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Georgia lands rising star EDGE Olayiwola Taiwo for 2027

Jake Reuseby: Jake Reuse06/01/26ReuseRecruiting

Good news keeps flowing for the Georgia Bulldogs, with an announcement Monday that in-state rising star Olayiwola Taiwo, also known as Gideon, will be staying home.

A three-star pass rusher from Hampton, Georgia’s Lovejoy High School, the 6-foot-3, 220 pound becomes the eleventh commitment of the cycle for the Bulldogs and the third in the last two days, following pledges from Taurean Rawlins and DJ Dotson on Sunday.

While Taiwo is currently unranked in the Rivals Industry Ranking, he is considered a three-star prospect according to the 247 Rankings. He is the nation’s No. 99 EDGE prospect for the cycle and the No. 143 overall ranked prospect per those same metrics.

So, what drew the Bulldogs to an unranked prospect? Taiwo has been one of the late spring’s hottest names on the recruiting trail, attracting attention from the likes of Pitt, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest during the evaluation period.

His measurables didn’t hurt either.

Per Rusty Mansell:

“The 6-foot-3 EDGE from Lovejoy measured in with an 83-inch wingspan this weekend and 34-inch arms. For comparison, that’s two inches longer than Jalon Walker, almost an inch longer than Leonard Floyd and the same length as Lorenzo Carter.”

The Dawgs made him a priority quickly, pulling the trigger on an offer very recently.

“When they offered me, I was really fired up,” Taiwo told DawgsHQ. “I was actually with a few of my homeboys. We all grew up talking about Georgia as one of those schools. It meant a lot. I was there and grew up watching that team a lot…They’re a solid school, academically. They’ve got two national championships. I like how they produce. They send defensive linemen to the league almost every year. So, that’s one thing I’ve been looking at, too.”

Additionally, new EDGE coach Larry Knight played a key role in the decision.

 “I think he’s a great coach,” Taiwo said. “He actually took time to coach me up on a few things that I was doing wrong. Then, after that, he even took time out of his day to get on board with me. We could learn to talk about it, how it’s supposed to look, things like that. So, I can already tell he’s a really great coach. It actually takes time to be able to display it.”

Olayiwola Taiwo is the first EDGE commit for the Bulldogs in the Class of 2027.

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