How this Savannah-area rising freshman earned Georgia football scholarship offer

At 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds with the accompanying strength and athleticism of a high-caliber edge rusher, Damion Guyton has the look of a high school upperclassman and top notch recruit.

Remarkably, he's just a rising freshman ready to take the field with a talented Savannah Christian squad in the upcoming season. But his talent and potential already has placed him on the radar of Power Five coaches. He was extended an offer by the University of Georgia last week.

He is 14 years old and just graduated from Oglethorpe Charter School in Savannah, and is already making noise as a national recruit. Guyton is following in the footsteps of his teammate Elijah Griffin, the rising junior defensive lineman who picked up an offer from Georgia as an eighth grader at SCPS.

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Griffin is a 5-star prospect who is ranked as the No. 1 junior prospect in the nation, across all positions, by On3.com Recruiting.

"We had heard that Georgia wanted to see me in person, and I went to a camp in Athens and did pretty good," Guyton said in a phone interview this week. "Coach Uzo (Outside linebacker coach Chidera Uzo-Diribe) told me I had an offer from the team. Georgia is my favorite college team, so it meant a lot to me. But I didn't have too much of a reaction because I know this means the work is just starting for me.

"I don't want to get a big head and I know this is just the beginning. I want to keep getting better and get every offer in the country that I can. But this is really a blessing to get this first offer from Georgia."

SCPS coach Baker Woodward said he is excited to have Guyton joining the Raider program.

"Damion is really quick on the edge and is going to be tough to stop on the end and we can use that athleticism on offense as a tight end," Woodward said. "He's a natural at the game, and he's a hard worker and a yes-sir, no-sir type of kid. We're really happy to have him as a Raider."

Guyton will be a welcome addition to an SCPS defense already stacked with talent. Griffin leads the way up front, but Logan Brooking, a rising junior and David Bucey, a rising senior, are also top notch two-way players for the Raiders, who went 11-2 last year and advanced to the Class 3A state quarterfinals behind a defense that allowed 14.6 points per game.

Brooking, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound tight end and defensive end, has had his recruitment pick up in the offseason. He has offers including Michigan, LSU, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina and Georgia Tech, where his father, Keith Brooking, starred before going on to a stellar NFL career with the Falcons as a linebacker.

Bucey's recruitment is also picking up steam, as the linebacker/receiver has offers including Iowa State, App State and West Virginia.

"I can't wait to get the season started," said Guyton, who also plays basketball and expressed interest in joining the Raider track and field team. "We're looking to do big things at Savannah Christian this year."

Woodward said this is the most blue chip recruits he's had on one squad.

"To have Elijah (Griffin), Logan (Brooking) and Bucey all on the same team, and now we're adding Damion, that's four Power 5 prospects," he said. "It's a blessing to have them all in our program and we're looking forward to the season."

Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Georgia football recruiting: UGA offers freshman Damion Guyton