COVINGTON, Ga. — Nyland Green is big and fast and long. He can cover, flash ball skills, hit, run, and be an adept fit at multiple positions in the secondary.
He also served as the long snapper for his high school teams, too.
Green is a varied young man, too. Green aspires to take the proceeds from a long professional football career and open a homeless shelter. The nation’s No. 2 cornerback prospect (247 Sports) has that noble goal and yet still was found swallowing handfuls of Skittles and back-flipping as his Newton High team burst through the sign onto the field for every game.
He has a tradition of carrying the same Chucky Doll from the “Child’s Play” movie franchise with him to every game, too. He shared the news on Tuesday from Newton High via a live stream and a commitment video announcement that he won’t have to travel far to bring those dreams, the Skittles and Chucky with him to play college football.
The 6-foot-2, 182-pound senior chose to be a Georgia Bulldog. He even had some Skittles in the minutes leading up to his ceremony during the audio checks in the school auditorium prior to his decision.
The homegrown state of Georgia product was wanted by Auburn, Clemson and Tennessee, among many others. It even seemed like those elite programs were the vogue picks at different times for the 4-star cornerback prospect.
The Newton High cornerback ranks as the nation’s No. 5 overall cornerback prospect and No. 69 overall recruit on the 247Sports Composite rankings.
Green will be a Bulldog and also enroll early in January of 2021.
That’s some photosynthesis on the recruiting trail from Charlton Warren and Kirby Smart for a DB room that will need some sunlight to replace an expected NFL exodus after this season.
“It is just right up the street,” Green said about Georgia earlier this fall. “Just a 35-minute drive from my house. That’s the biggest thing I could ever say.”
Green is now the 20th public commitment for Georgia in the 2021 cycle.
This makes him the seventh top 100 overall prospect (247Sports Composite) to commit to UGA in this class. The Newton High (Covington, Ga.) star is now the fifth-highest rated recruit in the Georgia class.
He becomes the first player to choose Georgia from Newton High since former U.S. Army All-American receiver Jeremiah “JJ” Holloman did so in December of 2016. That commitment now pushes Georgia’s 2021 class past LSU to the nation’s No. 3 class for this recruiting cycle on the 247Sports Team Composite ratings.
Want to know something really cool about Nyland Green?
Green is always found with a smile. He is charismatic enough to plan to launch his own YouTube channel.
But the thing which really stands out here is his giving heart. Green said if he makes it big in football, then he has a very noble plan in mind for his community.
“I know outside of football I would like to open a homeless shelter,” Green told DawgNation. “To take care of kids that are younger than me or less fortunate than me. Maybe somebody that doesn’t have what others have. I’d love to do that. I feel like we should be here to help one another out.”
To him, there’s no feeling like helping someone else out. If he has any spare bills or coins in his pocket when he sees someone in need, he’s going to share those with a smile.
“I’m always smiling but when I do that then God puts that on my heart to help somebody and that puts an even bigger smile on my face,” Green said.
“Just helping anybody. People younger than me. Our youth. Really just helping anybody in general.”
It is just his way. It always has been.
“God has just put that on my heart always to share what I do have with others,” he said.
Wouldn’t “Nyland’s Island” be a great name for that homeless shelter concept he has on his mind? Especially for a future cornerback/philanthropist with a heart of gold? He used the term “Nyland Island” a couple of times in casual conversation.
That would be perfect branding.
Warren was a big factor in this decision.
When Green was asked to share his thoughts on Georgia over the summer, he quickly brought up the Georgia defensive backs coach. He was wearing a 5-star smile as he did.
“Coach Warren now that’s my ‘Dawg,” he said. “We are always comparing shoes and playing ‘Madden’ and everything. Coach Warren, now that is my guy. That is my ‘Dawg.”
The video in this embedded tweet below offers a good sample size of his athletic ability and overall length.
Check out the latest with @NylandGreen and his process. What does the decision plan look like now for “Nyland’s Island” later this fall?➡️https://t.co/vxTuB4Hh9m pic.twitter.com/8z6dZIt3um
— Jeff Sentell (@jeffsentell) July 23, 2020
What will Nyland Green play for Georgia?
Expect Green to be a press cornerback starting out for the Bulldogs.
The program has shown a knack of late for getting first-year players into the mix early and developing them for the NFL. The playing paths of Tyson Campbell, DJ Daniel and Tyrique Stevenson certainly speak to that.
Eric Stokes, the Georgia starter who has developed into an NFL prospect from a 3-star ranking, is also an example there. Stokes has also spent some time on the recruiting chat interacting with Green on social media.
Dawg nation, I need y’all to show love to my lil bro! @NylandGreen would love for him to play in his state & between the hedges 🐶 pic.twitter.com/R2yLhTQAt7
— Eric Stokes Jr (@_jamane_) May 8, 2020
👀👀 might have to push up https://t.co/OGFx0jUAGK
— Eric Stokes Jr (@_jamane_) December 7, 2020
That was something that Green was looking for.
“I like to hear from the guys and the players that are there and have actually been here,” he said this summer. “But I also still have to look for the fit for me and myself. How do I fit in there or how would I fit in there?”
Georgia has been up there as one of his schools to pay a lot of attention to for years.
“It has just been amazing and I keep going back and forth and visiting and seeing new things,” he said of those trips prior to the pandemic. “Seeing things I have never really seen before but everything has really been amazing with Georgia.”
Green’s decision certainly improves the outlook in a class that is need of several cornerbacks to replace the likes of Campbell, Daniel, Stokes and Mark Webb, Jr. in 2021. He is now the fourth CB prospect to commit to UGA in the 2021 cycle.
Check out his senior and junior year highlight reels below.
(the recent reads on DawgNation.com)
