Well, Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs must be in the mood for some celebration. The reason? They have been able to win back the trust of the 5-star quarterback Jared Curtis. So much so that seven months after turning his back on Smart’s program, Curtis thought of giving the Bulldogs a second chance. However, Georgia’s luck train is yet to reach its destination when it comes to a 4-star tight end, Kaiden Prothro. The Bowdon star has multiple suitors swarming around him. Initially, there were only three programs that were running the race to land the tight end. Now, two other programs came off as wild card entries. So, it’s going to be a true SEC tug of war, but amid the chaos, one program comes off as the front runner, leaving Kalen DeBoer and Hugh Freeze standing quietly in the corner.

College football coaching staffs are off the trail. It’s the month of June. Top recruits are flocking to campuses across the country in this official visit season. Right now, the No.19 player in the 2026 class, Prothro, is stirring the pot. The lanky 6-6, 220-pound receiving tight end from Bowdon, Georgia, once had a buffet of 31 offers on his table. But then came the final five list ft. Alabama Crimson Tide, Georgia Bulldogs, Texas Longhorns, and the latecomers, Florida Gators and Auburn Tigers. Amongst them, Prothro has already made a trip to Athens on May 30. On June 6, he will be spotted in Tuscaloosa, followed by Auburn on June 10 and Florida on June 13. But what are the chances of his hot pursuers bringing him home?

On the June 6 episode of the On3 Recruits podcast, Steve Wiltfong shared his take on the Prothro battle with Josh Newberg. The analyst noted, “Coming in, same with Kaiden Prothro. Georgia is the program setting the bar for him, but he’s got an eye on Alabama, Auburn, Texas, Florida.” Not many know, the tight end has visited the in-state school, Georgia, over half a dozen times, and stays 140 miles east of the Bulldogs’ Athens campus. Meanwhile, the craze for the tight end is real. He carries with him a strong resume, having caught 56 passes for a whopping 1,203 yards and 22 touchdowns. Now, among the five suitors, what will be the main criterion behind Prothro selecting his next home?

Back in February, in an interview with On3, he had let the cat out of the bag. “All schools are level right now. It will come down to a place where I want to be all the time. I want to go where people generally care for me and where I will be happy not just for a year, but for the whole time I am there. That will be a big part of my decision.” While Prothro talked highly of Freeze’s program after the spring visit, only one program got an ‘A’ grade for his official visit.

Georgia pulls out all the stops for Kaiden Prothro

Even before the official visit pressure, Prothro had paid a visit to Auburn back in April. That marked his second visit this year. Prothro watched the team work out, watched film, and then went through meetings with the team. After the visit, he also shared how Freeze’s program made him feel. “Just seeing how I would fit in here and seeing how they would use me in the offense… They were telling me that they could use a guy like me. They really need me here, and I’m the guy they want here. So I feel like Coach [Hugh] Freeze really loves me. I feel like Coach Ben [Aigamaua] loves me and Coach [Derrick] Nix loves me.”

Well, we know how the ‘make them feel like a priority’ factor never goes wrong. But here, the Tigers did not have to do much to woo Prothro. After all, their resume was enough to leave a mark on his heart. Auburn has stacked top 10 recruiting classes over the last couple of years. Its latest class included five-star quarterback Deuce Knight.

But time flies. And the month of June ushered in some changes in Prothro’s feelings. After taking his long-awaited visit to Georgia, and the Smart’s squad made the most of the opportunity to show a 5-star everything they would ever need to commit to the G. While he gave the Dawgs an ‘A’ for his official visit, he gave the program an ‘A+ moment’ to chew on when it comes to his makeup.

After 48 hours being treated like a VIP and eating off a king’s table, Kaiden Prothro checked out of the hotel room, put his cleats on, and pounced into action. The 3-time state champion from Bowdon High School, who has turned 39 percent of his high school catches into touchdowns, joined the June 1 summer camp at UGA. Georgia made no bones about how hard it is to be a part of their program. However, this kind of authenticity is what the Prothro family noticed over and over. And the young chap can’t wait to don the Bulldog red gear. “Really, that I am their top guy right now and that they want me there.” So, should Smart keep the confetti poppers intact until Prothro shows up and turns the Cantwell win into a double delight?