The state of South Carolina has produced plenty of big time prospects and Georgia signed many of them over the years. The Bulldogs have once again gone into the Palmetto State and landed a commitment from Mt. Pleasant (S.C.) Oceanside Collegiate Academy star Monroe Freeling. The Rivals250 offensive lineman chose the National Champs over Florida, Clemson, Miami, and Alabama.

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CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State

CLASS OF 2024 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State

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"I mean, it really just came down to the feel," Freeling said. "I've always been saying 'when you know, you know,' and it just kind of felt right after that last visit. It checked all my boxes and there was really no reason for me to hold back anymore. I kind of had a feeling then but I kept on asking around and getting people's thoughts and opinions on them and it just kind of stayed the same.

"Coach Searels being there definitely helped," he said. "He stuck with me when he was at North Carolina. He recruited me hard there and then recruited me hard at Georgia and that's when the recruitment really picked up. Also, actually getting the chance to talk to coach Smart and actually engage with him, it felt like he was an actual person, which was nice to know. He's got more than the alpha mentality a head coach needs to have.

"I think that Georgia has a good balance of really highly competitive athletes," said Freeling. "The process is taken very seriously there but you're also going to have a good time. The players enjoy being with each other and I think that team chemistry is pretty high, just from everyone knowing each other and having a general connection.

"You can't win without the trenches," he said. "I asked coach Smart what made him hire coach Searels and he said thought he would fit in and that he's a really good coach. He wouldn't hire him if he didn't think he was a great coach. I'm not going there specifically for a coach but I just felt confidence.

"We obviously just won a National Championship and what gave me the security that it wasn't just a fluke was that coach Smart explained to me he figured out that team chemistry was why they weren't winning national championships when they had all that talent," Freeling said. "He did some really scientific stuff to figure it out. That really made me understand it and make sense to me. I'm not just going to go there and fall short of the College Football Playoff every year.

"A lot of the other players did try to recruit me but I just had a hard time picking up my phone," he said. "I'm not the greatest when it comes to responding to 1,000 people. I know Joshua Miller though. We met at the Clemson/Georgia game on the Clemson sideline. I remember he committed to Penn State and that caught me off guard. I didn't expect him to commit there at all and then he flipped. It's kind of cool to see him there but I know I'll get along with the other recruits just fine based on how Georgia recruits their players."

Freeling is a big get for Georgia and he has a chance to play a significant role for the Bulldogs in the future. The 6-foot-7, 283-pound Freeling is light on his feet and has solid technique as a pass blocker. He is still very lean and he'll have a better chance of getting the field once he gets stronger and physically matures. As a run blocker, Freeling does a nice job of opening running lanes and making key blocks at the second and third levels of the defense.

Freeling still hasn't decided if he'll enroll early yet. If he does decide to go that route and graduate high school early, Freeling would arrive in Athens with the same number of credits as a student halfway through their sophomore year. He plans on majoring in computer science in college.

With Freeling now onboard, Georgia has four commitments along the offensive line. He joins Miller, Kelton Smith, and Rivals250 prospect Johnathan "Bo" Hughley.