Tag: Rara Thomas

Transfer receivers are making a difference for the Bulldogs

The UGA football passing offense has had some questions but Dominic Lovett and Rara Thomas have helped answer those.

The Georgia Bulldogs have seen multiple receivers leave the program over the past couple of seasons with Jermain Burton going to Alabama and Adonai Mitchell going to Texas. Those guys are having good years, but the transfers the Bulldogs have taken in have done great work as well.

Dominic Lovett and Rara Thomas have been welcome additions to the Georgia passing game with productive years so far. The Dawgs’ passing game was a bit of a concern with these new guys coming in and Carson Beck at the helm, but a dominant win over Kentucky has quieted a lot of critics.

Lovett, the Missouri transfer, started off the season battling for the No. 1 wide receiver spot as Ladd McConkey was out early in the year. He’s become the reliable hands target over the middle of the field and he’s compiled 22 catches for 210 yards.

Thomas, the Mississippi State transfer, had his best game as Bulldog against Kentucky with an incredible toe tap touchdown. He’s found his niche as a big play threat with a talent for high-pointing the ball. Thomas has caught 14 balls for 230 yards and one touchdown.

Although Bowers and McConkey are the names that fans will recognize catching the ball, Lovett and Thomas have quietly found themselves as consistent receivers in the fold and they could become X-factors as the Bulldogs face off against tougher foes in late October and November.

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Additionally, Georgia may look to the transfer portal again to replenish the wide receiver room as the Bulldogs have just two commitments from wide receivers in the class of 2024.

Insight on Georgia WRs Dominic Lovett, Rara Thomas by former SEC teammates

Former SEC teammates talk Dominic Lovett, Rara Thomas at SEC Media Days…

Georgia’s offense dipped into the transfer portal this offseason for two SEC wide receivers in Dominic Lovett (Missouri) and Rara Thomas (Mississippi State).

Both Lovett and Thomas led their respective teams in receiving last season and already know what it takes to make plays in the toughest conference in college football.

Missouri junior defensive back Kris Abrams-Draine praised former teammate Lovett at SEC Media Days this week.

“He’s going to push you. He’s a great athlete himself. Going against somebody that is already good is going to make you better.”

Abrams-Draine recalls going up against Lovett everyday in practice.

“I think it was like his first practice or something and I had just gotten to DB so we had been friends but we were going at it the whole practice. I wasn’t going against nobody else but him. “I feel like that made us come closer as friends … It’s going to be way different (going up against him in a game) because it counts. Practice counts too but this shows on our record. We’re going to compete and keep it how we’re supposed to, but we’re going to compete.”

Lovett, an All-SEC selection, racked up 56 catches for 846 yards and three touchdowns in 2022. The former four-star recruit led the Tigers receiving yards each of the first five games of the season, the only player to accomplish that in program history.

“Yeah, there’s no replacing Dominic Lovett,” Missouri head coach Eliah Drinkwitz said. “Dominic Lovett is his own player and has his own unique characteristics and competitive spirit, and wish him the best in his new opportunity.”

Up next is Thomas, who was commended by Mississippi State star quarterback Will Rodgers.

“It was special. We were kind of on the same page with some things,” Rogers said. “Anytime he got man-to-man coverage, we were trying to get him the ball. He does a really good job and I hope he succeeds at Georgia.”

Thomas and Rodgers were a playmaking machine in 2022. The duo connected for 626 yards on 44 completions with seven scores.

“He’s just raw talent, man,” Rogers said. “I don’t think he started playing football until he was a junior in high school maybe, but his ball skills are out of this world and he can go make a play for sure.”

The Bulldogs will need Lovett and Thomas to help replace the production lost from Texas transfer Adonai Mitchell, Georgia Tech transfer Dominick Blaylock and Kearis Jackson, who is now a Tennessee Titan.

Having experienced SEC wideouts should help whoever is tabbed as starting quarterback this fall.

 

 

Early list of the top 2024 NFL draft prospects to watch at key positions

Wer’e taking an early look at the top 2024 NFL draft prospects for the Philadelphia Eagles to watch at key positions

The Eagles are just 22 days from the start of training camp, but it is never too early to look at the 2024 NFL draft.

Next spring will see guaranteed locks like Heisman Trophy Winner Caleb Williams (USC), Marvin Harrison Jr. (Ohio State), Drake Maye (UNC), Joe Alt (Notre Dame), Brock Bowers (UGA), and Olumuviwa Fashanu (Penn State) all battle to round out the top five.

With teams around the league praying to be on the clock, here’s an early of the top 2024 prospects at critical positions.

Three Georgia players make College Sports Wire’s list of best SEC WRs for 2023

SEC WR rankings have three Georgia players ranked inside the top-ten

Despite losing George Pickens, Jermaine Burton and AD Mitchell in recent years to either the NFL draft or the NCAA transfer portal, the Georgia Bulldogs are loaded up at the wide receiver position heading into the 2023 season.

Georgia returns Ladd McConkey, who is entering his redshirt junior year in Athens. He was the team’s leading wide receiver last year with 762 yards and nine total touchdowns.

After a 2022 offseason that saw Georgia stay inactive in the transfer portal, Kirby Smart took a different approach in 2023. UGA went and signed two standout receivers from the portal: Dominic Lovett from Missouri and Rara Thomas from Mississippi State.

College Sports Wire released its ranking of the top 12 SEC wide receivers for the 2023 college football season and included Lovett, McConkey and Thomas.

Lovett checked in at No. 4, McConkey No. 6 and Thomas at No. 8 to give Georgia three of the top 10 wide receivers in the SEC this year.

Oh, and this does not include tight end Brock Bowers, who is without a doubt the best pass-catcher in the conference entering 2023.

Regarding Lovett, Patrick Conn of College Sports Wire wrote:

Lovett finished No. 8 in receiving yards last season with Missouri. Now as he heads to Georgia, the former Tigers wide receiver is expected to be the top receiver for the Bulldogs. He and tight end Brock Bowers should command a lot of attention in the passing game. New quarterback Carson Beck should have an easier time getting acclimated due to having this duo on his team. Ladd McConkey also finished among the top 10 in yards last season.

Lovett’s 2022 stats: 56 catches, 846 yards, 3 touchdowns

On McConkey:

McConkey was a key member of the last two national championship teams in Athens. He hauled in 5 passes for 88 yards and 2 touchdowns in the 2022-23 national title game against TCU. He returns along with Brock Bowers to team up with newcomers RaRa Thomas and Dominic Lovett. The Bulldogs should have an explosive offense in the upcoming season.

McConkey’s 2022 stats: 58 catches, 762 yards, 9 total touchdowns

And on Thomas:

Thomas, much like Lovett, leaves one SEC team to team up with the two-time defending national champions. Thomas has already dealt with offseason issues after being arrested this offseason. An epidemic that has seemed to spread across the Bulldogs team. If he can put that behind him, Thomas should be a key contributor for Georgia. He didn’t play a snap in the spring game and head coach Kirby Smart stated he “has some things to work on.” We shall see if he gets that sorted out ahead of the 2023 college football season, but Thomas has the talent to be an impact playmaker.

Thomas’ 2022 stats: 44 catches, 626 yards, 7 touchdowns

Full list of Eagles’ 2024 NFL draft picks with projected compensatory selections

We’re looking at the Philadelphia Eagles’ complete order of 2024 NFL draft picks with compensatory projections.

The Eagles made several critical signings during the 2023 NFL free agency process, with all of the additions being one-year deals.

Philadelphia GM Howie Roseman watched ten contributors leave on the open market.

Thanks to his shrewd maneuvering and roster building, the Eagles are in line for four valuable compensatory picks in 2024, according to NFL.com draft expert, Lance Zierlein.

The Eagles played the compensatory pick game perfectly. They knew they would have a large number of players depart in free agency, and they didn’t add any projected qualifying free agents to the team. Philadelphia should receive the maximum number of picks, including a third-rounder for Hargrave.

The Birds were slated to have six picks in the 2024 NFL draft, but thanks to the compensatory formula, they’ll have 10.

Here’s an early look at the Eagles’ 2024 NFL draft picks.

Eagles stick to the motto of reloading the trenches in early 2024 NFL mock drafts

Philadelphia will likely reload in the trenches, while some experts have the Eagles targeting other critical positions in early 2024 NFL mock drafts

The 2023 NFL draft is complete, and as teams add undrafted free agents, the experts are looking ahead to the 2024 selection process.

Next spring will see guaranteed locks like Heisman Trophy Winner Caleb Williams (USC), Marvin Harrison Jr. (Ohio State), Drake Maye (UNC), Joe Alt (Notre Dame), Brock Bowers (UGA), and Olumuviwa Fashanu (Penn State) all battle to round out the top five.

With teams around the league praying to be on the clock, here’s an early 2024 NFL mock draft roundup.

Georgia transfer WRs are turning heads in spring practice

Dominic Lovett, Rara Thomas are impressing at spring practice…

Georgia football added two of the top transfer wide receivers this offseason: Dominic Lovett (Missouri) and Rara Thomas (Mississippi State).

Both Lovett and Thomas led their respective teams in receiving last year and should add value to the Bulldogs receiving room after the departure of Dominic Blaylock to the transfer portal and Adonai Mitchell to Texas.

Georgia players are impressed with how Lovett and Thomas are practicing so far this spring.

“Bringing them to Georgia, it just increases the intensity at practice,” cornerback Kamari Lassiter said. “You know, the competition level between the receivers and the DBs. That’s some things like the guys like me — ultra-competitive guys, I like that, you know? I want the best guys to be here, and they want to go against the best guys as well. So just those guys being here, it’s really good for us.”

Star tight end Brock Bowers likes what he sees from the pair.

“RaRa’s just been out there making plays. I mean, he’s just an athlete. He’s going to be really good for us, and then Dom, he’s shifty and catching almost everything. So I mean, I think they’re going to be two good additions for our receiver room.”

Defensive back Javon Bullard knew Lovett before the former Missouri Tiger came to Athens.

“Dom’s like my little brother, man. He was one of the first guys that, like, when we came back, we were in the locker room just chopping it up. Very quick, very fast. Like I said, very agile, gets in and out of his breaks really good. Great route runner, knows how to play with his speed a lot, so I’m looking forward to seeing him play. And RaRa, I haven’t really gotten to guard RaRa just because he’s so outside. I know Kamari got to go up against him a lot, and just based off what he was saying he’s very quick off his first step off the release and has great hands, too. So like I said, I’m excited to see both those guys help us.”

You can catch Lovett and Thomas in action at the annual ‘G-Day’ spring game in Sanford Stadium on April 15 at 4 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on ESPN2.

 

 

ESPN identifies Georgia’s top newcomers for this season

ESPN names Georgia’s top newcomers for 2023

Georgia lost 15 players to the NFL draft and more to the transfer portal following its 2021 national championship.

Even with all the losses, Kirby Smart and the Dawgs were inactive in the transfer portal heading into the 2022 season. They were the only Power Five team to not add a single player from the transfer portal.

You’d think the significant loss of contributors to a national championship-winning team would have hurt the Bulldogs, but you’d be wrong. As you know, Georgia went 15-0 and won its second straight national title, relying on recruiting alone to fill its 2022 roster.

This year, Georgia added two highly touted transfers, both at the wide receiver position. Mississippi State’s RaRa Thomas and Missouri’s Dominic Lovett signed with Georgia in December as transfers.

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach wrote a story naming the top newcomers for every team in his way-too-early preseason top-25 for 2023.

He identified both Thomas and Lovett as Georgia’s top newcomers for next year.

“As good as the Bulldogs were on offense in 2022, they didn’t have many consistent receivers outside of Ladd McConkey,” Schlabach wrote. “Adonai Mitchell, who transferred to Texas, and Arian Smith were hurt for much of the season.”

He also noted it’s unclear whether Thomas will train this spring with Georgia following his Jan. 23 arrest.

“Kirby Smart added two transfers to help the receiver corps this coming season, although it’s unclear if both will be available when spring practice begins. Mississippi State transfer Rara Thomas, who led his former team in receiving yards last season, was arrested on a felony charge of false imprisonment and misdemeanor battery-family violence following an incident with a woman in a dorm room on Jan. 23.”

Thomas had 44 catches for 626 yards and 7 touchdowns last year at Mississippi State. Lovett caught 56 passes for 846 yards and 3 touchdowns in 2022 at Missouri.

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Georgia wins sweepstakes for WR target RaRa Thomas

The Eufaula native elected to join Kirby Smart’s squad over playing for the hometown Tigers.

When Mississippi State wide receiver [autotag]RaRa Thomas[/autotag] announced his intention to enter the transfer portal, Auburn felt as if they had a solid chance to bring him into their program.

Despite multiple visits to Auburn, Thomas elected to transfer to a fellow SEC squad. He announced Thursday that he will transfer to Georgia, and will play receiver for Kirby Smart.

Thomas’ announcement was just part of Georgia‘s good news on Thursday, as former Missouri wide receiver Dominic Lovett also announced that he would be transferring to Georgia.

Thomas grew up in Eufaula, which is a 64-mile drive south of Auburn, and was an attractive name in the portal after a successful two-year stint at Mississippi State, where he reeled in 62 catches for 878 yards and 12 touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ air raid system. He was Mississippi State’s leading receiver in 2022, catching 44 passes for 626 yards and seven touchdowns.

Thomas was not highly recruited out of high school, receiving only two power five offers from Mississippi State and South Carolina as a three-star receiver from the 2021 recruiting cycle. His success in Starkville will almost certainly be replicated in Athens.

Auburn has signed two players out of the transfer portal since the window opened on Dec. 5, former Vanderbilt EDGE rusher [autotag]Elijah McAllister[/autotag] and former FIU tight end [autotag]Rivaldo Fairweather[/autotag].

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Mississippi State’s leading receiver transferring to Georgia

UGA football adds a commitment from Rara Thomas

Former Mississippi State wide receiver Rara Thomas is transferring to the Georgia Bulldogs. Thomas is 247Sports’ No. 16 player in the transfer portal.

Rara Thomas should be an instant impact player at Georgia.

Thomas, who was Mississippi State’s leading receiver this season, recently entered the NCAA transfer portal. In 2022, Thomas caught 44 passes for 626 yards and seven touchdowns. Rara Thomas was a three-star recruit in the class of 2021.

Rara Thomas has interest from Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, Auburn, and Ole Miss among others. Rara Thomas has two years of eligibility remaining.

Thomas had a solid freshman season for Mississippi State. In 2021, Thomas caught 18 passes for 252 yards and five touchdowns. Thomas will have a bit of an adjustment coming into Georgia’s system. Mississippi State passes the most of any team in the SEC. Thomas will have to run block more in Athens.

This year, Rara Thomas had an outstanding touchdown reception against Texas A&M:

Thomas finished with five catches for 134 yards and a touchdown in Mississippi State’s win over Texas A&M.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound receiver announced his commitment to the University of Georgia via Twitter:

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