Buried underneath this weekend’s recruiting and baseball news was a report you shouldn’t miss.
Ross Dellenger from Yahoo Sports said Georgia has become a critic of the version of playoff expansion that would yield automatic bids and require play-in games within the SEC to determine playoff spots.
Opinions vary about what the CFP format should be, but I’m personally proud that UGA is taking the lead on this.
It seems the prevailing wisdom is that the SEC shouldn’t have to settle for “just” four playoff spots. It should have the chance to earn more. In some years, that might not work out in the league’s favor, but more often than not, it could earn five, six or maybe even more.
Who knows what the future CFP format will look like, but it’s nice to see Georgia making its voice heard.
For the rest of the news, check out our coverage below.
Trivia time
What was the last Georgia recruiting class that did not have a player from California?
Happy guessing! Answer at the bottom of the newsletter.
Georgia lands its first commitment for the 2027 recruiting cycle
Georgia missed out on a top prospect from Mater Dei over the weekend when 5-star tight end Mark Bowman committed to USC.
On Monday though, the Bulldogs nabbed a player from the California power. Gavin Honore announced his commitment to the Bulldogs on Monday evening.
Honore is Georgia’s first commitment for the 2027 recruiting cycle, as the Bulldogs beat out Texas, Tennessee and Arkansas to land the 5-foot-10, 175-pound wide receiver. Honore was in Athens this past weekend, visiting the program with his family.
We’re still a long way from Honore suiting up for the Bulldogs, as he just finished his sophomore season. Still, the idea that Georgia resonates so strongly with a prospect on the other side of the country speaks to how powerful the Georgia brand is at the moment.
This is not the first time the Bulldogs have landed a talented wide receiver from California early on in the process Vance Spafford committed to Georgia in November 2024. He is currently the No. 85 overall player in the class and still committed to Georgia.
For more on the addition of Honore and the early outlook on Georgia’s 2027 recruiting class, check out Jeff Sentell’s story below.
Kaiden Prothro might be Georgia’s most important recruit
For all the chatter about Bowman in recent days, it’s worth remembering that Georgia has a 5-star tight end of its own at home.
Prothro is the No. 30 overall prospect in the country for the 2026 recruiting cycle. He has long been one of Georgia’s top targets.
That is even more true following the Bowman commitment.
Prothro was in Athens this past weekend, taking his official visit to the program. He has been to Athens many times at this point and Todd Hartley has Georgia at the front of his recruitment.
Sentell caught up with Prothro following the visit. The No. 3 tight end prospect in the country did share his thoughts on how the Bowman commitment impacts his own recruitment.
“I mean, I figured it was going to be between Texas and Georgia for him,” Prothro said. “But I didn’t think USC was in it. But now since he’s committed there, I’m there and I’m their top guy (at UGA) and they want me and they are recruiting me hard.”
Georgia already has a commitment from 5-star quarterback Jared Curtis. You could argue that 5-star linebacker Tyler Atkinson is worth mentioning as well given his status in the 2026 recruiting cycle.
But having missed out on Bowman and Jackson Cantwell to this point in the cycle, Georgia could really use a boost that comes with landing a 5-star prospect.
Even prior to the Bowman decision, Prothro was already a must-land recruit. But that is even more true as the 2026 recruiting cycle continues to take shape for Georgia.
For more on Prothro and his recruitment, check out Sentell’s article below.
An interesting schedule note for Georgia football in 2025
Given that it is the middle of the offseason, we’ve got the opportunity to dive deeper into some aspects of the 2025 Georgia team. This week, DawgNation’s Connor Riley is taking a look at Georgia’s schedule.
One of the nuggets found when examining both Georgia and the SEC slate is the number of foes who have an extra week to prepare for Georgia.
Four of Georgia’s eight SEC opponents will have the week off prior to playing Georgia in 2025. Alabama, Auburn, Florida and Texas will all get a week of rest to prepare for the reigning SEC champions.
Georgia gets an off week before the contests against Alabama and Florida. Still, Auburn gets to host Georgia coming off a bye week. Given that Georgia beat Texas twice last season, it seems the SEC is giving Texas all the help it can get to try and take down Georgia.
Georgia is tied with Alabama and LSU with four games where their opponent had the week off previously. Oklahoma, conversely, has zero such games.
Not to go full conspiracy theory here but it’s interesting to note that the 2025 schedules were announced on Dec. 11. On Dec. 7, Kirby Smart made some very public thoughts on the 2024 schedule that Georgia had to play.
While the road schedule is not as difficult as it was last season for Georgia, the Bulldogs will be at a rest disadvantage on two occasions next fall. It appears Georgia once again will have a very tricky schedule in 2025, not just because of the opponents.
For more on Georgia’s September schedule, check out Riley’s article on the slate below.
Photo of the Day
Quote of the Day
Clarence Prothro, father of Kaiden, on Kirby Smart:
“I just like the authenticity of what he told him. He was just telling Kaiden ‘If you come here, then he’s going to get on his ass.’ He said you may not like it, but it is for his own good to make him a better player, a better human, and that’s just being tough, and that’s how the program is. That’s what I like, and I think Kaiden likes that as well.”
Georgia great David Andrews calls it a career
David Andrews has played his last down of football, with the former Georgia center holding his retirement news conference on Monday.
Andrews was a key piece on some great Georgia teams in the early 2010s. He replaced Ben Jones as the team’s starting center as a sophomore and would go on to start 40 games in his Georgia career.
Andrews earned Second Team All-SEC honors as a senior on the 2014 team but he would end up going undrafted in the 2015 NFL draft. But Andrews found a home with the New England Patriots. Like at Georgia, he eventually became the team’s starting center.
Andrews won two Super Bowls with the Patriots and was named a member of the team’s All-Decade team for the 2010s. To understand the kind of impact he had in New England, Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman all filmed videos and thanked Andrews for what he meant to New England.
Injuries derailed the end of Andrews’ career but that an undrafted free agent went on to enjoy a successful 10-year NFL career speaks volumes about what kind of player and person Andrews is.
Few players can say that they have accomplished as much in the game of football as Andrews has. As he moves on into the next phase of his life, Georgia and New England fans can and should appreciate what Andrews did for the game of football.
Trivia answer
2019
