America's No. 2 defensive lineman names his top-five schools

The Georgia Bulldogs are inching close to landing an elite recruit on the defensive line. Five-star defensive lineman Marcus Fakatou listed Georgia in his top five schools, according to Hayes Fawcett. He also listed Ohio State, Texas, Notre Dame, and Oregon among his top group.

Fakatou is a five-star defensive lineman from the class of 2027. The 6-foot-7, 275-pounder plays high school football for Sierra Canyon High School in Chatsworth, California. He is the No. 2 defensive lineman and No. 32 recruit from the class of 2027.

Fakatou is geographically closest to Oregon, but Rivals' prediction model has him committing to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Fighting Irish have the No. 5 recruiting class in the nation right now, but Fakatou would be the top recruit of that class. Fakatou has a background playing rugby. His brother, Alex, is a member of the class of 2029.

The Bulldogs aren't doing as well as Notre Dame at recruiting. They have just the No. 22 recruiting class in the nation, and while they've earned some five-star talent (running back Kemon Spell, cornerback Donte Wright, tight end Jaxon Dollar), their class has just seven recruits.

Most importantly, they don't have a defensive line commit in this class. Dating back to the class of 2016, which was Kirby Smart's first recruiting class, they've earned eight five-star defensive line/end commits, and they've earned at least one five-star commitment in eight of Kirby Smart's 10 enrolled recruiting classes.