Coach Franklin's early recruiting strategy: Target kids in his new backyard, his old backyard and metro Atlanta

Coach Franklin and staff have been hitting Georgia hard for recruits. Of the 43 offers they’ve made to high school juniors, 11 of them have been to Georgia kids, according to Scout.com.

And get this, they’ve offered six kids in Stone Mountain, five of them at Stephenson High School, which is starting free safety Kenny Ladler’s alma mater, and another kid from Stone Mountain High School.

Based on the kids offered so far, this seems to be Franklin’s strategy:

1. Georgia, especially metro Atlanta: 11
2. Tennessee, his new backyard: 6
3. The DC area, his old backyard: 9 (6 in Maryland, 3 in Virginia)
4. Florida, a hotbed of skill athletes: 5
5. Everywhere else: 12 (2 each from North Carolina, Illinois, Michigan; 1 apiece from New Jersey, Colorado, Washington, South Carolina, Kentucky and Ohio)

Hey, what do they have against Alabama?

Franklin doesn’t mind offering kids from the same high school either. Of his 43 offers, 11 of them have been to kids from three high schools:

• Stephenson in Stone Mountain, GA: Offers to two outside linebackers, a running back, a tight end and a defensive end.
• Our Lady of Good Counsel in Olney, MD: Two wide receivers and a running back
• DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, MD: Two defensive ends and an outside linebacker