The last few days leading up to National Signing Day were filled with plenty of drama for Georgia, as head coach Mark Richt and his staff vigorously pursued several high profile prospects to round out their 2012 recruiting class.

Throughout much of Wednesday morning, the Bulldogs eagerly waited to see whose letters-of-intent would be faxed to Athens.

When the drama died down and all was said in done by Wednesday afternoon, Richt and recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner were pretty pleased with their 2012 class heading into next season and beyond.

RODNEY GARNER

“We are really excited about this class, we are excited about the young men who have committed to be our future,” Garner told the media at the annual Georgia Signing Day press conference. “I think the Bulldog Nation will be excited about them, too, and we’re looking for great things from these young men, not only athletically but character-wise. We think we were able to sign a quality class of young men and also outstanding athletes, and we’re really looking forward to the future.”

Garner — who heads all recruiting efforts for the Bulldogs — was extremely pleased by the all-around effort from the coaching staff when it came to recruiting these prospects.

“This staff, I can tell you we worked countless hours to be able to put this together and we feel like we’ve got one of the best coaching staffs in the country,” Garner said. “Everybody really works hard together — everybody works as a team when it comes to recruiting. Everybody plays a tremendous role as far as helping everyone recruit these young men, and I think the whole staff needs to be complimented for what we were able to accomplish today.”

Richt believed much of the recruiting success that he has enjoyed in recent years is because of the support and compassion that many Bulldog fans have shown to newly-committed prospects.

“Our fan base generates so much excitement, and when you talk about the Bulldog Nation, guys understand that it’s a real thing and some of them even mentioned after they committed to Georgia that they just felt overwhelmed by the amount of love that they were given just from people wishing them well,” Richt said. “And all of a sudden they’re like, ‘I didn’t realize how much Bulldog fans love their team,’ so that’s a big part of how we can recruit so well.”

Garner also praised the Bulldog players for their on-the-field performance this past season.

He believed the team’s 10-game win streak played a major factor in swaying many of their prospects’ commitments.

“It started out this fall with our players when we started out 0-2,” he said. “What they were able to accomplish when they put their heads down — they got focused and we went to work and we were able to reel off 10 straight wins. I think that set the tone and foundation for what were achieving today and we’re just so proud and excited about our players because it starts with them, because they’re one of the biggest salesmen that we have with this program.”

The Bulldogs were able to land a couple last day commitments when former Vanderbilt commitment Josh Dawson of Tucker High School switched his allegiance to the Bulldogs.

And Richt admitted that he was just as nervous waiting for commitments on Wednesday morning as the fans were.

“I pray about a lot of things, and when I pray about recruiting I just pray we get the ones that we ought to get,” Richt said.

Like many of the fans, Richt didn’t know what to expect Wednesday morning and had to rely on watching television broadcasts to see which of their top remaining targets chose Georgia.

“You know what, there was a time where if you woke up the morning of Signing Day and you didn’t know by then you weren’t gonna get them,” Richt said. “But the last couple years, that has changed — I’ve literally watched the television the last couple years and just seen it live myself. It seems like there’s more and more that want to add a little drama to it.”

The Bulldogs missed out on a few of their top remaining uncommitted prospects when wide receiver prospects JaQuay Williams and Cordarrelle Patterson committed to conference rivals Auburn and Tennessee, respectively.

Georgia also lost out on four-star offensive tackle prospect Avery Young, who picked Auburn over Georgia, Florida, and Miami.

But Richt and Garner didn’t let the loses of Williams, Patterson and Young damper their spirits.

They were very content with the players who committed, and felt like they addressed all the team’s areas of need with the 2012 class.

“I feel that we were able to meet our needs. Just looking over the list, I think we covered everything across the board,” Garner said. “We are really excited about where we are at.”