We’ve got stars in our eyes.

Recruiting is the lifeblood of any successful college football recruiting service program.  Clichéd as that may sound, I can say that without any hesitation.  I can also say that even though I refuse to hang on every trial and tribulation of the nation’s high profile recruits in the months leading up to the early signing period… and today.  I do allow myself to get excited about Georgia’s prospects once the names are signed on the dotted line, though, and there’s plenty to get excited about with this 2018 class.

Rather than get into a player by player breakdown, what I’d rather delve into is the significance of the overall quality of Kirby Smart’s third signing class.  It’s truly remarkable, even unprecedented by previous Georgia standards.

To start with, look at this basic primer from SB Nation.  While there are always individual exceptions (and we love those stories), the reality is that, as a general rule of thumb, better stars make for better players and better programs.

What’s particularly remarkable about this year’s class is the number of five-star signees.  Here’s Jason Butt on that:

The Bulldogs already have six five-star prospects who signed national letters-of-intent in December. And the Bulldogs will be anxiously awaiting American Heritage (Miami) five-star cornerback Tyson Campbell’s decision Wednesday morning. If Campbell signs with Georgia, the Bulldogs will end this class with seven five-star players, according to the 247Sports.com composite rankings.

The most five-star prospects Georgia landed in a class previously was four, in 2012.

Georgia is already in elite company by becoming the fifth program since 2000 to sign six five-star players in one class. USC (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007), Alabama (2013, 2014, 2015, 2017), Florida State (2002, 2012) and Florida (2003) are the only other programs to do so. If Campbell signs with Georgia, it will be the first program during this time span to ink seven 247Sports.com composite five-star recruits in the same class.

Chip Towers reports that Rivals credits Georgia with one more five-star kid than 247Sports.

“Last year’s class has a chance to be really good, obviously, with a lot of impact freshmen who played,” said Chad Simmons, regional recruiting analyst for Yahoo Sports. “But without question, this one on paper is going to be the one that jumps out as far as looking the best and reading the best and potentially being the best, as far as all-conference and NFL guys. More than likely it’s going to set a record for us, as far as Rivals, with eight 5-stars.”

That’s assuming that the Bulldogs land Tyson Campbell, a 5-star cornerback out of American Heritage High School in Plantation, Fla. Most projections have Campbell signing with Georgia over Alabama on Wednesday.

Individual prospect ratings vary, but Yahoo/Rivals has Georgia already with seven 5-star recruits that signed in the college football’s first early period in late December: Outside linebacker Adam Anderson of Rome, running back James Cook of Miami, defensive end Brenton Cox of Stockbridge, quarterback Justin Fields of Kennesaw, offensive tackle Cade Mays of Knoxville, Tenn., guard Jamaree Salyer of Atlanta and running back Zamir White of Laurinburg, N.C.

There are a couple of reasons this news should excite every Georgia fan.  One is that Georgia is trending on this front in the opposite direction from the rest of the SEC.

The SEC has signed the vast number of 5-star prospects in the past five signing classes – almost 50 percent in fact – but the numbers from last year and this year show that other leagues are closing the gap.

In the past five recruiting classes (2013-17), there have been 164 5-star prospects, and SEC schools have signed 81 of them (49.4 percent). But SEC schools saw that percentage drop to 36 last year (12 of 33), and going into Wednesday’s National Signing Day, that figure has dropped again, to 27.6 this year…

There is a caveat with his year’s numbers. There are 29 5-star prospects, and 25 have signed, including eight with SEC schools. Three of the unsigned 5-star recruits seem likely to sign with an SEC member, meaning 38 percent of the five-star prospects likely will end up at SEC schools. Nevertheless, it will be the second year in a row that the percentage is less than 40. That’s on the heels of two classes (2014 and ’15) where an astounding 56 percent of 5-star prospects ended up in the SEC.

According to Huguenin’s chart, the conference has signed a total of 8 five-star recruits so far.  You do the math on how that breaks down.  Georgia has completely lapped the field with this class.  Sure, it’s possible that another program could be luckier or better than Georgia over the next few years with its player development, but the odds are stacked in Georgia’s favor for the moment.

The other reason?  Well, check this out.

Since 2000, 10 other schools have signed at least six five-star prospects in the 247Sports composite. Six of those classes eventually won national titles, and a seventh, Alabama’s 2017 class, still has three-plus years to achieve the feat.

Better yet for Georgia, every SEC team this century to add six five-star prospects in one class has gone on to win the national championship with that class.  [Emphasis added.]

That article was written last December.  Since then, Alabama’s 2017 class has made it seven for seven.  Those odds are getting even more stacked.

Helluva job, Kirby.