You take the victories when you get them.

Georgia has downright dominated its football series against Clemson. The Dawgs are 44-18-4 all-time against the Tigers, having won each of the past three meetings, including a 30-3 victory in Mercedes-Benz Stadium to kick off the 2024 season. With that in mind, anytime the Tigers can best Georgia, in anything, that should be celebrated by the orange-clad faithful.

That means Saturday should have been a day of celebration, as Clemson beat out Georgia head-to-head for four-star Jayden Aparicio-Bailey, one of the top defensive back prospects in the country. Beating out the Dawgs on the recruiting trail for a prized prospect has become extremely difficult to do, seeing as Kirby Smart has turned that program into one of the nation’s best. Not to mention the success Smart is having in the development department. The NFL is currently littered with players who developed under the two-time national championship head coach, including two corners who were first-round picks. That should make this recruiting win even sweeter.

To be fair, Clemson has experienced a similar amount of success developing cornerbacks with veteran assistant Mike Reed overseeing that position. Reed has also produced his fair share of draft picks over the years, including a couple of first-rounders. There is a reason Smart has attempted to poach Reed in the past.

“If you wanna be great, go play for Coach Reed,” Aparicio-Bailey said during his announcement.

Some might liken this situation to that old adage, “even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while,” but those folks would be mistaken. This is not the first time in the current recruiting cycle that Clemson has won a head-to-head battle against Georgia.

Last month, fresh off an official visit to Clemson, four-star offensive lineman JJ Brown committed to the Tigers. Throughout the spring, many had pegged Brown as a lock to Georgia. He visited Athens multiple times during the process, even though he never made it to his official that was scheduled for the weekend following his trip to Clemson.

At the time, Brown was seen as a huge get. Not just because the Tigers beat the Dawgs for him, but because, unlike Aparicio-Bailey, Brown lives in the state of Georgia.

And the recruiting victories for the Tigers over their SEC rivals just down Interstate 85 don’t look to be done. Four-star defensive tackle Seth Tillman is set to announce on July 11. Earlier this year, there was a lot of chatter about Georgia being the leader in the clubhouse. However, after his official to Clemson the weekend of June 12, that chatter quickly died.

Michigan did make a strong push late, after his official visit the weekend of June 5, but it is the Tigers that are now the leaders in the clubhouse as we inch closer to his announcement. So much so that Georgia has taken commitments from two other defensive tackles in the past two weeks.

There is one head-to-head battle in which Georgis is still very much alive. That one is for four-star safety Seth Williams. The blue-chip talent announced on Saturday that he is postponing his commitment. He was planning to announce on Friday. No new date was given, but that is one Georgia has a realistic shot of winning.

Either way, after a couple of down recruiting cycles, Clemson is once again establishing itself as a program capable of beating out the big boys for some of the nation’s best high school prospects. And if you need proof, look no further than those two wins over Georgia, and remember, it looks like at least one more is on the way.