Dating back to the spring, Ikinnagbon has called Georgia his top option, and the message from Georgia was the same.

“They’re No. 1 on my list right now,” Ikinnagbon told Dawgs247. “I’m No. 1 on their board.”

That’s the abridged version of the story in this one. Georgia has had Ikinnagbon much higher on their board than he’s been ranked in the recruiting service since the beginning of the  year. Likewise, Ikinnagbon has considered Georgia the team to beat since he made his first visit for a basketball game earlier this year.

When Ikinnagbon left his first visit, he told Dawgs247, in no uncertain terms, that the Bulldogs were going to be tough to top in this recruitment. That said, there was still expected to be a major push from programs like Ohio State, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, and Syracuse. Georgia was fully aware of how high Ikinnagbon would be on everyone’s boards, so Chidera Uzo-Diribe, Glenn Schumann, and Kirby Smart have put the full press on Ikinnagbon.

Coming into this weekend, there was some optimism Ikinnagbon might pull the trigger and officially join Georgia’s class, but there wasn’t necessarily an expectation it would happen. After a successful Friday night in town, Ikinnagbon was ready to let Georgia coaches know the Bulldogs were going to be the choice for him.

HS coach Barris Grant’s take: Long, rangy EDGE. He can really close on the quarterback. He’s athletic enough to cover running backs and tight ends. He’s just now cracking the surface of his potential. He’s running a 4.74. 325 on bench and 550 on squat. He’s just a powerhouse.

247Sports’ scouting take from Hudson Standish: A scheme-versatile imposing presence on the defensive line with the athletic tools to blossom into one of the top defensive linemen in the 2025 recruiting cycle. Size hasn’t been third-party verified, but is believed to be hovering around 6-foot-5, 250 pounds with additional length in the arms. Flashes a quick first step off the line of scrimmage and demonstrates good foot and body quickness for his size. Wrestling multi-sport background shows up on tape as he has a keen understanding of leverage while engaged. Plays with a heightened sense of urgency that manifests in plenty of chase-down tackles in pursuit. At this stage of his development is more of a reactionary pass rusher, and will need to develop a deeper bag of moves to produce against the pass against College Football’s elite. Possesses the ideal combination of athleticism and physical tools to become an impact player at the high-major level with long-term NFL Draft early-round upside.

Dawgs247 take from Benjamin Wolk: Ikinnagbon has long been one of, if not the, most important EDGE target for Georgia this cycle. Several other targets have been on the radar, but nobody brought the 6-foot-5, 251-pound frame the New Jersey edge rusher brought. His body type will be compared to several that came before him, like Quintavius Johnson and Gabe Harris who have the mass to play as a down lineman if asked to do so in the future. There isn’t a better EDGE talent in the 2025 class that Ikinnagbon, and Georgia made certain to prioritize him. Freakshow athleticism, and he’s only scratching the surface.

Perhaps the scariest reality about Ikinnagbon: He’s only getting started.

“He’s actually a younger kid. In today’s world where people get re-classed, he actually moved up a grade before his freshman year. He’s young. He’s 16,” Grant said. “He’s a really smart kid. He’s an honor student. Making a move like that requires a level of maturity. But he just a student of the game. He’s just a great kid in the locker room and a great kid in the classroom.”

Ikinnagbon didn’t even play football his freshman year. He was still a standout on the hardwood at the time, his now-football coach comparing his game to Purdue’s big man Zach Edey.

But Grant only needed to see Ikinnagbon walking down the hallway one time for him to let the then-slim New Jersey prospect know he needed to give football a try.

“What blew my mind: He didn’t play freshman football,” Grant said. “I saw him in the hallway, and he was walking. I just knew it. He passed the eye test before he even knew what the eye test was.”

At the time, Hillside (N.J.) had a few members of its 2022 recruiting class set to sign at the next level. Hillside had a few players in that cycle sign with Iowa State, Syracuse, and Army. Ikinnagbon spent a lot of time working with now-Iowa State defensive lineman Zaimir Hawk.

Seeing himself next to those future FBS prospects made Ikinnagbon realize he had a chance to be great.

“I think it might’ve clicked for him our signing day in 2022. I think that was the moment for him he realized he could be a college player,” Grant said. “That was the year he had a play where he came off the EDGE and hit the running back and his helmet flew off. It was kinda like the Jadaveon Clowney play in the bowl game vs. Michigan.”

It’s not every day Georgia lands a commitment who was born in Europe and speaks multiple languages.

That can be said for Ikinnagbon.

Ikinnagbon comes from Nigerian heritage, but he was actually born in Italy prior to moving to the United States. That means Ikinnagbon is fluent in Igbo and Italian, making English his third language of fluency. Grant points to Ikinnagbon’s family as inspiration for many of his impressive talents.

“Yeah, it might be something about his culture too. His family is very tight,” Grant said. “His whole family is from Nigeria, and everyone in his family is really smart and driven.”

That’s right, Ikinnagbon isn’t the only impressive member of his family. His sister and two of his cousins he close to are well on their way to becoming doctors.

Needless to say, Grant said Georgia coaches have been blown away by the way the entire family is wired.

“That conversation is always a little different with him because there’s no BSing around. The way that family is set up, everybody is focused about things that interest them,” he said.