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Ken Montgomery Jr. will visit UGA this weekend for the Mississippi State game.

Check out the length of UCLA cornerback commit Ken Montgomery Jr. from Tampa, Fla. He’ll be at UGA-Mississippi State on Saturday. (Tom Hauck/Student Sports)/Dawgnation)

Montgomery, a 3-star cornerback, is committed to UCLA. He has great length for the position and fits the new wave thinking for a big and physical defender with length for that position.

The 6-foot-1.5, 165-pounder plans to hop into a car after his game for Hillsborough High in Tampa on Friday night.

He’ll drive the approximately 8 hours (give or take) from Central Florida to Athens and see what there is to see.

Montgomery hopes to be wowed by his first trip to Georgia. His friends call him “Smiley” and the Bulldogs will effort to put one of those on his face come Saturday night.

UCLA is a tremendous opportunity and a fantastic institution. Yet Montgomery is planning for this unofficial visit to UGA this weekend and also an official visit down the road in January.

https://twitter.com/KenKensmiley5/status/890704618799366145

Why?

“Because I might possibly go there in the future,” Montgomery told DawgNation.

 

The book on Ken Montgomery Jr.

DawgNation published an extensive early list of visitors for the Mississippi State game on Tuesday morning. Most of those names have been scattered, smothered and covered multiple times in this space.

Montgomery would be an exception. I flagged his name and length in my iPhone after what I saw from him back in February at the Nike Orlando regional.

Long arms like that tend to stick in the memory crawl.

“I take a lot of pride in being aggressive at the line and just being smart,” Montgomery Jr. told DawgNation. “I like to just be smart and not let too much get into my head on the field because I just try to play smart and with my the right technique out there.”

Ken Montgomery said he plans to take both an unofficial visit and an official visit to Georgia at this time. (Ken Hauck/Student Sports)/Dawgnation)

The Tampa resident considers himself more of a press or a man coverage guy. That’s definitely what the Bulldogs are looking for. He also said he has clocked a 4.5 laser time in the 40.

The 3-star recruit ranks as the nation’s No. 37 cornerback (247SportsComposite) for 2018 and as the No. 385 player overall.

But check out those arms again. Those are the stuff of Plastic Man or Stretch Armstrong.

Montgomery verbally committed to UCLA on July 27. The Bulldogs are not currently showering him with attention, but he said he does hear from assistant Dell McGee from time to time.

McGee has already proven time and again that he has an eye for talent.

How strong is that UCLA pledge?

Montgomery said without hesitation that he was “110 percent” committed to the Bruins.

“I chose UCLA because I think they need some Florida cats to go out there and make an impact on what they have out in Cali,” he said. “I feel like they need long guys. They don’t really have long guys. They have small quick guys. I felt that (with my decision) but also getting my best education, too. That was important.”

His plan will be to study sports broadcasting in college. UCLA is a clear fit, but the UGA also has a stout program in that field.

He has yet to visit UCLA. That first trip will be in January for his official visit.

“You know I just hope that coach (Jim) Mora stays there,” he said. “I’m really worried about it. I just feel like the if the new coaches come in there will be a lot of new contacts there and I don’t really know them. That would maybe kind of throw me off.”

Montgomery does plan to take all five of his official visits. What could change the strength of that commitment?

“I don’t feel like I would de-commit unless something very tragic happens so that’s why I’m 110 percent committed,” he said.

Does UGA have a chance at Ken Montgomery? 

Alabama has also offered Montgomery. According to his Twitter timeline, the Tide came in with their offer back in February. That was about three months earlier than the Bulldogs.

Montgomery has also already visited Tuscaloosa. Those statements are not intended to reflect any sort of recruiting battle. They do show his worth beyond that 3-star ranking.

Does UGA have a shot here?

“I think Georgia has a big chance,” Montgomery said. “It is only Georgia and UCLA and Alabama and USF recruiting me right now. I feel like they have a chance. Especially with me choosing UCLA over Alabama. I think that UGA would have that No. 2 spot if I was to de-commit or flip or anything.”

He repeated that. Georgia would be the most likely school to flip him from UCLA. That will, of course, be contingent on a good visit this weekend, too.

“I am just looking for how the coaches communicate with me and also their players on Saturday,” Montgomery said. “I am just looking for a good group of guys to be around.”

Montgomery does not know of any players at UGA right now. Not personally. He added another thought about what he currently thinks about the Bulldog program.

“They are always in the mix for everything,” Montgomery said. “UCLA hasn’t had a good year in more than a minute. Georgia is always in the mix. They play in the best conference and they will always have one of the very best recruiting classes.”

 

 

 

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