One of my favorite aspects of the NFL draft is the message Georgia coach Kirby Smart posts for each player selected.
He did so for offensive tackle Monroe Freeling on Thursday night, who was drafted by the Panthers with pick No. 19.
“It has been awesome watching you grow over the past three years,” Smart said in the message.
The posts — which Smart shares on X, formerly called Twitter — are personalized for each player. The head coach discusses the athlete’s growth, excitement for his future or even shares a fun tidbit from the player’s time with the Bulldogs.
The messages serve as reminders that even though the NFL is a business, it’s college students who are realizing their dreams when they hear they names called during the draft.
And that’s what makes it special.
So check out the rest of our coverage below.
Trivia time
How many Bulldogs were selected in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft?
Answer is at the bottom of the newsletter.
Freeling becomes first Georgia player taken in 2026 NFL draft
Freeling has found his new home, as the Georgia offensive tackle was taken by the Carolina Panthers with the No. 19 pick in the first round.
Freeling becomes the 21st first-round pick under Smart, who took over the program in 2016. He is also the sixth offensive tackle to go in the first round under Smart. No school has had more first-round offensive tackles in that span.
Carolina took Georgia running back Trevor Etienne in the 2025 NFL draft.
Freeling is from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
Freeling spent three seasons at Georgia, starting 18 games at left tackle in his career in Athens. Despite the lack of starting experience, Freeling brings impressive measurables to the table. He had a strong finish to the 2025 season, where he earned Second Team All-SEC honors.
The thought is that Freeling is an ascending player at the next level, who can continue to improve now that he is in the NFL. This marks the ninth-straight NFL draft that Georgia has produced a first-round pick.
UGA athletics daily schedule
Friday, April 24:
- Softball at Oklahoma: 7:30 p.m.
- Baseball at Ole Miss: 7:30 p.m.
What to make of Georgia football having just one first-round pick
Georgia has grown accustomed to dominating the NFL draft, but that was not the case during the first round on Thursday night.
The Bulldogs had just one player taken among the first 32 picks in the draft, as Freeling landed with the Carolina Panthers with the No. 19 pick in the first round.
Freeling becomes the sixth different offensive tackle to go in the first round since Smart became Georgia’s head coach in 2016. The Bulldogs have had a first-round draft pick in nine consecutive drafts.
“Congrats @FreelingMonroe! It has been awesome watching you grow over the past three years,” Smart said on X. “The @Panthers are getting a great leader and a force in the trenches. GO DAWGS!!”
Mel Kiper Jr. was a fan of the pick, thinking the Panthers got great value for someone who has a ton of upside.
“In pass pro this year he did a great job. Run blocking needs to be improved,” Kiper said on the ESPN telecast. “I actually thought he’d go a little earlier than this.”
Freeling was the fifth offensive tackle taken in the NFL draft. A total of seven came off the board in the first 32 picks.
This was the first time since the 2021 NFL draft that Georgia did not have multiple first-round picks. That draft saw Eric Stokes come off the board to the Green Bay Packers with No. 27.
Photo of the day
Quote of the day
Smart on Freeling:
“His flexibility is off the charts. His muscle mass for his size. He’s got really low body fat. I don’t think he’s reached his full potential. Some of the guys have gotten really good over four and five years. He was here three. He still has tremendous upside. I don’t think we’ve seen the best of Monroe all the way yet. He’s going to be probably a 10, 15-year pro because he’s really durable. He takes care of his body. He’s intelligent. He can play all the positions.”
Police report for Zachariah Branch adds more details for arrest
The full police report regarding the Sunday arrest of former Georgia wide receiver Zachariah Branch has been released by the Athens Clarke County Police Department.
Branch was arrested on two misdemeanors, one charge of obstructing public sidewalks/streets—prowling and one charge of obstruction of a law enforcement official.
According to the arrest report, obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the incident took place outside of Cloud Bar at 12:18 a.m. The arrest report states the bar, which lists its hours on Saturday nights from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., was in the process of closing and that the officers on the scene were attempting to clear the sidewalk in front of the bar.
The bar’s website does note that hours can change based upon season, special holiday or other factors. Athens did have the annual Twilight festival in Athens this past weekend.
After the officer attended to an altercation in front of General Beauregard’s, a bar next door to Cloud, the officer states that Branch continued to stand on the sidewalk without making an attempt to move.
The officer then continued to give Branch instructions to move from the sidewalk and that if he did not, he would receive a citation for blocking the sidewalk.
The report then states that Branch “smirked, then stepped backwards and to the right, then remained standing upon the public sidewalk, so as to obstruct, hinder, and impede free passage upon the sidewalk as well as impede free ingress/egress to or from the adjacent places of business.”
Branch and the suspect responsible for the altercation in front of General Beauregard’s were then both transported to the Athens Clarke County Jail.
Per the Athens Clarke County arrest log, Branch was booked at 1:26 a.m. Sunday and released on $39 bond at 3:44 a.m.
Trivia answer
Three
