There are a couple of things today I don’t think you should miss.
First of all, DawgNation was on hand at the Steve Spurrier awards in Gainesville, Florida, on Monday night. Ellis Robinson was being honored as the top freshman of the year, and Kirby Smart was on hand to celebrate him. Miami coach Mario Cristobal was there too, and the two coaches had some humorous back-and-forth exchanges. The videos of their remarks can be found on DawgNation’s YouTube page.
I also enjoyed my conversation from Monday with Jon Stinchcomb on “DawgNation Daily” about UGA offensive line coach Phil Rauscher’s apparent decision to stay with the Bulldogs in 2026 and reject an overture from the Las Vegas Raiders. 2026 stands to be a pivotal year for the Bulldogs’ offensive line and maintaining continuity with Rauscher could prove to be a big deal. Stinchcomb gave his thoughts on how the offensive line could benefit from his instruction.
Check out the rest of our coverage below.
Trivia time
Where did the Seiler family, who was responsible for raising the first line of Uga mascots, grow up?
Answer is at the bottom of the newsletter.
Smart trolls Cristobal
Smart and Cristobal certainly delivered in front of former Florida coach Spurrier at the Steve Spurrier awards in Gainesville on Monday night.
Smart was at the awards along with Georgia cornerback Robinson, who was being honored for being named the FWAA’s Defensive Freshman of the Year.
The Georgia coach first joked that all the name, image and likeness money Georgia paid Robinson helped pay for the 50th birthday celebrations of Robinson’s parents.
Then Smart took a jab at the Miami head coach.
“Mario’s right behind him (Robinson) and if it had been up to him, he would have paid a lot more NIL money because it came down to us, too,” Smart said. “So I don’t like you being real close to Mario right now.”
Smart then relayed a story about how Cristobal made a crack about Smart’s physique, something Lane Kiffin did earlier in the season as well.
Smart then brought up the lack of conference championships Cristobal had won at Miami.
“He’s like, you ought to start getting on some protein shakes. You’ve had too many carbs,” Smart said. “And I said, well you probably ought to spend some time with Steve Spurrier because he won more conference championships at Duke than you have in Miami.”
At the conclusion of Smart’s remarks, he joked that he had to leave the event so he wouldn’t have to hear Cristobal’s response.
“Hey, Mario, no fat jokes,” Smart said in his closing remarks.
Cristobal did not have any fat jokes in his response, though he did make fun of Smart’s height. The Miami coach did have his own fair share of jokes at Smart’s expense.
UGA athletics daily recap
Monday, Feb. 23
- Men’s tennis over Florida, 4-1
- Women’s basketball over Auburn, 74-52
How Georgia football replaces each of its 10 2026 NFL combine participants
Georgia will be one of the better-represented teams at this week’s NFL combine, as 10 former players will be participating in drills in an effort to impress NFL teams.
Even with all that talent headed to the next level, the Bulldogs enter the 2026 season as one of the top teams in the country. With how Smart recruits on an annual basis, Georgia almost always has the next player ready to step up.
It’s worth remembering that the year after Georgia had a draft-record 15 players taken in the 2022 NFL draft, the Bulldogs once again won a national championship.
With Zachariah Branch, Christen Miller and Daylen Everette all focused on improving their draft stock this week, use the link below to read a list of who will replace each NFL combine participant for the Bulldogs next season.
Photo of the day
Georgia football throwback
Sept. 3, 2016: Georgia beat North Carolina, 33-24, in Mercedes-Benz Stadium to begin its 2016 season. The game kicked off the Smart era.
Georgia reveals new salary details for outside linebacker hire Larry Knight
Georgia will have a new outside linebackers coach in Larry Knight. He replaces Chidera Uzo-Diribe, who left to take a job with the Dallas Cowboys.
Knight will make $400,000 as Georgia’s outside linebackers coach, according to records obtained by DawgNation through a Freedom of Information Act request. The length of Knight’s contract was not specified.
Knight, who was hired by West Virginia in January, spent last season at Arkansas State, working as the defensive ends coach and run game coordinator. Arkansas State finished with 39 sacks last season, up from the 19 sacks the Red Wolves had in 2024. Arkansas State finished tied for ninth nationally in sacks last season.
“We are excited to add a coach and a man of Coach Knight’s caliber to the staff,” Smart said in a statement. “He has produced on the field at all of his coaching stops and has also proven his worth as one of the best recruiters around. Coach Knight was a conference champion on the field when he played for Central Michigan and I know he is ready to get to work in his home state.”
Uzo-Diribe made $700,000 last season as Georgia’s outside linebackers coach.
Trivia answer
Savannah
