Breaking News:
On Tuesday, one of the more prominent names of the 2026 recruiting cycle announced his verbal commitment to the Georgia Bulldogs. Justice Fitzpatrick, the #7 CB in the On3 industry rankings out of St. Thomas Aquinas High School, chose Georgia over several other options, including Texas, Ohio State, and Miami. The 6’1 185-pound CB is ranked as the #64 overall player in the On3 industry rankings and lands as Georgia’s 2nd highest ranked commit thus far. Fitzpatrick’s commitment boosts Georgia to the #5-ranked recruiting class.
Production:
| Year | Tackles | INT | PD | |
| Jr. | 24-25 | 34 | 2 | 7 |
| So. | 23-24 | 13 | 2 | 2 |
| Fr. | 22-23 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Fitzpatrick’s production scales with the number of games played, as he appeared in 2 games in 2022-2023, 6 games in 2023-2024, and 12 games in 2024-2025. However, as with most elite high school cornerbacks, production tends to fall short of expectations. Most high school football teams do not have the offensive talent to target an elite cornerback, so they simply throw to the other side of the field. Fitzpatrick’s production is achieved through only a handful of coverage opportunities per game.
What does the film say?
Fitzpatrick’s eye-popping trait is his speed. If the game speed isn’t clear enough, he placed 8th in the 2025 Bob Hayes High School invitational with a 10.76 100m dash time. Fitzpatrick has the speed necessary to stay on top of deep routes while also possessing the short-area quickness to close down on curl routes and out routes. The frame of Fitzpatrick stands out during the game, as he’s all of 6’1 with long arms. Typically, cornerbacks with that length in high school can struggle with fluidity. That is not the case with Fitzpatrick. He stays in phase with any wide receiver on the field.
In the eyes of Kirby Smart, the attractive part of Fitzpatrick’s game is his aggressiveness. He’s not shy about coming downhill to make tackles on running backs or hitting receivers to force incompletions. He can be seen multiple times throughout his film throwing wide receivers to the ground to shed blocks. He seemingly embraces the hand fighting that comes with pressing wide receivers on the line of scrimmage. It’s easy to see why Smart can envision Fitzpatrick displaying Georgia-caliber physicality on the perimeter.
One of the key words that comes to mind when watching Fitzpatrick play is versatility. He appears to have the top-end speed necessary to play on the boundary, the physicality to play in the slot, and the field vision to play safety. On the outside, Fitzpatrick can play tight man-to-man coverage, deep zone coverage, and man-match coverage. What makes him a top-100 prospect and an ideal recruit for Kirby Smart is his ability to make plays in the box as well.
Family Ties
Justice is the brother of Pittsburgh Steelers Safety, Minkah Fitzpatrick. No pressure, right? Minkah was a 2x All-American for the Alabama Crimson Tide as well as a 2x national champion, winner of the Chuck Bednarik Award, and Jim Thorpe Award. Since starting his NFL career, Minkah has been named to the Pro Bowl 5 times, First-Team All-Pro 3 times, and tied for the NFL interception lead in 2022.
Seeing as Minkah is an all-time legend at Alabama, most expected Justice to follow his big brother’s footsteps in Tuscaloosa. However, Justice has decided to start his path for the Georgia Bulldogs. The family is familiar with Kirby Smart, since Smart was the defensive coordinator at Alabama during Minkah’s playing career. Like Minkah, Justice profiles as an athletic, versatile defensive back who is looking to make his name in the world of CFB.
