This year brings UGA football fans the improved schedule they’ve wanted for years.
Of course, that means a lineup of opponents (same as last season, only with the locations flipped) that should prove quite challenging.
While this year’s home slate starts off with a couple of ho-hum games in Marshall and Austin Peay and has another late-season cupcake in the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, in between the Dawgs’ opposition Between the Hedges will be the toughest in a long time, with Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss all visiting, along with Kentucky.
(Those big games also are pleasing some folks in Athens for other reasons — nightly hotel rates for the weekends of key games have skyrocketed and the cost of private parking has taken a big jump, too.)
The also tricky road schedule includes the Dawgs’ SEC opener at Tennessee, as well as visits to Auburn and Mississippi State, the game against Florida in Jacksonville and what might as well be called a neutral-site game against Tech at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta (let’s face it, that crowd is likely to lean red and black).
So, considering what lies ahead and all the personnel losses that the program saw through the NFL, the transfer portal and graduation, what do you think the main spring practice priorities should be for Kirby Smart and his staff?
Nailing down the starting QB? Finding more than one running back they can count on? Improving the offensive line? Fixing the receiver corps? Filling key holes on defense?
I asked several Dawgs fans for their thoughts on spring priorities this week. The most common concerns: the offensive line, the running backs and the receivers.
Chip Morris said the O-line “needs dramatic improvement in run blocking” as well as “some depth beyond the obvious starters.” He also hopes some of the younger talent on the defensive line will become “difference-makers, which I think we lacked in 2024. Someone like a Jordan Davis or Jalen Carter.”
The receivers, Morris said, “need to develop more consistency in both catching the ball and getting separation from DBs.”
And when it comes to the running backs, Morris said, “either the Robinsons need to get healthy and/or some of the younger talent needs to emerge. I don’t think we can make it through the 2025 schedule relying almost solely on Nate Frazier.” (Unfortunately, both Branson and Roderick Robinson have had to forgo spring practice due to continuing injury problems.)
As for QB, most expect Gunner Stockton to be the starter, though several fans still need to be convinced that he’s an all-around SEC talent. Not among those people, though, is retired Atlanta sportscaster Bill Hartman, who saw Stockton play in high school. “Since I believe that Gunner Stockton is going to be a star,” Hartman said, “I hope Kirby will improve the offensive line. My guess is they’ve got four- and five-star talent there and just need to unleash it!”
My old friend Owen Scott said that “it looks like Stockton will be QB1.” He noted that a healthy Carson Beck (now gone to Miami) was “a significantly more accomplished passer than Gunner. But Stockton is clearly superior in one important quality — leadership. I think Stockton will be more than adequate and [Ryan] Puglisi is a quality backup.”
Owen added that “the wide receivers out of the portal are promising. One freshman I’m high on is Talyn Taylor from Illinois. He’s a high-character guy whose high school film looked great. Tight end looks solid. Dillon Bell should be a better fit as the X (slot) receiver. And Nate Frazier is talented, but he needs to develop better ball security.”
My great-nephew, Gabe Rudd, hopes the Dawgs improve both at defensive back and O-line. He likes the talent at receiver and thinks Stockton has the advantage at QB, since he’s been in the program four years, but Gabe wouldn’t rule out Puglisi making a move for the starting job. “It’s all on who wants it more and what’s best to win a national championship.”
My buddy Scott Peacocke echoed another concern of Gabe’s when he admitted “the cynic in me says that the top priority needs to be Drivers Ed, but that seems to be a lost cause.” (More on that below.)
Scott added that this is “definitely the most wide-open spring since Kirby’s first one back in ‘16. DL, OL, QB, RBs, DBs … lotta starting jobs up for grabs for kids to show if they’re ready. Most obvious example is QB: Sure, Gunner is the starter, but has he improved enough to make a real difference for the offense overall?”
My brother Tim believes “the O-line needs to get mean. Last year, we didn’t have anyone that played to the whistle and just beyond.” And, he added: “The receivers need to work on making the easy catch automatic and the tough catches easy!”
Another longtime friend, Joel Provano, also believes the top priority is improving the offensive line. “They were pretty good in pass protection last season, but the run game was anemic, and I don’t think that’s on the running backs. Frazier should be a star and if the Robinsons can get healthy, they’re both SEC-caliber backs. QB and receivers are other priorities, but it all starts with the OL.”
While UGA uberfan Steve Short thought all the areas mentioned above are “problematic,” he said that “what I missed last year was having dependable receivers. We dropped too many passes! I really don’t think QB with Gunner is an issue.”
Lee Eidson hopes to see defensive improvement, especially at outside linebacker, “where they seem to have less experience available.” He said he’s excited to see freshman defensive lineman Elijah Griffin, who has been drawing favorable comment from teammates.
So is Owen Scott, who said Griffin “looks like a future NFL first-round pick.”
Darrell Huckaby, meanwhile, takes more of a big-picture view. “I’ve never felt that way before, but I believe it’s more about attitude this year,” he said. “I think Kirby needs to find out who is serious about wanting to win —- unselfish players who will put team over me. Weed out the rest and figure out what his priorities should be from the [spring transfer] portal.”
Those all are good points. As for my own view of the top spring priorities for the Dawgs, I agree that the areas mentioned are concerns, but I’d rank the running game on top of the list. The offensive line, which was injury-plagued last year and still has people out this spring, needs to improve dramatically, particularly in the running game. And I agree that the depth behind Frazier at RB is a big key.
I did like it when Smart said this week that working on the rushing attack — both running it and defending it — is one of the points he’s stressing this spring.
“We put a big emphasis on running and stopping the run because we feel like we lacked in both those areas last year,” the coach said. “So, the spring practice has been shifted or adjusted a little bit toward stopping the run and being able to run the ball. I don’t know if we’ve improved on it, but we’ve harped on it.”
As for the guys up front, junior offensive lineman Drew Bobo summed up the situation this week: “We have four starters from last year that we have to replace, and people have to step up, but it’s just an everyday grind to learn how to run the ball better. It’s not going to happen overnight; we have to put in the work to get better over time as spring ball comes, summer watching film and then in fall camp.”
And then there is the receiving corps, which drove us all mad last season as it led the nation in dropped passes. Smart has praised this year’s unit, saying “I like that group right now. I really do. I think that group has a chance to be good.”
But apparently some things his receivers have done in spring practice haven’t been to his liking.
“I want to see more run-through tackles, don’t lay on the ground, don’t hold your hands up if the ball’s not in the right spot. Just, body language drives me nuts,” Smart said this week. “But that’s not all of them, and they’re getting better. Day by day, they’re getting better, and there’s a good depth in that group.”
G-DAY UPDATE
I recently discussed here the trend of dropping spring games and the uncertain outlook for G-Day. For this year, things have firmed up — somewhat.
Smart still is hedging about exactly what form G-Day will take this year — saying that increased injuries might mean that, instead of a traditional game, it could be “some kind of controlled practice, some kind of other format.”
But whatever it is, it’s set for 1 p.m. April 12. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Monday (March 31) for $10 (twice what was charged the two previous years), and the gates will open at 10:30 a.m., with the annual lettermen’s flag football game scheduled for 10:45 a.m.
However, there will be no television or online streaming coverage of the game at all, although it will be broadcast by the Georgia Bulldog Radio Network.
From my quick survey of the internet, it appears that the last time the G-Day game was not televised in any way was 2005, early in the Mark Richt era. At least, I can’t find any reference to TV that year. The following year, 2006, the game wasn’t televised in the traditional sense but was livestreamed online via something called GXtra, which was a premium website the athletic association had at the time.
And all the years since then (until this year) were televised or streamed, either by CSS (College Sports Southeast) or by one of the ESPN channels or SEC Network.
As I mentioned in the earlier Blawg about G-Day, Smart downplayed the idea that UGA opting out of having the game televised had anything to do with fear of other programs watching the telecast with the idea of poaching some of the Dawgs’ players (as is feared at Nebraska, for instance).
Instead, Georgia’s head coach said: “In terms of TV, I think it was more about being controlled on what time, and in terms of we like to have recruits there. … It’s a big event. We have official visits, so we want to control the timing of it more, and we want to be able to play at our pace and not have to worry about the constraints of being inside a window.”
OK, sounds reasonable, but it’s interesting that those concerns weren’t present during the previous G-Days during Smart’s tenure, when he seemed anxious for his program to get plenty of exposure via a national telecast.
A SORRY SAGA CONTINUES
As noted above, another year has brought more arrests of Georgia football players on reckless driving charges.
Sophomore wide receiver Nitro Tuggle and freshman offensive lineman Marques Easley have been suspended indefinitely from all team activities after being arrested recently.
Tuggle faces charges of speeding and reckless driving (police clocked him at 107 miles per hour) while Easley was arrested in Oconee County after losing control while apparently “laying drag,” according to a crash report obtained by the Athens Banner-Herald.
This week, Smart pronounced himself “disappointed” in the players’ decision-making and said his program will “continue to educate and discipline our guys to try to correct it.”
Of course, it’s only fair to point out that reckless driving and other boneheaded behavior is not specific to football players or college athletes of any sport. Plenty of other students at UGA make similarly bad decisions.
Take, for example, the sorority member who recently was arrested after being stopped for speeding, got a ticket, and then immediately took off and continued speeding. That got her taken to jail, where a mug shot was taken — and then went viral on the internet.
The capper: Less than three weeks later, she was arrested again after being observed “loitering and prowling” with some friends in the UGA student center around 3 a.m.
So, yeah, it’s not just University of Georgia football players making bad decisions.
Still, there’s one major difference between the mugshot queen and the football players, who not only wear the school’s colors but also have the opportunity to rake in thousands (if not millions) of dollars in name, image and likeness deals that hinge specifically on them being a member of Smart’s team.
And that brings us back to Georgia’s head coach. The way UGA players continue to risk all their (and the team’s) future by driving around the Athens area like someone trying out for the “Fast & Furious” films speaks to the fact that somehow — despite all the efforts he has outlined for us in the past — Smart’s message about not driving recklessly isn’t getting through.
As I said in the Blawg last July, when Smart had faced questions about his team’s arrest record at SEC Media Days, “The problem has gotten so bad that the shorthand on Georgia football has become: great recruiting, championship-level program but has a seemingly intractable street-racing problem among its players.”
And that problem continues. The latest arrests make it 32 known incidents in which a Georgia football player or a staff member has been charged with speeding, reckless driving or racing, going back to the Jan. 15, 2023, crash that killed UGA football player Devin Willock and support staffer Chandler LeCroy.
As I said last year, I think taking away playing time is the coach’s best shot of having an impact on players. So, a first offense should draw an indefinite suspension (like the ones last week) and those suspensions should include not playing in at least two regular-season games.
Also, it should be made clear to everyone on the team that a repeat offense involving high-speed driving is completely unacceptable and will result in permanent expulsion from the program.
It appears that’s the only way Smart can get his players to take all of this seriously.
He doesn’t agree, though. After Tuesday’s practice, he was asked about issuing ultimatums on driving-related offenses and said this:
“No. I don’t believe in ultimatums when it comes to that. I really don’t think that’s a recipe for the problem. I don’t think that solves anything. We’ll continue to look at each one of these on a case-by-case basis. .... The immediate reaction is, how in the world can this happen again? And I get that. …
“I look at what I would do with my children. When there’s 18- to 19- to 20-year-olds, they make mistakes. And the consequences that come with those are based on a case-by-case basis. That’s really what these two right now are dealing with.”
As a parent, I understand Smart’s stance. However, I’m afraid reckless driving and street racing have become part of his team’s culture, and if he sticks with a more forgiving approach, we’ll still be discussing this problem next year.
UGA ATHLETICS IN YOUR TOWN
My friend Jason Hasty, the UGA athletics history specialist at the Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library in Athens, has another summer “UGA Athletics in Your Town” tour scheduled, in which he’ll be visiting public libraries around the state.
The schedule: Hartwell (May 30, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.), Alpharetta (June 2, 11-4), Newnan (June 25, 10-3), Columbus (June 26, 11-4), Marietta (the Switzer Library in downtown, July 16, 11-4), Tifton (July 23, noon-5), Dublin (July 24, 11-4) and Toccoa (Aug. 1, 11-4).
I asked Jason what fans can expect to see at these library events and he said he’s “still working on what I’ll bring on the tour this summer, but I know that I want to highlight some of the earliest athletics artifacts that we have in the collection. They’re really neat and don’t get brought out all that often, so I want to have a couple of cases with artifacts from before World War II and going back to the earliest years of the 20th century. I might even bring out the Georgia-Auburn chalice from 1894, which is something I don’t bring out very often.”
And coming up later this year, Jason said his fall athletics history exhibit at the Hargrett Library will focus on UGA’s storied swimming and diving program. “It will be called ‘Sustained Excellence: A History of UGA Swim & Dive,’” Jason said. “Jack Bauerle [retired coach of the swimming and diving program] is curating it with me.”
Jason’s exhibits always are worth checking out!
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