Category: Georgia Bulldogs

Georgia freshman quarterback limited by injury through spring practice

Freshman quarterback Ryan Puglisi has been hampered by a knee injury through practice

Kirby Smart spoke to the media on Tuesday and gave an update on the health status of one quarterback vying for the backup job. Freshman quarterback Ryan Puglisi has been hampered by a non-serious knee injury through practice, somewhat limiting his ability to fully participate thus far.

Smart clarified Puglisi’s status, saying “Ryan is dealing with a little bit of a knee injury. It’s not a significant injury. He’s had it before, since high school. It has been bothering him. He’s been able to throw. He hasn’t been able to go out and be mobile and run.”

It is good news for the Bulldogs that Puglisi has been able to throw thus far, though Smart did confirm he has “had to miss out on some reps.”

Puglisi was recruited as a four-star quarterback from Avon, Connecticut. He has been praised not only for his talent but also for his competitive nature, showcased during the recruitment process in his decision to stay with Georgia through the entire process despite Dylan Raiola’s initial commitment to play for the Bulldogs.

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Puglisi is competing with Gunner Stockton to be Georgia’s backup quarterback behind starter Carson Beck.

Georgia softball remains top-3 in NCAA power rankings

Georgia softball continues to be ranked as the SEC’s top team in the latest softball power rankings

The Georgia Bulldogs softball team remains the country’s No. 3 team in the latest edition of the NCAA’s softball power rankings.

Georgia is now 29-6 on the season with wins over eight different ranked opponents. The Dawgs are ranked behind only Oklahoma and Duke in the power rankings. Georgia is 6-3 in SEC action.

Michella Chester explained why she ranks Georgia as the No. 3 softball team in her top-10 power rankings.

The Bulldogs split with Arkansas and will play the rubber match tonight. They lost by one run on Saturday before responding with an 8-2 win on Sunday where Jayda Kearney had 4 hits in the win.

Chester’s rankings did not factor in Georgia’s 8-2 loss to Arkansas on April 1.

Georgia softball’s next game is at home against Mercer at 6:00 p.m. ET on April 3. After that, Georgia play at Tennessee, who is the No. 4 team in Chester’s power rankings, in a three-game SEC series from Friday to Sunday.

Kirby Smart comments on quarterback Gunner Stockton’s progression

Kirby Smart gave his thoughts on the progression of presumed backup quarterback Gunner Stockton

Saturday was the first of three scrimmages for the Georgia Bulldogs in the spring, and Kirby Smart gave his thoughts and reactions to the media on Tuesday afternoon. Amongst the topics covered was the progression of presumed backup quarterback Gunner Stockton, who Smart praised for his performance thus far.

“Gunner has done a good job. I’ve seen growth in Gunner. I thought he had a couple of mistakes in the scrimmage, but he also played with much more consistency. I’ve seen this progression with Gunner like that, He’s getting better each and every practice,” said Smart. He also commended Stockton’s football IQ and said that the bowl practices “were great for him.”

Stockton passed for 148 yards and two touchdowns as the third-string QB for the Dawgs a season ago. A former four-star quarterback in the class of 2023, Stockton is among those contending for the role of heir apparent to Carson Beck after this season. Fans will be able to get a longer glimpse of Stockton during Georgia’s spring game on April 13, where he will presumably start for the second string offensive team.

Georgia routed by Seton Hall, ending NIT run

The Georgia Bulldogs run to the NIT semifinals ended Tuesday night with a defeat to the Seton Hall Pirates.

The Georgia Bulldogs run to the National Invitational Tournament semifinals ended Tuesday night in Indianapolis in an 84-67 loss to the Seton Hall Pirates. This loss ends head coach Mike White’s second season with a final record of 20-17, a slight improvement on last season’s 16-16 finish.

The Pirates got off to a hot start, while the Bulldogs struggled to find any rhythm offensively, leading to a halftime score of 42-25 in favor of Seton Hall. The two teams would score an even 42 in the second half, but Georgia never cut the lead to fewer than 11 points.

Silas Demary Jr. was the Bulldogs leading scorer, with 19 points in addition to four assists and three rebounds. The Dawgs as a team shot only 38.5% from the field and 19.2% from three, while the Pirates managed to shoot 47.1% and 40% respectively and also outrebounded the Dawgs 45 to 32.

Seton Hall will advance to the NIT final against the Indiana State Sycamores, while Georgia will begin to prepare for the 2024-2025 season.

Class of 2025 edge rusher names Georgia to his top nine

Georgia has made the top nine for an athletic edge rusher that racked up 14.5 sacks a season ago.

The No. 3 recruit in Kentucky has officially named Georgia among his top nine schools in his recruitment. Edge rusher Javeon Campbell named the Dawgs alongside Florida, Alabama, Auburn, Miami, Ohio State, Notre Dame, LSU and Kentucky among his top schools.

Campbell is a 6-foot-5, 260 pound defensive lineman from Western Hills High School in Franklin, Kentucky. He has a background playing basketball prior to the 2023 season, which was his first playing high school football. He adjusted quickly, racking up 14 1/2 sacks in his debut. He is a versatile athlete, and he is expected to be able to line up either on the edge or inside along the defensive line.

Campbell is a three-star prospect. The talented edge rusher is No. 430 overall in the class of 2025, per 247Sports.

Georgia offered Campbell on March 16, and he has planned an official visit to Athens for June 21, 2024. According to On3, the Dawgs are among the three favorites to land him: Ohio State and Kentucky are the others. Those are three of the four schools he has scheduled visits to. Alabama is the fourth.

Pair of Georgia corners named as next men up to replace draft stars

On3’s Jesse Simonton compiled a list of potential next men up to replace outgoing stars, including two UGA cornerbacks

As the NFL draft approaches, spring position battles are underway across the country as teams attempt to replace departed talent. On3’s Jesse Simonton compiled a list of potential next men up to replace outgoing NFL draft stars. His list includes UGA cornerbacks Daniel Harris and Julian Humphrey.

In describing the position battle, Simonton writes, “Humphrey is considered the better pure-cover corner, but Harris is 6-2, 180-pounds who flashed elite athleticism and raw ability in the Bulldogs’ Orange Bowl blowout win over Florida State.”

Harris and Humphrey are competing to replace Kamari Lassiter, projected by many to go within the first two rounds of the draft. Lassiter recorded 37 tackles and eight passes defended as a lockdown corner for the Dawgs a year ago while playing opposite returning starter Daylen Everette.

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Humphrey battled through injury while playing in seven games a season ago and considered entering the transfer portal before being persuaded to return to Athens. Harris made his debut for the Dawgs in a strong performance in the Orange Bowl last season.

Former UGA quarterback named as player running out of chances

A former Georgia quarterback named as college football player that is running out of chances.

In a 2024 college football season preview, Bleacher Report named a list of a dozen former top recruits who are running out of chances. The final player on the list was former Bulldog quarterback Brock Vandagriff, who found his new home with the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington, Kentucky.

Vandagriff was a highly touted recruit in the class of 2021. He was ranked fourth among quarterbacks in a class that included former Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams and Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers. Vandagriff entered 2023 competing for the starting job, but he was unable to beat out Carson Beck. He threw 21 passes over the course of his time with the Bulldogs, completing 12 for 165 yards and two touchdowns.

He enters a Kentucky football team that is no stranger to transfer quarterbacks, as their prior two starting quarterbacks in Will Levis and Devin Leary have both come out of the portal. Vandagriff will bring his dual threat skill set to the Kentucky offense and new coordinator Bush Hamdan. He will face his former team on Sept. 14 at Kroger Field.

Vandagriff should start for Kentucky, but if the season goes badly for the Wildcats, then they don’t have many other options at quarterback.

Georgia adds ACC kicker out of transfer portal

The Georgia Bulldogs addressed a major need on special teams on Saturday through the transfer portal with the addition of a veteran ACC kicker

The Georgia Bulldogs addressed a major need on special teams on Saturday through the transfer portal. Duke kickoff specialist Charlie Ham has joined the roster to presumably fill the same role for the Dawgs in 2024.

Ham will fill the role vacated earlier in the offseason by Jared Zirkel, who transferred to Texas A&M after losing the placekicking competition a season ago to Peyton Woodring. Ham will reunite with his former special teams coach at Duke, Kirk Benedict, who is now serving in the same role at Georgia.

Ham kicked 97 touchbacks on 191 kickoffs over the course of his four years at Duke, while also converting 36 of 50 field goals during his first three years in which he also served as the Blue Devils’ primary placekicker. Ham will also provide depth at kicker for Georgia.

Ham originally played high school football in Atlanta, Georgia, at the Westminster Schools. The 2024 college football season will be Ham’s final year of eligibility.

Malaki Starks given high marks in preseason defensive back rankings

Malaki Starks is limited for spring practice, but should have a big fall

Coming off of consensus All-American recognition in 2023, expectations could not be higher for Georgia safety Malaki Starks headed into 2024. As Starks prepares for his third and potentially final season in the red and black, multiple outlets have ranked him near or at the top of their defensive back rankings looking ahead to the 2024 season.

In ESPN’s ranking of the top returning defensive backs for the upcoming season, Starks was ranked first, trailed by Colorado’s Travis Hunter. He tied for the highest number of points based on the voting from the participating ESPN reporters, and received the top spot based on having more first place votes than Hunter.

Pro Football Focus also released their list of top graded safeties based on last season, with Starks being ranked second to Ohio State safety Caleb Downs. PFF described Starks as “an elite athlete who’s a standout run defender and tackler for the position while also consistently making plays in coverage.”

Starks is limited this spring after undergoing shoulder surgery.

Georgia freshman standing out so far through spring practice

Joseph Jonah-Ajonye has caught the attention of numerous observers thus far through spring for his size, versatility, and the reps he is getting early on.

Early signs have pointed to one newcomer on the defensive side of the ball having a chance to be a major producer for Georgia this season.

Joseph Jonah-Ajonye has caught the attention of numerous observers thus far because of his size, versatility and number of reps he is getting.

The former five-star has joined incumbent edge rusher Mykel Williams  rotating between outside linebacker and defensive end drills during practices, reflecting the versatility in his game. He is listed at 6 feet, 4 inches and 275 pounds, and he has been lauded by many for his build, including DawgNation’s Connor Riley who compared it to “that of a moose.”

Jonah-Ajonye has been able to get added experience during practice as a result of both the absence of Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins and the lack of experience at the outside linebacker position for the Dawgs. Kirby Smart recently commented on Jonah-Ajonye, saying, “He’s getting 40-50 reps per day, which is huge for his development.”

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A native Nigerian, Jonah-Ajonye has given himself the moniker “the Nigerian Nightmare” as a nod to legendary NFL fullback Christian Okoye. In his original commitment announcement, he said, “If you are a football player that loves to win, be surrounded by amazing people, and get developed at a high level, Georgia is a no-brainer.”