Morning, y’all!
One of the things I love most about DawgNation?
How many opportunities there are to connect with our audience.
I know everyone on the DawgNation team genuinely enjoys getting to know our readers, viewers and listeners, and we are so excited for our two DN Invasions this season.
Although I mentioned this in the newsletter a couple weeks ago, I wanted to send it out again because both of these events could fill up and we want to make sure you get your tickets in advance!
Remember, we have two Invasions this year and they are back-to-back. One will be at Cosm Atlanta for the Florida game (taking place at Mercedes-Benz Stadium this season) and the following week we will be at The Lyric Oxford for the game at Ole Miss.
We can’t wait to see you there!
Let’s move on to some football news:
2028 TE target with UGA tie can’t wait for Oklahoma visit
Bennett Conyers will be a priority visitor for the Oklahoma game Saturday.
The 3-star tight end from Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, is rated as the nation’s No. 26 tight end and the No. 536 overall prospect for 2027 on the 247Sports Composite. He has quite a family history in athletics. It starts with Wally Conyers, his father, and extends from there.
“My dad played D-line at Vanderbilt,” Bennett Conyers said. “My mom’s brother, so my uncle, played linebacker at the University of Pennsylvania. My grandfather played running back at Butler University. My cousin played football at Indiana.
“Actually my dad’s dad was the first track and field person put on scholarship at Georgia. He threw the shot put at Georgia and I think he was offered a scholarship for football, too. But I think he just did shot put there.”
His grandfather’s name was Reed Conyers.
Combine that with the fact UGA tight ends coach Todd Hartley has made him feel like a priority for the 2028 cycle. Voila! That makes it a visit to watch this weekend.
“It is just an honor to be recruited and just kind of prioritized by coach Hartley,” Conyers said earlier this month. “I know he’s probably the best tight ends coach out there. In my opinion, he is.
“Just look at that room right now. With four tight ends who could go and probably start at every Power Four program, but they are all there on the same roster. Then having coach Hartley just call me every week. He came up to my game last week. It just makes me feel really, really good about Georgia.”
When asked if he’d rather catch a touchdown or pancake an all-state defender, he had a very UGA-ish answer.
Read Jeff Sentell’s full story here.
Five stars headed to Athens for Oklahoma game
If you missed Wednesday’s episode of “Before the Hedges,” Saturday’s Georgia-Oklahoma matchup at Sanford Stadium is already shaping up to be Georgia’s most important home game for recruits this season.
Hosts Jeff Sentell and Kaylee Mansell take a deep dive into the list of more than two dozen top recruits who will be in Athens to catch the game.
It’s an important recruiting weekend for the 2028 class of juniors, and Jeff will explain why its crucial Georgia makes a statement with three 5-star defensive lineman: Kellan Hall, Asher Ghioto and Prince Che.
Watch the full episode on YouTube here.
How Mayfield became a ‘good friend’ of Smart
Georgia coach Kirby Smart ended former Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield’s legendary college career when Smart’s Bulldogs beat Mayfield’s Sooners in the 2018 Rose Bowl.
Mayfield, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2017, was an easy villain for Georgia fans to root against. He was cocky and brash and great. After Georgia kicker Rodrigo Blankenship missed an early field goal in the 2018 Rose Bowl, cameras caught Mayfield flashing a choke sign at Georgia.
Georgia would get the last laugh, thanks to running back Sony Michel’s walk-off touchdown run in double overtime. After the game, Georgia linebacker Davin Bellamy saw Mayfield on the field and told the Oklahoma quarterback to “humble yourself.”
As Georgia and Oklahoma get set to face each other for the first time since that iconic game, Mayfield has once again become one of the subplots of the game.
Not for anything he has said or done, but because of a surprising detail revealed by Smart. The Georgia coach shared this week that he and Mayfield are now good friends.
“We’ve just crossed paths from time to time,” Smart said on this week’s SEC coaches teleconference. “I have a lot of respect for him as a player and his family and the community work they do down in Tampa.”
Smart’s mother is originally from Plant City, Florida, just outside of Tampa. Smart shared earlier this year that he spent a lot of summers as a child in the Tampa area.
Mayfield was taken with the first overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. He spent his first four seasons in Cleveland, where he played with Georgia running back Nick Chubb. He was also drafted by the Browns in the 2018 NFL Draft.
After bouncing around during the 2022 season, he found a home with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He’s made the Pro Bowl twice while leading the team to multiple playoff games. Mayfield recently signed a three-year, $165 million contract to remain with the franchise.
Smart isn’t the only one who seems to have softened his stance on Mayfield. Bellamy himself revealed how Mayfield earned his respect both during and after the game.
Read Connor Riley’s full story here.
Trivia time
How many touchdowns has Oklahoma’s defense given up so far this year?
Smart makes it clear who is at fault for cancellation of Georgia-Clemson games
Smart’s biggest wins as Georgia’s coach have come against the Clemson Tigers.
The 2024 season opened with a commanding 34-3 win over Dabo Swinney’s team. Both made the College Football Playoff that season.
In 2021, Georgia emerged victorious in a 10-3 defensive slugfest. That season ended with a national championship for the Bulldogs.
As for when Georgia and Clemson will next meet, that is unknown after the schools agreed to cancel four scheduled games. The two schools were scheduled to play in 2029, 2030, 2032 and 2033.
Smart shared his reaction to the cancellation when speaking on the SEC coaches’ teleconference Wednesday.
“Look, I would love to play those games,” Smart said. “I think those games are what the fans want. It’s what the players want. It’s what everybody really wants ultimately at the end of the day is to have an opportunity to do those things. But I can promise you all those same people want to make the playoffs as well.”
Smart gave a longer explanation about how the College Football Playoff committee plays a role in games like Georgia-Clemson no longer getting played.
Read Connor’s full story here.
Georgia availability report reveals first update on Frazier, Canion
There are injury questions surrounding two of Georgia’s top playmakers entering Saturday’s game against Oklahoma.
Running back Nate Frazier and wide receiver Isiah Canion both left Georgia’s win over Arkansas this past weekend. As for the game against Oklahoma, Frazier was listed as questionable on the SEC’s availability report. Canion received a questionable designation as well.
Frazier has run for 202 yards and five touchdowns in Georgia’s first three games.
In his absence, Chauncey Bowens ran for three touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ win against the Razorbacks. Bowens has also been Georgia’s top pass-catching running back this season.
“Interchangeable parts,” Smart said of the Georgia running back room. “I mean, they all play, they all work, they all do the same practice habits. So I love those guys. I like all our backs.”
Georgia could also lean on Dwight Phillips and Bo Walker in the event that Frazier is limited after taking a shot to the ribs against Arkansas.
As for Canion, Georgia leaned on Thomas Blackshear against Arkansas. The second-year wide receiver from Savannah led all Georgia receivers in snaps with 39 against Arkansas. Blackshear was targeted three times but did not come down with a reception.
Plenty of eyes will be on second-year receiver Talyn Taylor. He is the only Georgia receiver with multiple touchdowns this season.
Read Connor’s full story here.
Trivia answer
Two
