The latest addition to Georgia's 2018 recruiting class has pushed the Bulldogs to the top of the 247Sports Composite Team Recruiting Rankings. Independence Community College (Independence, Kan.) defensive lineman Jermaine Johnson committed to Kirby Smart and his staff on Thursday night, allowing UGA to surge past Alabama for the No. 1 spot.

Georgia finished 2018 with the nation's top recruiting class and it's well on its way toward getting there again, with just 17 commitments in its current haul. With that number of pledges, the Bulldogs still have fewer than any other program in the top five. Alabama has 20, Texas A&M has 24, Clemson has 22, and Oregon has 19.

Maybe more impressive is the fact that Georgia has an average rating per commitment of well over 94. Johnson, who has a rating of 94 according to 247Sports (he hasn't yet been rated by the rest of the industry so his only ranking is with 247Sports), actually caused that average rating to go down.

The past three weeks have been incredible for the Bulldogs on the recruiting trail. They've added seven pledges since July 15 and former five-star wide receiver Demetris Robertson announced he was transferring from Cal to Georgia on July 14.

Johnson joins three-star defensive lineman Zion Logue (Lebanon; Lebanon, Tenn), four-star offensive lineman Warren McClendon (Brunswick; Brunswick, Ga.), five-star defensive lineman Travon Walker (Upson-Lee; Thomaston, Ga.), five-star running back John Emery Jr (Destrehan; Destrehan, La.), four-star athlete Makiya Tongue (University Lab; Baton Rouge, La.), and four-star linebacker Rian Davis (Wekiva; Apopka, Fla.)

Going into the weekend of July 14 the Bulldogs were well outside of the top 10 in the 247Sports Composite team rankings with just under 217 points. Less than three weeks later the Bulldogs now have 287.36 points.

There's still plenty of proverbial meat left on the proverbial bone for UGA in the current class. Five-star prospects Nakobe Dean (linebacker out of Horn Lake, Miss.) and Clay Webb (offensive lineman out of Oxford, Ala.) remain top Georgia targets. Smart and staff are also in hot pursuit of four-star safety Lewis Cine (Trinity Christian; Cedar Hill, Tex.), four-star cornerback DJ Daniel (Georgia Military; Milledgeville, Ga.), four-star cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (Miami Southridge; Homestead, Fla.), and a number of highly-rated targets.

At 6-foot-6 250 pounds, Johnson ranks as the nation's top junior college prospect per 247Sports. He's likely to fit the bill of an outside linebacker/defensive end hybrid in Athens. His plans as of now are to graduate in December and join the Bulldogs as soon as possible after that. Provided he takes care of things academically in his final semester, he'll have the opportunity to go through spring drills with the Bulldogs in 2019.

Johnson has three years to play two and 58 total tackles in 2017 with 13 tackles for a loss and eight sacks. He also has three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.