I always cast a wary eye at the recruiting process because even though various publications and Web sites are quick to rank classes, it takes at least a couple of years to determine if those rankings are accurate.

What quarterback will be an impact player as a freshman? What lineman or linebacker?

The guys who make the immediate leap from high school star to college standout are rare, although there are notable exceptions.

Georgia coach Mark Richt thinks he has one of those notable exceptions on board for this fall, and he won’t be playing a so-called “glamour” position.

No, 5-10 Blair Walsh will not be the second coming of Herschel Walker or Eric Zeier. Instead, Richt is counting on the Floridian stepping in for placekicker Brandon Coutu and stepping up big for a club that has national championship aspirations.

“Having a big league kicker is critical for a team that wants to be a champion,” Richt said. “It’s especially important in the SEC where we play so many close games. We’ve had some really good kickers here and if you take away the clutch kicker, there’s no telling how many games it would have cost us.”

While recruiting-based organizations save most of their hype for the guys who throw, run, block and tackle, Walsh’s achievements are hard to ignore.

During his senior season he nailed two 59-yard field goals, and was a biscuit away from connecting on a 67-yarder.

It’s no wonder Richt covets this youngster so much. While Bulldogs fans marveled at the breakout year Knowshon Moreno had and the rise of Matthew Stafford from a shaky freshman to a seasoned sophomore, Coutu was an integral part of Georgia’s 11-victory season. The guy never missed an extra point and came through with several clutch field goals.

A look at the Bulldogs, circa 2008, suggests the team is loaded across the board — everywhere, that is, except the kicker position.

So instead of ignoring the spot — and some coaches recruit kickers as an afterthought — Richt went after the top high school sidewinder in the nation and got him.

Obviously, we don’t know if the kicks he made in front of a few thousand fans will come as easily when 90,000 of them are screaming at him, but this is one of the few positions that can be readily assumed by a freshman.

Skill players must adjust to the strength and speed of the next level.

For kickers, the target is pretty much the same and just as in the high school game, the ball will be placed down by a holder seven yards from the line of scrimmage.

The real rating of Georgia’s Class of 2008 won’t be known for some time. How big a signing Blair Walsh is, however, could be determined the first Saturday of next season.