Morning, y’all!
We heard from Georgia coach Kirby Smart, Ellis Robinson IV and Sacovie White-Helton on Wednesday.
We’ll unpack plenty from Wednesday’s interviews, but to start out, Smart made a few interesting remarks regarding the possibility of some late additions to the Georgia roster.
He addressed the report that the Bulldogs may look to add wide receiver Cole Speer, after Speer gained an extra year of eligibility when a Colorado judge temporarily granted all 2022 signees a fifth year of eligibility.
Real quick, before we get into our more newsy topics, here are a few of the sleeper picks y’all have sent my way. Thank you to everyone who chimed in — I love hearing our DawgNation team’s thoughts on every Feature Friday question, but I also love that our audience gets to share their takes, too.
Mark Morris: “I’m going with Jae Lamar as my sleeper pick. If/when he gets on the field, he’ll let all Dawg fans know what he’s about!”
Steve Schroeder: “I think DT Valdin Sone. He has been turning heads with strong performances in fall camp. He has positioned himself to earn rotational snaps on the defensive line, because of his physical tools and because of his pedigree as a highly rated recruit.”
Chandra Southall: “My sleeper pick is the immensely talented Tre Shields. His film is wild and his one year of football is even crazier!!! After he gets to my UGA, and Bobo and Smart get him learning more … he will be a (No. 1) draft pick one day!! For now … I’m awaiting his first appearance and winning the National Title this year!!!”
Georgia speaking to ‘a lot of guys’ about joining 2026 roster
Smart made an interesting remark when it comes to making any late additions to the Georgia roster.
While Smart did say Speer has not yet officially rejoined the team, he also shared that the Bulldogs are speaking with other players about possibly playing for Georgia this season.
Rusty Mansell of UGAsports.com reported Speer had rejoined the team and was practicing on Monday.
Speer, along with other 2022 signees, was granted a fifth year following a temporary injunction granted by Colorado Judge Charlotte Sweeney.
The NCAA plans to appeal that decision, which has thrown those players’ status in limbo.
“I wouldn’t make any assumptions right now with the NCAA and the rulings and the things going on,” Smart said of Speer. “So he is not officially back with the team. We’ve had conversations with he and a lot of guys, but nothing’s official yet.”
Speer was largely a special teams standout. He blocked a punt in last year’s SEC championship game.
Speer is from Calhoun. In his four seasons in Athens, Speer caught five passes for 56 yards.
Smart previously kept open the possibility of adding a player to the roster, which has a limit of 105 players.
“We’re always at or around the 105 limit,” Smart said. “That technically could be changing all the time. It’s not like a defined target in time that we’re at this or this. We’re always open to bringing on a new player if we have room. And if we don’t have room, then we can’t do that, and we’re stuck at it.”
There are some potential hurdles regarding players returning to schools. Those who signed NFL deals would not be eligible to play. College football players also aren’t able to enter the transfer portal, meaning most would have to go back to their former teams, provided there is room.
Former Georgia defensive back JaCorey Thomas has previously indicated he would be open to returning to school as well.
Georgia’s wide receiver room has received plenty of criticism this offseason, as the Bulldogs have to replace five of their top six pass catchers from a season ago.
Speer did not have any receptions last season for Georgia. But there’s a belief he can still help a young wide receiver room.
“His experience of being here for three or four years and adding another year if he decides to come back,” wide receiver White-Helton said. “And he helps the young guys. It’s not just me, London (Humphreys), and Isiah (Canion) in the room with play experience. But he’s been here for four or five years. He definitely could help with the experience and being able to calm people down, and the composure, by the way.”
Georgia opens the season on Sept. 5 when it takes on Tennessee State. The Bulldogs will hold a scrimmage this coming Saturday, which will give the wide receivers another chance to show what they can do.
Read Connor Riley’s full story here.
Trivia time
How many games did Smart need to reach the 100-win milestone as a coach?
Prothro turning heads, ‘going to be an issue’ for defenses
There’s an old saying that “the players always know” when it comes down to having a handle on what’s really going down in the locker room and on the playing field.
So it was that eyebrows shot up when White-Helton confirmed the rumblings of freshman Kaiden Prothro’s impressive progress in the offense.
“He’s shaping into a player that’s going to be an issue for people,” White-Helton said during his news interview on Wednesday.
Prothro arrived at UGA for the spring semester with the hype that typically accompanies a player ranked in the nation’s top-40 (per 247Sports composite), and his G-Day performance did little to quell the enthusiasm.
The 6-foot-6, 230-pound Prothro led both G-Day teams with 46 yards receiving, making five catches, one of which went for a 6-yard touchdown.
“He’s like a hybrid; he can play tight end and at (receiver),” White-Helton said. “Just watching a young guy be able to take all this information and go back and forth — come from the tight ends room and then meet with us (receivers) one day, and then go back there.”
It would seem like a lot to take in, but as tight ends coach Todd Hartley explained last week, Georgia wants to get the best out of Prothro right now even as he develops into more of a tight end.
“It doesn’t mean he’s not a tight end right now, but his skill set is that he can run routes and he can catch passes and he has a good catch radius,” Hartley said. “But for his long-term development he’s probably drafted as an NFL tight end.
“So it’s our job to get him ready to do that, but in the short term, we also want to showcase what he does well, and maybe that is in the slot, or maybe that is a little bit at tight end.”
Read Mike Griffith’s full story here.
Soccer in Sanford
A little nonfootball item to wrap things up.
The Georgia soccer team will host James Madison at 7 p.m. Thursday at Sanford Stadium. The match commemorates the 30th anniversary of the U.S. women’s national team’s gold medal win vs. China during the 1996 Summer Olympics, and the goal is to break the NCAA soccer attendance records of 14,410 (women’s) and 22,512 (men’s).
Smart and the football team will be there to support the Bulldogs.
“I hope everybody’s aware that we’re getting ready to break an NCAA record, and we can’t do that without everybody’s support,” Smart said Wednesday. “I know our entire team will be there in attendance, as well as all the student-athletes at the University of Georgia over at the West End Zone. They’ll be there to support the women’s soccer program and hopefully watch a tremendous match against (James Madison).
“But I’m excited for that opportunity and think it’s awesome that (soccer coach) Keidane (McAlpine) and his staff have decided to challenge DawgNation and our fanbase to do something that hasn’t been done and break a record that hopefully we can do (Thursday) night.”
Trivia answer
117. He became the fifth-fastest coach to reach the 100-win mark in Football Bowl Subdivision history in 2024.
