Dallas Dickerson always imagined of playing at Georgia, and now that dream become a reality.

The North Oconee (GA) class of 2026 receiver recently signed with Georgia and enrolled after being released from his national letter of intent from Kentucky after Mark Stoops was relieved of his duties in December.

After the Wildcats hired Will Stein, Dickerson felt it might be a good idea to rethink his college decision.

“The couple of weeks before I announced my decommitment from Kentucky, we were looking at the big general picture,” Dickerson told UGASports. “When Coach Stein came in, he got rid of everybody. It was a whole new staff. I didn’t have much of a relationship with anybody. Nobody on the staff really knew me. The new receivers coach kind of knew me, but basically, I didn’t feel like I was going to have the same opportunity.”

Dickerson decided to put it all in “God’s hands” and let the process play out through his faith.

Then, shortly after announcing that he was leaving Kentucky, three schools called: Ole Miss, Florida, and Georgia. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Peach State native had ties to all three programs, wanted to give them all a chance.

“The timing of everything was crazy,” Dickerson said.

Fandom trumps familiarity

Former Kentucky wide recievers coach L’Damian Washington, who recruited Dickerson while in Lexington, had landed at Ole Miss in the same role. He and Dickerson had a tight relationsip, dating back a few years.

Florida had recently hired Buster Faulker from Georgia Tech to be its new offensive coordinator. His son, Harrison, and Dickerson played together for two years at North Oconee. The Gators also had recently signed former Yellow Jacket quarterback Aaron Philo, who Dickerson was familiar with, as both are from the Athens area.

Dickerson said at the time of his decommitment from the Wildcats, those two schools were pressing him the most. However, the in-state school, which is 15 minutes from where he attended high school, contacted him.

“Georgia called and was like, ‘Hey, we want to keep you in-state.’ And right then and there, I was shocked,” Dickerson said. “I also knew that Brady Marchese had recently decommitted, but it didn’t register in my mind at the time. Obviously, they had a spot open, and after I decommitted, they also hit me up.”

Georgia was Dickerson’s favorite team growing up, and liked the staff. He also had several North Oconee teammates play for the Bulldogs in receiver Landon Roldan and edge rusher Khamari Brooks, a fellow 2026 signee.

“Georgia came into the picture and I just thought it would be a great opportunity to stay close to home and to also play with two of my former teammates,” Dickerson said. “I mean, the whole entire process was crazy because, at that point, I didn’t really know if I should take that last minute visit to Georgia. But I just knew like that was my dream growing up and It was just a hard thing to kind of pass up, even though I had Ole Miss and Florida recruiting me hard. Either way, I just thought staying close to home was also a big deal.”

Dickerson’s choice to make a campus visit ended in his favor. He enjoyed talking with the coaches and committed to the Bulldogs shortly after his visit, but there was a time when he didn’t think he ever end up at Georgia.

What almost wasn’t

The Bulldogs never offered Dickerson during his recruitment process, but were very interested. The staff liked his speed and ability to play multiple receiver positions at, but they valued other prospects over him.

Dickerson took an unofficial visit to Georgia on March 10, 2025 and met with head coach Kirby Smart and wide receivers coach James Coley. He left the visit without an offer, but hoped for one in the near future.

However, three days later, Marchese committed to Georgia and Dickerson moved on. He took official visits to Oklahoma, Kentucky, Kansas State, Georgia Tech, and Indiana, before ultimately choosing the Wildcats.

“After (Marchese) committed, in my mind, they had already been recruiting him before I visited. He was also in state guy, I mean he went to Cartersville, so my mind just kind of shifted towards that it wasn’t to be,” Dickerson said. “At the time, God just had other plans for me, but I know that everything happens for a reason.”

Dickerson stuck out his commitment and signed with Kentucky, but as he reiterated, “everything happens for a reason.” Stoops was fired right before the early signing period and Marchese flipped from the Bulldogs to Michigan a few days later. Regardless, at that point, Georgia still wasn’t on Dickerson’s radar.

After the 2025 season ended, the Bulldogs lost four of their top five receivers, and looked to fill some of those holes in the transfer portal. Them signing another high school wideout seemed out of the question.

Georgia hosted several receivers from the portal, including Georgia Tech’s Isiah Canion and Vanderbilt’s Tre Richardson.

Canion ended up signing with the Bulldogs, and after that, they shifted focus towards Dickerson after he was released from his national letter of intent at Kentucky. Still, at the time, him ending up in Athens seemed like a pipe dream because Florida and Ole Miss were putting on a full-court press to land his commitment.

Dickerson admitted that was surprised, but grateful that Georgia called him.

“I did not expect Georgia to come back into the picture, but on top of that, I didn’t expect myself to have decommitted from a school that I was previously committed to, because even on my official visits, I really made sure that I gave every school the same opportunity” Dickerson said. “(After I decommitted from Kentucky), I still wanted see every school I scheduled because once I’m committed that’s where I want to be.

“I didn’t want to leave any doubt or anything. On the other hand, I didn’t know I was gonna decommit from school, so a lot of things just lined up perfect,” Dickerson contined. “Literally perfect, because I know Georgia was going after another kid to fill Brady’s spot, but I guess it didn’t work out. Georgia then hosted two wide receivers from the transfer portal, and they signed one, so there was only one more spot available and I took it. So, there were a lot of things that added up for me to be able to have the opportunity to play at Georgia. Everything was put in God’s hands and everything worked out for the better.”

Finally a Bulldog

Dickerson is now enrolled at Georgia and has moved into his dorm. The Bulldogs will begin winter workouts shortly and then transition into spring practice in March, and he’s excited to be a part of the process.

According to Dickerson, Coley and the offensive staff think he can play all three spots at receiver.

“They see me working every at position,” the 6-foot-1, 180-pound wideout said. “So, at first they’re gonna start me on the outside and then they’re eventually gonna have me learn all the other positions. Later on down the road, I could just go in and play whatever. They just kind of see me as like a combo guy.”

Dickerson is happy to be playing for a successful positon coach like Coley. They have a strong relationship.

“Coach Coley, I love him. We had a previous connection because he was recruiting me during track season,” Dickerson said. “After (Georgia) came back into the picture, me and him just clicked again and picked up where we left off.

He is also thrilled to be playing for a coach like Smart.

“I’m excited to be able to play under a coach like him” Dickerson said of Smart. “There’s no doubt about that, and he was excited when I committed. To have the opportunity to play for him and this program is great.”

In the near future, Dickerson will be catching passes from quarterback Gunner Stockton, who is his second cousin.

“That’s another unique connection I have with the program,” he said. “I’m just blessed to finally be a Bulldog.”