Timing was just right for Georgia's latest verbal commitment

For wide receiver Matt Landers, his commitment Wednesday to Georgia was all about timing.

It just felt right.

“I don’t even know. I really wanted to go to Georgia when I went on my visit. I felt like it was a beautiful place, the coaches were great, the players were great, the campus was beautiful so I was like wow, I could really play here,” Landers said in an interview with UGASports.com. “To be able to play here in front of all these people … it was just amazing. I’d been talking to the coaches ever since, we’ve kept up with each other … I just felt like this was where I wanted to be.”

Landers won’t be the first member of his family to call Athens home.

He’s the son of former Bulldog basketball player Toney Mack, who averaged just over 15 points his final season in Athens in 1988, playing on the same team with Bulldog greats Alec Kessler and Willie Anderson.

Once hailed as “the next Dominique Wilkins,” academic issues caught up with Mack, who was still drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers. In 2011, the Orlando Sentinal named him one of the top nine high school basketball players in Florida history.

But despite his father’s tie, his decision to come to Georgia was solely his to make.

“I just felt Georgia was the place to be,” said Landers, who stands nearly 6-foot-5 and weighs 180 pounds. “It was about me. It’s where I want to spend my time.”

His commitment would appear to be a huge one for the Bulldogs, who now have 10 verbal commitments for the Class of 2017.

Georgia won his commitment over 20 other schools, including ones from Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Michigan and Notre Dame.

Although he’s committed, he still plans on taking his five officials, including – he hopes – ones to Auburn, Miami and Notre Dame.

He hopes to return to Athens on June 11.

“I’m working on being an early enrollee,” Landers said. “That’s my goal. I’ll know by the end of the summer.”

Paul Maharry contributed to this report