Normally, when a program with the recent success and track record of the Georgia Bulldogs signs a 3-star recruit, it doesn't necessarily register as newsworthy. However, Jayden-Jamal Hanne is not your normal 3-star recruit. Hanne, who grew up in Germany and moved to the United States in 2022, has only been playing football for two years. Basketball and soccer were the sports he excelled at during his youth. But when you sprout to 6'5″ and tip the scales at nearly 300 lbs., that's when it's time to consider a change.

JJ Hanne made that change and has since skyrocketed up recruiting boards. Greg Biggins of 247Sports notes that Hanne “has the kind of size and athletic traits that college coaches covet” and projects him as “an interior space eater at the college level who can take on double teams and should add some pash rush capability as well.” Sounds like a perfect fit for the Georgia Bulldogs if you ask me, and Hanne himself feels the same way.

“I really knew Georgia was the right place for me when I first stepped on campus at camp in May,” Hanne told Benjamin Wolk of Dawgs247. “I really loved the environment. I loved what coach [Tray] Scott does there, what Coach [Kirby] Smart does, Coach [Glenn] Schumann. I really like the way they run everything. Then going back last week, it just reassured me of that. Watching the team workout, how Coach Smart runs it, how Coach Scott does everything, it really confirmed that it's the right place for me.”

JJ Hanne was also considering Texas, Oregon, Texas A&M, and Nebraska, but it's hard to fault any defensive line prospect for committing to Georgia.

Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart yells from the sideline during the third quarter of an NCAA Football game Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. Georgia defeated Florida 43-20.
© Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

JJ Hanne could be the next great Georgia defensive lineman 

As Jayden-Jamal Hanne explained his decision to commit to Georgia, he referenced a development that has been hard to miss over the last few years… Georgia has turned in to D-Line U.

“At the D-line position, Georgia's really the top of the food chain,” Hanne said. “It was great. I was just feeling the love, and having all the older players at Georgia coaching me up to improve was really amazing.”

In the last three NFL Drafts, Georgia has had six defensive linemen selected, including three — Travon Walker, Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter — who were 1st Round picks. Maybe within the next few years, JJ Hanne can be the latest Bulldog to add his name to that list.