Clay

Webb

Not the sort of unheralded prospect you traditionally expect to find at Jacksonville State, Dane Brugler’s The Beast tells the tale of a scout team center at Georgia who entered the transfer portal after feeling “lost” and how Webb (6'3"/312) “doubted his abilities and considered retiring from the game.” Webb was an impact run blocker for the Gamecocks, garnering an 84.2 PFF run block grade on 314 inside zone plays in 2024. He’s a bit of a projection because of playing at a lower level, but he did show some explosiveness in the running and jump drills at the NFL Combine. He doesn’t have ideal height or arm length (32 inches), but Webb has a chance to compete for a role somewhere on the interior in the NFL.

Do note that it’s JacksonVILLE State, not Deion Sander’s Jackson State. This is a surprising move, as Webb (6'3"/290) is a former five-star recruit in 2019, it’s hard to believe he couldn’t stay in the FBS at least. Apparently he had real issues putting on strength and weight, which has led him to not even crack Georgia’s two-deep at any linemen position. Webb is from Alabama, so it’s a bit of a homecoming for him

Right alongside his teammate Amarius Mims, Webb (6'3/290) decided to look for a new home. After playing in five games in both the 2019 and 2020 seasons, Webb was unable to earn first-team reps during spring practice. Webb will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Webb (6'3/295), Oxford High baseball coach Wesley Brook and an unnamed student are defendants in this case, which stems from an alleged hazing incident in the fall of 2018. The plaintiff in the case claims that he was tricked into drinking from a Powerade bottle which contained Webb’s bodily fluids. The plaintiff allegedly faced taunts and slurs of a homophobic nature over the subsequent course of months. Webb signed with Georgia as a five-star recruit a short time later. He has played sparingly his first season in Athens.

“Webb knows how to flip the switch. He is a quiet young man off the field, then plays with anger on it. In Atlanta, he was powerful, he was violent and he was dominant,” Friedman writes. While the 6-foot-4, 285-pounder still has two years remaining at Oxford High (Alabama), he has already conjured up a top-three, one made up of a trio of SEC schools in Alabama, Auburn and Georgia.

Farrell writes that the 6-foot-4, 285-pound Webb has “been interested in the [Alabama] program forever.” He’s been impressing throughout his high school career, with Rivals’ Adam Friedman noting of his performance in the Rivals 3 Stripe camp last spring/summer that the lineman “plays with anger” on the field. He was a four-star recruit on the outlet at the time, but has since risen in esteem to gain five-star status. Webb ranks as Rivals’ No. 12 overall prospect in the 2019 class at this juncture. Farrell passes along that the Oxford, Alabama, native has worked on dropping some weight, which has helped facilitate his quickness.

Webb was one of the top offensive lineman in the country last year, and was a consensus five-star signing, even as a center. The Bulldogs are loaded with depth in the interior, as Emerson notes, and Trey Hill is very likely to be the starting center in 2018 after starting four games at guard for Georgia in 2018. Webb is the long-term answer here, but it may not begin until 2020.

The likes of LSU, Alabama, Clemson and Georgia are just going to have to be patient, here. Unlike some high school recruits, the 6-foot-4, 285-pound Webb is not packing his schedule full of visits -- he has gone to four camps, total -- has no current leader for his pledge and has not given any extensive thought to official visits. On the latter point, Webb might not even take all of those allotted officials. None of this is flashy. Considerably more flashy? The Oxford, Alabama, native’s standing on Rivals, where he ranks as the No. 10 overall prospect in the 2019 class. He’s on hand for the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge in Atlanta as of current, with that premiere offseason camp set to begin in earnest on Thursday.

The Oxford, Alabama prospect is reportedly thought to favor the Crimson Tide, but the Tigers pulled a similar stunt last year according to Rivals “when it reached into Ohio and snatched five-star tackle Jackson Carmen from underneath Ohio State’s nose.” Cassidy and Friedman expect Clemson to “apply the full-court press down the stretch” in attempts to get Webb.

Webb (6'4/285) had particular issue handling four-star Virginia DT pledge Jowon Briggs, which probably says as much about Briggs as it does Webb. Rivals ranks the center as the No. 10 overall prospect in the 2019 class. His has been -- by choice -- a relatively quiet recruitment to date, as Webb has mostly shunned the busy approach of other recruits, limiting his visits to a few camps while focusing on his development as a football player this offseason. It’s a smart approach for a premier talent such as Webb, who most certainly understands that when he’s ready to get things revved up in earnest, he won’t be lacking for options. LSU, Alabama, Clemson and Georgia are among the programs which have extended offers to this juncture. He’ll be holding off on making a decision until the start of December’s early signing period.