In many ways, the 2026 football season begins Tuesday as Georgia starts its spring practices. The moment also coincides with a news conference from coach Kirby Smart, where he often sets the tone for the year to come.
As the Bulldogs officially get back to work, UGA finds itself in an intriguing spot. On the one hand, it looks as talented as almost any team in the country — and it probably feels a bit restless after three seasons of teams that were also loaded with talent, but failed to win a game in the College Football Playoff.
It will be interesting to see how Smart strikes the balance between those two ideas when he faces reporters’ questions.
One theme that could be different from last year is that Georgia is arguably more experienced at key positions. Smart talked repeatedly last offseason about how many first- and second-year players the Bulldogs had on the roster. However, looking ahead to this season, CBS recently tabulated UGA as having the second-most returning starters among Power Four teams with 14.
Of course, there are still plenty of new faces on the scene and the next few weeks will give them their chance to make a name for themselves.
Hope you’ll stay close to DawgNation throughout spring practice for our coverage — including the latest stories below.
Trivia time
How many seasons has Smart coached Georgia football?
Answer is at the bottom of the newsletter.
What we hope to hear from Smart as Georgia football begins spring practice
Smart will lead the Georgia football team onto the practice field for the start of spring practice.
Much has changed for the Georgia program since Smart first took over, though there is still construction going on around the Georgia practice fields.
The Bulldogs will have another talented roster in 2026, buoyed by 14 returning starters from last season’s SEC championship team.
Georgia will once again have deep ambitions for the upcoming season, having made the last two College Football Playoffs. To keep the season going into January, Georgia will need to establish good habits starting on Tuesday.
Smart will want to see a number of things from this new group of Bulldogs. Last year, it was fire, passion and energy.
Tuesday, when Smart speaks to reporters for the first time since Georgia’s loss to Ole Miss in the College Football Playoff, will give the Georgia head coach his first chance to shape the way this team is talked about.
Use the link below to read some of the topics we expect Smart to get into Tuesday as he looks to set the tone for 15 spring practices.
UGA athletics daily schedule
Tuesday, March 17
- Baseball: vs. The Citadel, 3 p.m.
D.J. Shockley honored to give UGA commencement speech
D.J. Shockley was on the hot seat during the second day of Georgia’s preseason football camp in early August 2005.
Following practice and dinner, coach Mark Richt placed a chair in front of the team and called Shockley forward. The floor was his. No interruptions allowed.
Shockley explained why he waited four years for his turn to be the Bulldogs starting quarterback. He could’ve transferred and starred most anywhere else. But he stayed because, he told his teammates, he loved them and wanted to be their leader.
“He already had them before that, but he galvanized the team that night,” Richt said.
Shockley led the University of Georgia to an SEC Championship that season and generated one of the most painful what-ifs in Bulldogs history: What if Shock wasn’t hurt for that Florida game?
In May, Shockley will return to Sanford Stadium to deliver another speech. He will become just the second former Bulldogs football player to give the commencement address at UGA graduation.
“It’s surreal this many years later that Georgia fans still love you and still want to take care of you and give you flowers,” Shockley said.
Photo of the day
Georgia football throwback
Dec. 3, 2005: Georgia football upset No. 3 LSU, 34-14, in the 2005 SEC Championship. Shockley quarterbacked the Bulldogs to the win.
The recruiting need-to-know updates from Under Armour Atlanta
The onus heading into every annual Under Armour Atlanta football camp is to write about the guys who could be Dawgs.
The post-camp interviews every March always yield strong source material on that topic.
How do those elite prospects feel about Georgia right now? Do they sound like Dawgs?
The reality is that’s the dessert. The main event is how those heavily-recruited guys measure up against other top prospects from across the South.
Do they play like Dawgs? The best part of the camp is discovering that. To eyeball a prospect with real juice that has more in the tank than his recruiting rankings let on.
That’s exactly what Success Nwabude did Sunday at the indoor practice facility at Carrollton High. When he walked into the camp, his 6-foot-6-plus frame and 245 pounds immediately stood out.
It was a “whoa” moment.
Trivia answer
Smart is entering his 11th season.
