Georgia Tech has strengthened its Top 10 recruiting class with the addition of a key defensive lineman.
Academics were an important factor in the decision-making process for the player from Bronx (N.Y.) Cardinal Hayes.
Familiarity with the coaching staff and long-standing relationships significantly influenced his choice.
The 6-foot-2, 281-pound lineman concluded his recruitment by committing to Georgia Tech, which he announced on Saturday. He mentioned the strong connections he has with defensive line coach Jess Simpson and defensive coordinator Tyler Santucci as critical factors in his decision.
“I love everything about the staff,” he said. “They recruited me at Duke before. At least the defensive coordinator and the d-line coach recruited me at Duke, so I know them very well. So we’ve gotten very close.”
The connection with Belin and Duke stems from one of his brothers, Henry Belin IV, being a quarterback with the Blue Devils.
Georgia Tech’s scheme and how Belin will be used were also major reasons for his commitment.
“I fit in the scheme very well,” he said. “I play 3-tech.”
Through the first six games this season Belin made 31 tackles.
WHAT HE SAYS ABOUT GEORGIA TECH
“I picked Georgia Tech because it felt like a family there and it is a good spot to be right now,” he said. “Coach (Brent) Key is building something great.”
WHO ELSE WAS IN THE MIX?
This was a drawn-out recruitment in which Belin was close to committing before the start of his senior season, but he decided to wait. Georgia Tech was always the frontrunner, but Syracuse, Virginia and Duke were also in strong contention. He made official visit to all four of the schools and he has strong ties to two of them. One of his brothers, Henry Belin, is a quarterback at Duke. Another brother, Rich Belin, is a quarterback committed to Syracuse.
WHERE THE SUPER STAR RANKS AS A RECRUIT
Belin has a 247Sports grade of 86, which makes him the No. 9 player in New York and the No. 138 defensive lineman in the nation. The industry-generated 247Sports Composite has Belin as the No. 1,097 player and No. 112 defensive lineman in the class of 2025.
HOW He FITS WITH GEORGIA TECH
Belin’s commitment is the 22nd for the Yellow Jackets, whose class sits at No. 17 in the nation and is No. 2 in the ACC. He is viewed as an interior player on the defensive line and joins Bogart (Ga.) Prince Avenue Christian School’s Christian Garrett and Port Orange (Fla.) Spruce Creek’s Derry Norris as commits who are suited to play on the interior of the defensive line.
WHAT WE THINK ABOUT BLAKE BELIN
Hudson Standish, a 247Sports national scouting analyst, provided his thoughts on Belin.
“Bronx (NY) Cardinal Hayes defensive lineman Blake Belin is an intriguing one-gap interior defensive lineman that the 247Sports scouting team evaluated in-person at All-22 State College this offseason. The new Georgia Tech commit was verified hovering around 6-foot-2, 280 pounds with ideal arm length and wingspan measurements to go along with impressive short-area quickness combine testing marks. Belin also checks off multi-sport boxes with a personal best of 45-8 feet in the shot put.
“On tape Belin is a better pass rusher than most his size and has the frame space to eventually play north of 300 pounds. As we approach the end of senior seasons, Belin’s stock is ascending, and we view the Georgia Tech commit as an ascending prospect ahead of our next 2025 rankings update in December.”
The newly committed player is Blake Belin.
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