Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown
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A.J. Brown tore it up as a wide receiver at Ole Miss before picking up where he left off in the NFL. There were plenty of notable programs that recruited him as a high schooler, and Georgia apparently blew its shot to land him over the colors of its socks.
It’s hard to envy anyone who’s tasked with recruiting for a college football program in a day and age where NIL deals have turned the sport on its head, but it was still anything but a straightforward endeavor before that factor threw a major wrench into the system.
I can’t say I’m jealous of anyone who has to devote a sizeable chunk of their existence to catering to the whims and egos of teenagers who have a tendency to be glorified in the areas they hail from thanks to their talents, and attempting to convince them the school you represent will set them up for success better than the competitors who are doing the exact same thing is no small task.
There are also certain wants and needs that are ultimately out of your control, which apparently includes one seemingly minor aesthetic decision pertaining to the football uniforms at one SEC program.
A.J. Brown says he didn’t want to play at Georgia because the Bulldogs wear black socks
Ole Miss had home-field advantage when it came to recruiting A.J. Brown, as the wide receiver made a name for himself playing at Starkville High School, which is around a two-hour drive away from Oxford.
The four-star recruit, who was viewed as one of the best WRs in his class, also received offers from major programs including Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, and Texas. However, the Rebels ultimately won the sweepstakes for the player who racked up nearly 3,000 receiving yards and snagged 19 touchdowns over the course of three seasons before the Titans drafted him with the 51st overall pick in 2018.
Georgia was never seriously in the running, and based on what Brown had to say during a recent episode of Pardon My Take, the Bulldogs didn’t have a shot because of the color of the socks players have to rock.
AJ Brown didn’t commit to Georgia because they wear Black socks during games@rhoback pic.twitter.com/jzEtI3u9E5
— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) August 6, 2025
Brown seemed to seriously suggest that was the primary reason he rejected Georgia’s advances, saying :
“I got recruited by Georgia. I didn’t choose Georgia because I don’t like wearing black socks.
That may be crazy, but I hate wearing black socks. Putting on black socks with black cleats is just so hideous. When I put on white, I feel so fast and so smooth. There’s just something about it.”
Even if other factors did come into play, it’s hard to argue he didn’t make the right call based on how things panned out for him.