where I feel at home,” West said at the time. “Somewhere where I feel like I belong. I can change, change everything in my life and grow as a man.

He said Georgia, Auburn, Kentucky, Ohio State and Florida were making him feel that way.

“Georgia is really the one that interests me the most in all of this,” he added.

The 6-foot-4, 275-pound junior ranks among the # 4 DT national rookies and 43rd overall or 2022 cycle in the 247Sports Composite rankings.

That 2020 junior stat line looked like this: 31 solo tackles, 17 assists, 16 rushing QBs, 12.5 sacks, 8 TFLs and two forced fumbles.

Student B is already overwhelmingly strong. He said earlier this season that his own power is already just 350 or 360 pounds.

His full Junior Year Strip isn’t available just yet, but watch this piece where he hot-hit a really good state championship by playing for the Crisp County offensive line early in his junior year.

Why did Georgia choose Tire West?

The three-year-old starter in Georgia’s largest high school ranking will fit the classic archetype of a South Georgia rookie: Determined. Humble. Physical. Tough.

He is also very direct. When DawgNation visited him at the end of October, he felt a certain attitude towards the Bulldogs.

Much of this was down to defensive line coach Tray Scott. West said Scott told him current Georgia senior DE Malik Herring was a good side player for his skills.

The DE-ranked herring was the country’s No. 154 on Mary Persons in 2017.

“It’s like when I talk to Coach Scott, I’m hyped,” West said. “Every time I talk to him. He makes me want to play for Georgia one day, to be on one of his defensive lines or to be coached by him.

What’s the best thing West loves about UGA?

“The most important thing to me is like the program,” West said. “I just like this program. This program will prepare you for college and then after college.

He also shared a firm belief at the end of October that he would be ready to make his commitment in December. And we are here today. There has always been a high degree of simplicity and honesty in his recruiting. This is not the norm these days.

West was never one to grab attention or keep rival fans sparkling in their mouths.

“He’s as humble of a kid as we are,” said Tift County coach Ashley Anders.

West moves Georgia to the nation’s No. 4 recruiting class for the 2022 cycle (247Sports Team Composite ranking) with his decision. The four Bulldog engagements are all prospects from Peach State. They are all among the top 125 rookies in the country.

He is now the second highest rated rookie for UGA in the 2022 class. Deyon Bouie, the 5-star ATH, continues to rank among the UGA’s top engagements. West has joined Bouie and several other key Georgia commitments or 2022 goals on at least one trip to Athens for an independent visit this season.

Georgia is now trailing only Ohio State (nine commitments), LSU (seven commits) and Penn State (seven commits), respectively, in the 2022 class rankings. The Buckeyes have six pledges that rank among the 125 best recruits in the country. LSU also has four that meet these criteria.

Find out what West did earlier this year against Perry.

Good things about Tire West

There is a handwriting of letters inscribed around his wrist. It reads as follows: Us> Me

“It’s like I’ll always think of my team before I think of myself,” Tire West said. “He’s just there so I can watch him every day.”

Anders shared another gem of a story regarding Tifton’s valuable “5” technology. Listening to him and to all those who know him well, these three words best summarize a probable technique of college “3”.

Strong. Quickly. Dangerous.

Kirby Smart’s first interaction with this young man has also probably exceeded his wildest expectations.

“Coach Smart asked Tire what his favorite thing about the defensive end is,” said Anders.

“Squeeze and spill,” West replied.

This is where the edge defender cuts the gap by diving inside a kick-out block on a power running game. They screw up blocking assignments with a spread exchange and force the ball to the outside where a now unblocked defender can play. Jimmy Johnson’s defenses made this technique famous.

According to the story, Smart kind of gave West a funny look when he said that.

“Coach Smart said you know I don’t think I’ve ever had a defensive team to answer that question like that,” Anders said. “He said most of them will say pass rush, sacking the quarterback and things like that. But Tyree knows our defense is built around this. He is very selfless.

Its flagship films show a little more of it there, however.

“With him, very often, he reverses the ball and then makes the tackle.”

The Tire West Recognition Report

Anders, his head coach, already knows what a varsity player looks like in high school. He was the defensive coordinator for several years at Georgia Southern, Murray State and Valdosta State.

There is a certain edge that the guys in South Georgia with the major SEC offers seem to be playing with. West has this. He is a driving force for his team.

Make sure to catch this game on its second tape where it brings down a 150-pound receiver about 20 yards on the ground. He did what he was trained to do on a bubble pass. Then the effort took over.

It wasn’t by accident.

“Tire is a go-getter,” Anders said. “He’s one of those guys that you could say he had all these accolades. He’s young. People might get the misconception that he’s a prima donna or something like that. All I can say is watch him train. The speed at which he trains is like a game. We’re going to practice and I’m going to look up and see him chasing the ball 30 yards down the field on a pass.

“We still live by the old Chinese proverb here. As you practice, you will be playing. He always trains like he’s going to play.

How does he play? Anders came up with an appropriate visual.

“A lot of times with your defensive players as coaches you end up comparing the athleticism of your great defensive players to an animal,” Anders said. “Tire would be a rhino.”

The second climax film embedded below for West also has a lot of these “Rhino” plays.

(recent readings on DawgNation.com)