Tag: Kirby Smart

Four-star offensive tackle Donovan Jackson announces commitment date

Donovan Jackson, a 2021 four-star offensive tackle set his commitment date. He plays at Trinity High School and is from Bellaire, Texas.

Donovan Jackson, a 2021 four-star offensive tackle set his commitment date today. trinity high school football, bellaire texas football The four-star has an excellent frame. The Georgia Bulldogs made Jackson’s original top twelve:

Jackson won a state championship in his junior season. The four-star will be making his commitment January 8th. He most recently visited the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Ohio State is favored to land the state of Texas offensive tackle. Texas A&M is considered a contender as well over Georgia, Alabama, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Stanford, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas.

Georgia recruiting recently lost a 2021 commitment. Kirby Smart and the coaches are focusing on the SEC Championship for now, but will have lots of recruiting to catch up on. The UGA class of 2020 can take another ten commitments.

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Ed Orgeron previews Georgia football and SEC Championship Game

LSU head coach Ed Orgeron previews Georgia football, 2019 SEC Championship Game Saturday December 7th at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

In a press conference with LSU head coach Ed Orgeron, Orgeron talked Kirby Smart, Jake Fromm, Dawgs defense and more, previewing Saturday’s matchup for the SEC Championship.

Orgeron and the #2 ranked Tigers are 12-0 on the season (8-0 SEC) and come into the game favored by 7.5 points.

“They’re going to play their best, man,” said coach Orgeron. “This is their third time here in a row. They’re going to be hungry. They’re well-coached. We beat them last year, so they have a little chip on their shoulder. Know what I’m saying?”

The Dawgs lost a tough one last year in Death Valley by a score of 36-16.  On the similarities of the matchup, coach O acknowledged that a lot can change in a year.

“Whole different time, whole different circumstance.”

Coach Orgeron knows more about the Dawgs players than you’d think.  Although they don’t usually meet in the regular season, many of his opponents’ toughest matchup of the year is Georgia, having Coach O watching plenty of Dawgs film.

“Again on defense, by far the best defense we’ve seen. 10 points per game. They basically are a 4-3, some 3-4. Only giving up 257 a game. Tyler Clark and their defensive line, I watch them all the time, because I watch opponents’ offensive line.”

Coach O is also very familiar with Georgia’s Kirby Smart.

“A lot of respect for Kirby and the job he’s done… Go against him recruiting, know the players he’s recruiting. Know the type of coaches he has on his staff. Well-coached football team, very athletic.”

A question came up wondering if Orgeron believed his team would still be in the playoff even with a loss to Georgia.  Coach O was having absolutely none of that.

“Not even thinking about it,” Orgeron said. “Uh-huh. I’m not buying into that at all. We got to win. I don’t know if we got to win to get in the playoffs or not. I’m not even talking about that. Our goal is to beat Georgia and win the SEC, then let’s see what happens.

Two well coached teams collide on the gridiron in Atlanta for the SEC Championship this Saturday, December 7th at 4:00 p.m. EST.

Georgia football injury report ahead of SECCG vs LSU

Georgia Football full injury report ahead of the SEC Championship Game this Saturday December 7th @ 4:00 p.m. on CBS.

Last Saturday’s game at Georgia Tech was the largest margin of victory Georgia has ever beat the Yellow Jackets by, but it didn’t come without a price.

As if losing WR Lawrence Cager for the rest of the season to an ankle injury wasn’t bad enough, the Dawgs star RB and engine to their offensive game D’Andre Swift got placed on the injury report for the first time all season. On top of that WR George Pickens got himself suspended for the first half of the SEC Championship Game by the SEC for throwing punches.

All of this sounds like bad news for Dawgs fans, but Kirby Smart has faced a little bit of adversity in his time in Athens.  Kirby has lost his offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, top 5 receivers, a 1,000 yard rusher, a Jim Thorpe Award winner and has nearly 70% freshmen and sophomores on his team this year (youngest in all of SEC).

All of this and he still has the Bulldogs playing for a College Football Playoff for the third year in a row.  Pretty incredible if you ask me.

Here’s Georgia’s full injury report ahead of the 2019 SEC Championship Game against LSU.

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Kirby Smarts praises staff, players for stifling UGA defense

Kirby Smart credits his staff and players for UGA football’s incredible defense.

It’s no secret that the Georgia Bulldogs have one of the, if not the best defense in all of the college football landscape.

After holding the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets to just seven points in the final regular season game, head coach Kirby Smart was quick to deflect praise from himself to the rest of the team when discussing the team’s dominant defense.

“I give tremendous credit to the coaches on our staff, I don’t take credit for that myself just because I’m a defensive guy,” Smart said.

“I think our coaching staff, [Dan] Lanning, [Glenn] Schumann, Charlton [Warren] and Tray Scott have done a tremendous job.

“Our players have done a tremendous job of working hard, buying in.”

The players will have to continue to buy in and put forth their best effort of the season if the Dawgs have any chance of slowing down the offensive juggernaut from the Bayou on Saturday.

Georgia fotoball’s Dan Lanning among Broyles Award finalists

UGA defensive coordinator Dan Lanning is a finalist for the Broyles Award, which is given annually to the top assistant coach in the country

Georgia’s defense has been spectacular this season. The Dawgs have only given up one rushing touchdown on the season. A big part of that is because UGA defensive coordinator Dan Lanning has been an elite coordinator. Lanning has put the Dawgs in position to have three shutouts on the season. He’s among the finalists for the Broyles Award, which is give to the best assistant coach in the nation.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart won the award with the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2009. Brian VanGorder, the current defensive coordinator for Bowling Green, won the award at UGA in 2003. Georgia legend Vince Dooley is on the award’s selection committee. Here’s the NCAA’s Broyles Award finalists:

LSU’s Joe Brady is the favorite to win the award. Brady transformed LSU’s offense into a monster seemingly overnight. If Lanning’s defense can shut down Joe Burrow and LSU’s offense, then Lanning may have a legitimate chance to win the award.

Each coordinator that’s a finalist will play in a conference championship game this weekend. The award is far from decided. In fact, a standout performance could propel any of these excellent assistant coaches to win the Broyles Award and possibly make the College Football Playoff. Each will be potential head coach candidates for places like Missouri and Arkansas.

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Kirby Smart on SECCG: LSU will be the ‘ultimate test’

Georgia football HC Kirby Smart discussed LSU and the SEC Championship.

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Nobody is giving Georgia much of a chance this weekend in the SEC Championship Game vs LSU.

But then again, nobody was giving Georgia much of a chance to even be in this situation after losing to South Carolina in October.

Hey, here we are. For the third year in a row, mind you.

The Dawgs have faced some awfully tough challenges over the last three seasons. Remember, this is the same quarterback, same running back, much of the same offensive line and defensive players that came one play away from winning the national championship two years ago. These Dawgs know what it takes to win. They know what the big stage feels like. To them, this is just another big game.

Kirby Smart finds himself making another trip back to Atlanta for the third time in four years as head coach of the Bulldogs. He’s gone up against some explosive offenses during his tenure at Georgia, too, but none better than this LSU group.

“It’s as explosive of a team as I’ve ever seen on tape,” Smart said. “This will be as great a challenge as we’ve had since I’ve been here, as far as playing an opponent.

They have an outstanding all-around team. It’s a tremendous opportunity to  measure where you are when you get an opportunity to play a team like this that’s firing on all cylinders.”

For LSU, the Tigers’ offense ranks No. 1 or No. 2 in just about every category. So when Smart says this as explosive of a team as he’s ever seen, that’s not just him hyping up his opponent as he tends to do. He’s being real with us.

But luckily for Georgia, the Dawgs possess the nation’s top defense. And just like LSU, Georgia is No. 1 or No. 2 in just about every defensive category.

And they did not get to that point off of star power. They got there by playing as a whole and everybody doing their jobs.

“We don’t have the natural star power on our defense,” Smart said. “A lot of the defenses I’ve coached had three or four first-rounders.

“This group plays hard and plays together.”

Smart’s teams have gone up against some of the best in the last decade of college football. That will be more of the same on Saturday, but if Georgia can control the clock and force Joe Burrow to stay off the field, I like our chances.

“This obviously will be the ultimate test,” Smart said. “(LSU has) the best offensive unit we’ve played, all the way around, and it’s really not even close.”

Why Georgia football cannot overlook Georgia Tech

If there’s one goal Georgia Tech has left for the 2019 regular season, it is to disrupt the 2019 postseason of their most hated rivals.

The stage is set for the SEC Championship Game. Regardless if either team loses in the final week of the regular season, Eastern Division champion Georgia will face Western Division champion Louisiana State on December 7th at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

For undefeated LSU, there is a slight possibility that a single loss in a conference championship game could keep them in the final spot of the College Football Playoff given their tiebreaker with Alabama, which sits at No. 5 in the playoff picture.

The margin of error is much smaller for Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs, who suffered their lone loss in overtime against a South Carolina squad currently posting a record of four wins and seven losses.

A week before the Dawgs play the Tigers in Altanta, they’ll make a trip to Bobby Dodd Stadium, under two miles away from their next destination.

Georgia Tech hosts Georgia sporting three wins and eight losses. In their first season removed from Paul Johnson’s option-based flexbone offense, the Yellow Jackets have struggled to effectively utilize tight ends and single set backs under new head coach Geoff Collins.

Though the two teams have shared no common opponents this season, Georgia is currently favored at one of the highest margins of victory in the history of Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate.

Georgia Tech isn’t bowl eligible while Georgia needs to win out to appear in the College Football Playoff. If there’s one goal the Yellow Jackets have left for the 2019 regular season, it is to disrupt the 2019 postseason of their most hated rivals.

The Bulldogs cannot afford to look forward to LSU if they wish to keep their playoff hopes alive for one more week.

Georgia football greats Aaron Murray, Drew Butler discuss UGA vs Tech

Georgia football greats Aaron Murray and Drew Butler talk UGA vs Ga Tech.

On Saturday at noon, Georgia and Georgia Tech will kickoff the 113th meeting of Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate.

The Bulldogs are 28.5 point favorites over the Yellow Jackets and have won 15 of the last 18 meetings.

This season, there’s plenty of reasons to think No. 4 Georgia (10-1) will cover the spread against Tech (3-8).

Simply, Georgia’s defense is just way too good. It has shut down just about everybody its played, and Tech’s offense will be one of the worst the Dawgs have faced this season.

This week, Georgia greats Aaron Murray and Drew Butler discussed the game known as Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate on their show powered by CampusLore.

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UGA vs Tech: Has the hate died out? Tavarres King doesn’t think so

Georgia football great Tavarres King does not think Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate between UGA and Georgia Tech has died out.

Georgia has beaten Georgia Tech 15 out of the last 18 seasons, furthering its dominance in the rivalry game known as Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. And by the way, Tech’s three wins over that stretch came by a combined 10 points.

This will be the 113th meeting between the two in-state programs and it’s looking like another Georgia win is on its way. The Jackets are 3-8, but for some reason incredibly confident right now after beating a 4-7 NC State team by two points.

Despite the history and the strong hatred between the rivals that still exists today, there are Georgia who would like to see the Bulldogs drop the Yellow Jackets from their schedule in exchange for a more challenging opponent.

Tavarres King, Georgia’s fourth all-time leading receiver with 2,602 yards, never had any trouble waking up for the Yellow Jackets during his time (2008-2012) with the Bulldogs and thinks this game means too much to be overlooked.

King, A Georgia boy from Mount Airy, played in four games versus Tech. For two of those games it would have been easy to overlook the rival due to the fact that the Dawgs had a date with the SEC Championship to look forward to the following weekend.

But he said that was never the case.

“No, we wanted to win them all,” King texted when asked if it was hard to wake up for the regular season finale vs Tech, especially in 2011 and 2012 when the Dawgs knew they had an SECCG to prepare for.

“Our goal was to ‘keep the main thing the main thing’ in the words of Mike Bobo. And that was winning ball games.”

This game may have no conference standing implications, but a Georgia loss would eliminate the Dawgs from the national title race not just this year, but probably every year. Additionally, understanding how big football in the state of Georgia is, the importance of holding bragging rights over your in-state rival is immeasurable.

That’s why King thinks the game has not lost its allure.

“Every game is BIG because we are playing, but this game is special because it’s for state bragging rights.”

Georgia has run the state for years, and that does not seem to be coming to an end any time soon. Coach Kirby Smart, a Georgia boy who played college ball at UGA, is one who understands the importance of this game as well. He recently told a story about how Tech beat his Bulldog team on Smart’s senior day and he wanted to make sure that none of his players ever feel the way he did.

King’s another one of those guys who grew up in the Peach State and is proud to have played for the red and black. Helping to keep Georgia as the top football school in the state was one of the reasons this game meant so much to him.

“It was big to me because of tradition,” King said. ”It’s a fight for who represents the Georgia name. When you hear ‘Georgia’ do you think Bulldawgs or Yellow Jackets?!”

King, who was taken in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos, has played for a number of teams as a pro – most recently the Minnesota Vikings. He was in Athens last weekend signing autographs with his friend and former Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno ahead of the Texas A&M game.

This weekend, King is thinking the Dawgs leave Atlanta with another win over Tech by a score 27-10.

“THE only real team in Georgia!”

Georgia vs Georgia Tech will kickoff at noon and air on ABC.

Report: Georgia football WR Lawrence Cager suffers injury in practice

Georgia WR Lawrence Cager suffered a lower-body injury in practice on Wednesday according to a report from Dean Legge of DawgPost.

Georgia wide receiver Lawrence Cager suffered a lower-body injury in practice on Wednesday, according to a report from Dean Legge of DawgPost.

Cager is no stranger to injuries this season, having appeared sporadically in recent contests due to lingering shoulder injuries.

Per Legge, the graduate transfer out of The University of Miami is doubtful for the 2019 edition of “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate” held in Atlanta. Head coach Kirby Smart isn’t due for a media appearance until after the game at Georgia Tech and UGA officials have yet to confirm whether Cager was hurt.

The Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets are set to kick off at noon.