Category: Lifestyle

Kirby Smart’s five biggest wins as Georgia’s head coach

Ranking Georgia football HC Kirby Smart’s five biggest wins while coaching Georgia.

Since coming on as head coach in 2016, Kirby Smart has flipped the Georgia football script completely.

Things got off to a rocky start, finishing 8-5 in his first year, but Smart managed to rebound, having some of the most successful following three seasons in Georgia history.

Smart is the first head coach to lead the Dawgs to three straight SEC Championship appearances. He won a Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl and also guided Georgia to a national championship for the first time since 1980.

An amazing coaching career Smart has had in Athens that is only just beginning.

Let’s take a look at coach Smart’s five biggest wins in his four years as the Bulldogs’ head coach.

5. GEORGIA VS. #8 AUBURN (2016): BULLDOGS WIN 13-7 AT SANFORD STADIUM

Maurice Smith (2) reacts with Dominick Sanders (24) after he intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown. Georgia defeated Auburn 13-7. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

The Dawgs came into this game with a record of 5-4 and critics all over first year head coach Kirby Smart. In one of the worst years in recent Georgia football history, Smart and the Dawgs came out strong between the hedges for the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.

Freshman quarterback Jacob Eason went 20/31 with 208 yards passing, helping the Bulldogs convert seven third downs, including two on the final drive of the game. Junior running back Nick Chubb put up 98 rushing yards and Rodrigo Blankenship hit what would be a 45-yard game winning field goal.

Smart’s defense was the real difference in the game, holding an Auburn offense that averaged 500 yards of total offense a game to just 32 in the second half, along with zero first downs. The then #8 team in the country had averaged 43 points per game over their last five contests and were held to just 7. A statement game for Kirby Smart that changed the trajectory of his coaching career.

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The story of Mr. Irrelevant, former Georgia LB Tae Crowder

Tae Crowder was selected by the New York Giants with the last overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, but who is this year’s Mr. Irrelevant?

The Southeastern Conference set a record on Thursday night of the 2020 NFL draft, having 15 out of 32 players selected in the first round.

This is three more players out of the conference than the previous record of 12 going in the first round of the 2017 draft.

Former Georgia linebacker Tae Crowder had a slightly different draft experience than those who heard their name in the first round.

The NFL community awards the very last pick of the draft the title of ‘Mr. Irrelevant’.  This is in-part motivation to this player to prove that teams made a mistake in passing on him but also in-part making fun of the fact that they were picked last overall.

First overall or last overall, hearing your name called in the NFL Draft is an accomplishment that very few people can say they’ve achieved.

Former Oklahoma Sooners and Dallas Cowboys head coach Barry Switzer had some encouraging words for Crowder following the pick.

“Tae Crowder you do not need my encouragement as ‘Mr. Irrelevant’!” Switzer said. “You’ll do well! Reggie Kinlaw, Oklahoma defensive lineman, 1979 was 320 in the 12th & last round! He started at nose guard for six years on Oakland Raiders’ great teams! Super Bowl champions 1980, 1983! Good Luck Tae.”

But this isn’t Tae’s first last-minute call he’s received in his career.

Crowder was committed to Georgia Southern in 2015 as a 3-star out of Harris County, Georgia, but got a call from former UGA head coach Mark Richt just two days before national signing day, ultimately flipping his commitment.

Crowder was recruited by Richt as a running back with a nasty stiff arm, filling the hole that Seattle Seahawks running back Chris Carson left when he flipped his commitment from Georgia to Oklahoma State. Crowder was coming onto a team with Sony Michel and Nick Chubb as returning sophomores, contributing to the decision to redshirt his freshman year.

Brian Herrien and Elijah Holyfield then signed with the Dawgs in 2016, leading to Crowder making a positional switch to linebacker.

He battled through the depth chart and earned his spot as starter with some serious linebacker prospects right behind him hungry for minutes. Crowder played in one game in 2016. Fast forward to 2019, he started every game, becoming a pivotal piece to the Dawgs dominant defense.

Down 31-14 in the 2nd quarter of the 2018 Rose Bowl, Crowder caught and fell on a squib kick by Oklahoma, in what is maybe the most overlooked play of Georgia’s magical 2017 season. This gave the Dawgs great field position and set up Rodrigo Blankenship’s 55-yard field goal going into halftime, a record long in the Rose Bowl. That play was a huge momentum swing in the game that helped play a part in Georgia’s double overtime victory.

Crowder stands at 6-foot-3, 235 pounds and was a great pickup by the New York Giants with the last pick in the 2020 draft. He had 29 solo tackles, 4 pass deflections, 1 fumble recovery and 1 touchdown last season.

Now Crowder will join former Georgia teammates DeAndre Baker, Lorenzo Carter and Andrew Thomas for a reunion in the Meadowlands of New Jersey.

Florida head coach Dan Mullen Hopeful 2020 football season will happen

Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen stays hopeful that the 2020 college football season will go on as planned.

Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen isn’t making predictions for the 2020 college football season, but he gave his thoughts on how it could play out.

“If you look four months ago we were in a very different place in this country than where we are right now,” Mullen said in a video conference on Monday.

“To say where we’ll be in four months is hard to do. But I’m certainly hopeful, I’m sure as everybody is out there.”

Mullen tried and stay positive, keeping hope that the season will ensue.

“Hopeful that we find a vaccine and a cure.” said Mullen. “Hopeful that people are working hard to limit the spread of everything going on. Hopeful that people are trying as best they can to follow the regulations and making the most out of each day that’s going on. And hopeful we get back to whatever our new normal is going to be, and that includes having a football season this fall.”

Mullen said that most college coaches will want eight weeks of practice before games start, six could also be manageable.  Anything less than six weeks will be nearly impossible for coaches.

This means issues concerning COVID-19 will need to calm by the first two weeks in July to be on schedule for the 2020 college football season.

Detroit Lions fans, get to know your new RB D’Andre Swift

The Detroit Lions have selected Georgia RB D’Andre Swift with the 35th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Now Lions fans, meet your new RB.

Detroit fans, it’s official.  D’Andre Swift is officially a Lion!

Now, it’s time for you to meet your new running back.

Swift is from Philadelphia, PA where he attended St. Josephs Prep and was ranked as the #4 running back in the 2017 college recruiting class.

He committed to the University of Georgia in September of 2016 in dramatic fashion and still remains the most hype college commitment video of all time.

Watch Swift’s 2016 UGA commitment video here:

Swift didn’t choose the easy option. He had an arsenal of seriously talented running backs ahead of him at UGA, including now super bowl champion Sony Michel, and the highest returning PFF graded NFL running back Nick Chubb.

Swift didn’t back down from this challenge, but instead used these players ahead of him as mentors, learning everything he could while he was the #3 or #4 back.

Swift got 81 carries on his rookie season, helping the Dawgs to a Rose Bowl title and nearly a national championship.  He split carries with Elijah Holyfield in his sophomore season, tallying over 1,000 rushing yards in a breakout year.

Swift now is coming off his junior year at Georgia, putting up the 7th all-time most rushing yards (2,885) in school history in his three years there.

Watch the shiftiest RB in the draft’s highlights here (Video via JustBombsProductions):

Vote: Which former Dawg drafted best basketball team made up of Georgia football players?

We asked four former Bulldogs to draft a basketball team made up of Georgia football players. Vote for your favorite here.

The UGA Wire staff voted and we gave our starting five that we would take if we were drafting a pick-up basketball team composed of Georgia football players.

Next, we reached out to former Georgia players Isaiah Wilson, Mecole Hardman, Tavarres King and Dannell Ellerbe to get their starting five of former or current players.

The players only had one rule: They were asked to draft players who played at Georgia from the time they started their careers to present day.

(Example: Mecole Hardman, who started playing for Georgia in 2016, was able to choose UGA players from 2016-2020.)

(Another example: Dannell Ellerbe, who played for Georgia from 2004-8, was able to choose UGA players from 2004-2020.)

So, the older players certainly had an advantage, but let’s see who had the best squad.

Now, it’s time for you to vote on which of these five squads you would take.

Here are the teams:

Vote for the best team at the bottom.

1. Team UGA Wire (We picked from current players only):

Point Guard: Jamie Newman (6-4, quarterback)

Shooting Guard: Richard LeCounte (5-11, safety)

Small Forward: George Pickens (6-3, wide receiver)

Power Forward: Jermaine Johnson (6-5, outside linebacker)

Center: Darnell Washington (6-7.5, tight end/defensive end)

We went with all current Georgia players for our picks to keep things in the present, even though we gave players to option to pick former Dawgs.

Wake Forest transfer QB Jamie Newman would be a commanding point guard with great court vision, complemented by an athletic and scrappy defender in the backcourt with Richard LeCounte. George Pickens would be the go-to scorer while JJ and D-Wash would hold things down in the paint.

2. Team Zay (Isaiah Wilson)

Able to choose Georgia players between 2017-20:

Point Guard: Jamie Newman (6-4, quarterback)

Shooting Guard: Richard LeCounte (5-11, safety)

Small Forward: George Pickens (6-3, wide receiver)

Power Forward: Bill Norton (6-6, defensive tackle)

Center: Jordan Davis (6-6, defensive tackle)

There were a lot of similarities between Isaiah’s team and ours, both selecting Newman, LeCounte and Pickens. Wilson then went with size in his picks, taking defensive tackles Bill Norton and Jordan Davis (both standing at 6-6) as his front court.

3. Team JET (Mecole Hardman)

Able to choose Georgia players between 2016-20:

Point Guard: Terry Godwin (5-11, wide receiver)

Shooting Guard: Javon Wims (6-2, wide receiver)

Small Forward: Richard LeCounte (5-11, safety)

Power Forward: Lorenzo Carter (6-5, linebacker)

Center: Davin Bellamy (6-5, linebacker)

Mecole’s team would have a lot of skill and finesse with Godwin and Wims in the backcourt while also being very physical with Carter and Bellamy defending the paint.  Mecole’s big men are physical but also are quite athletic and in shape, giving them stretch 4 and 5 capabilities on offense.

4. Team TK (Tavarres King)

Able to choose Georgia players between 2008-20:

Point Guard: Tavarres King (6-2 wide receiver)

Shooting Guard: Brandon Boykin (5-10, cornerback)

Small Forward: A.J. Green (6-4, wide receiver)

Power Forward: Marlon Brown (6-5, wide receiver)

Center: Fred Gibson (6-4, wide receiver)

King went with a four receiver team, adding cornerback Brandon Boykin because he clearly has crazy hops. Believe it or not, Freddy Gibson actually had a short stint in the NBA D League (now the G League) with the Albuquerque Thunderbirds and the Austin Toros.

TK gave a little analysis to go along with his selections:

“Tried to go all WR squad but Boykin my son so he can play on my team. 🤣 I like that squad though! Other Hoopers: Justin Houston, Clint Boling, Rambo.”

5. Team 2 Rings (Dannell)

Point Guard: D.J. Shockley (6-1, quarterback)

Shooting Guard: Tony Taylor (6-0, linebacker)

Small Forward: Antonio Sims (6-1, safety)

Power Forward: Quentin Moses (6-5, defensive end)

Center: Leonard Pope (6-8, tight end)

Ellerbe’s squad is old-school, and may include a few names that are unfamiliar to some of our younger readers. Ellerbe showed some love to two of the greatest to ever do it at Georgia, Quentin Moses and Leonard Pope. Both of these men were monsters in Athens and can play bully ball down low.

Now that you have the teams, it’s your turn to vote.

Vote for your favorite team here. There are no losers, just Dawgs.

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Mecole Hardman and Georgia track star Matthew Boling jokingly agree to 100m race

Former Georgia football WR and current KC Chiefs speedster Mecole Hardman jokingly agreed to a 100m race with UGA track star Matthew Boling.

First, the Twitter battle:

If you’ve been active on Twitter the past two days, you may have scrolled across a debate taking place between some high-profile athletes.

What’s the debate topic, you ask?

Which state has better high school football players, Georgia or Texas? 

You can see a summary of the Twitter war here

This dispute began when Hardman, who attended Elbert County High School in Georgia, replied to Tampa Bay Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans’ (who is from Texas) tweet about Texas football being the best in the country.

From there, things got wild. Dez Bryant got in on it. As did Nick Chubb and Patrick Mahomes.

Eagles cornerback Darius Slay, Seahawks safety Quandre Diggs, Redskins’ Landon Collins and Georgia wide receiver Lawrence Cager all said their piece as well.

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Matthew Boling vs Mecole Hardman:

Regarding a Texas vs Georgia all-star team, Nick Chubb tweeted that he would “run through anybody from Texas.” (Maybe the most trash talking Chubb’s ever done)

Mecole’s response is as follows:

Mecole’s tweet caught the eye of current Georgia track star Matthew Boling, who ran a wind-aided 9.98 second time in the 100-meter dash – an all-time all-conditions record.

Boling may be a Georgia Bulldog, but he hails from Houston, Texas and had to get in on the battle.

Boling responded to Mecole’s tweet with a simple cap emoji. For those who are a little out of touch with the current slang, cap apparently means that someone is lying. So, in simpler terms, Boling said that Mecole was lying about being able to outrun anybody from Texas.

That’s when Mecole, referencing Boling’s 9.98 second time in the 100-meter dash, told Boling that his speed would not translate to the football field.

Boling heard Mecole’s rebuttal and requested a race in the 100 meter dash.

Mecole wasted no time, and within an hour the two had agreed to what would be an epic showdown.

Sadly, it’ll never happen. But how incredible would it be if the two Georgia Bulldogs actually did pull off this race? That would be a quarantine classic.

Better HS football: Georgia or Texas? Mecole Hardman, Nick Chubb debate with Patrick Mahomes, Dez Bryant

Mecole Hardman and Nick Chubb debated with Patrick Mahomes and Dez Bryant over which state has the best HS football, Georgia or Texas.

Former Georgia wide receiver Mecole Hardman got into it with his current teammate on the Kansas City Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes, as well as former NFL receiver Dez Bryant via Twitter on the topic of which state produces the best football players.

Now everyone has their bias, but history tells us the top high school football states are usually California, Georgia, Texas and Florida, in no specific order.  Some would throw Louisiana and Alabama in there as well.

This dispute began when Hardman, who attended Elbert County High School in Georgia, replied to Tampa Bay Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans’ (who is from Texas) tweet about Texas football being the best in the country.

After the rookie dropped this bomb, former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver, and Galveston, Texas native Dez Bryant had something to say.

Bryant had nothing but love for Mecole, but told him he was crazy to say Georgia high school football overlooks Texas.

Hardman then made claims that a Georgia high school all-star team would beat a Texas high school all-star team with ease.

When Seahawks safety, Texas native and former Longhorn Quandre Diggs posed the question as to who would tackle Earl Campbell (born and raised in Tyler, Texas) on this hypothetical Texas all-star high school team, Mecole had the perfect response.

I’ll take your Earl Campbell and I’ll raise you a Herschel Walker.

After Hardman’s confident attitude started gaining attention, his quarterback had to get in on the debate.

Chiefs’ QB Patrick Mahomes attended Texas Tech and was born and raised in Texas. He was not about to allow his rookie receiver to take shots at his beloved state that easily.

The Super Bowl and former league MVP had to get at least a couple of jabs in on the Georgia native.

But wait it did not end there.

Nick Chubb, from Cedartown, Georgia, got in the action.

This thing keeps getting better and better.

Florida actually has the most active NFL players at 180, with California in second with 175, Texas with 137 and Georgia at 97. That being said, Texas has nearly three times the population that Georgia does and California closer to four times Georgia.

Who would you take in this battle of the states?

 

 

Jeb Blazevich gives his Georgia football pick-up basketball starting 5

Former Georgia tight end Jeb Blazevich gives his edition of the Georgia football pick-up basketball starting five.

Former Georgia tight end Jeb Blazevich gave us his edition of the Georgia football pick-up basketball starting five.

We asked Blazevich via Instagram who his five Dawgs would be in a pick-up hoops game and he gave us a slightly tweaked answer.

“I’d for sure have to say Jay Rome and Lorenzo Carter and after that I’d have no clue”

Blazevich didn’t give us a full starting five, but said Jay Rome and Lorenzo Carter are the best hoopers he’s seen during his time in Athens.

Blazevich also had a comment that I’m sure football players love, and basketball players not so much.

“I know talk around the student athletes was that our football players could beat the basketball team (in basketball).”

There have always been talks of Georgia football players being very good basketball players, and that would be a matchup that I think would sellout the Steg in 10 minutes.

Related: Our starting five (Here) — Isaiah Wilson’s starting five (Here) —Mecole Hardman’s starting five (Here) — Dannell Ellerbe’s starting five (Here) — Tavarres King’s starting five (Here)

Watch: Kirby Smart’s son hilariously interrupts ESPN interview

Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart has his ESPN interview with Laura Rutledge hilariously interrupted by his son.

Being a father doesn’t have an offseason, and no one knows that more than Georgia Bulldogs football coach Kirby Smart.

On Thursday, Smart was interrupted mid-interview with ESPN’s Laura Rutledge to be shown a picture of a snake his son took in their driveway.

Watch here:

Smart started getting noticeably distracted in the video interview and finally stopped it and told his son to come over and show everyone what he was showing to him.

It’s good to see Kirby’s family keeping him busy, especially with no spring practice taking place. He’s also staying busy on the recruiting trail. He recently landed two commitments.

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Tavarres King gives his Georgia football pick-up basketball starting 5

Former UGA wide receiver Tavarres King gives his version of the Georgia football pick-up basketball starting five.

Former Georgia wide receiver Tavarres King replied to us via Twitter, giving us his edition of the Georgia football pick-up basketball starting five.

For some background on what we’re doing…

To help get you through quarantine, we thought of a fun and creative way to entertainer our readers.

We started by compiling our own pick-up basketball team made up of current Georgia football players. But why stop there? We then reached out to a few former Bulldogs and asked them to assemble their own teams.

We let them draft players who played at Georgia from the time they started their careers to present day. So for Tavarres King, he was able to choose Georgia players from 2008-2020.

Related: Our starting five (Here) — Isaiah Wilson’s starting five (Here) —Mecole Hardman’s starting five (Here) — Dannell Ellerbe’s starting five (Here)

King had an amazing career at UGA, catching 135 passes for 2,602 yards and 20 touchdowns. He was picked up by a number of NFL teams including the New York Giants, where he had his best year in 2017.

Here’s what TK sent us:

Pick No. 1: PG Tavarres King (6-2 wide receiver)

TK: “Duh. I’m a surgeon with the rock.”

Pick No. 2: SG Brandon Boykin (5-10, cornerback)

TK: “Jumpin’ out the Gym!”

Pick No. 3: SF A.J. Green (6-4, wide receiver)

TK: “AJ is a Real Hooper”

Pick No. 4: PF Marlon Brown (6-5, wide receiver)

TK: “Marlon is a Real Hooper”

Pick No. 4: C Fred Gibson (6-4, wide receiver)

TK: “Freddie G could Hoop as well obviously!”

This team has a blend of size, speed and hops. The first A.J. Green selection we’ve seen yet, and I would pay big money to watch these five take on a different SEC school’s team.

TK: “Tried to go all WR squad but Boykin my son so he can play on my team. 🤣 I like that squad though!  Other Hoopers: Justin Houston, Clint Boling, Rambo.”

King went with a four receiver team, adding cornerback Brandon Boykin because he clearly has crazy hops. Believe it or not, Freddy Gibson actually had a short stint in the NBA D League (now the G League) with the Albuquerque Thunderbirds and the Austin Toros.

How does TK’s lineup match up against ours?

Related: 

Our starting five (Here)

Isaiah Wilson’s starting five (Here)

Mecole Hardman’s starting five (Here)

Dannell Ellerbe’s starting five (Here)