Scavenger Hunt Weekend: Georgia gains more steam with elite LB Joakim Gouda
Georgia held its’ marquee recruiting event over the weekend—the annual Scavenger Hunt. A who’s who of top prospects made their way to Athens, including Rivals300 linbacker Joakim Gouda (McEachern; Powder Springs, Ga.)
The Bulldogs have quite the tradition when it comes to inside linebackers, and that stood out to the four-star defender.
“My experience down in Athens was great, very fun and competitive,” Gouda told Steve Wiltfong, Rivals Vice President of College Football Recruiting. “What continues to stand out about Georgia playing for the home state going to school that produced some really good linebackers in the past and the SEC.”
Georgia has been active in Gouda’s recruitment as long as anyone else, even when he hadn’t taken off yet as a prospect. The Bulldogs offered just a few days after the new year. Only Middle Tennessee, Purdue and West Virginia beat them to the punch.
The likes of Tennessee, Texas, Alabama and a number of other programs followed suit in later on that month as his recruitment started to pick up.
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Now Gouda is as the No. 152 overall prospect and the No. 14 linebacker according to the Rivals Industry Rankings, a weighted average of the three websites that publish recruiting rankings. But when it gomes to the Rivals300, the stand-alone rankings, Gouda is much more highly regarded. He’s the nation’s No. 31 overall prospect and the No. 2 linebacker in the country. He’s the No. 4 player in Georgia.
Prior to last recruiting cycle, Georgia was on a tremendous run when it came to linebacker recruiting. Defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach Glenn Schumann had signed four linebackers with a five-star rating in three classes. In three cycles he inked the likes of Raylen Wilson, Justin Williams, Chris Cole and Zayden Walker. Williams and Walker were the No. 1 linebackers in the country in their respective classes.
That group also included CJ Allen in the 2023 class. He was taken No. 53 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts.
