Morning, y’all!

I’m sure most of you know Georgia’s fall camp got underway Wednesday.

One of my favorite parts of camp is hearing from coaches and players on which returners could play a more pivotal role for a team or take on more responsibility now that they have another year of experience.

I know these days we spend a lot of time talking about newcomers who can contribute, and we’ll do plenty of that in August, too — but there’s something to be said for experience and knowing the ropes.

Let’s kick off today’s newsletter with some updates on returning Bulldogs:

Chris Cole had one of the best offseasons

Junior linebacker Chris Cole knows he didn’t do a good enough job as a pass rusher last season.

“I feel like last year, I left a lot on the table, a lot of missed sacks. But this year, I want to come for it all,” Cole said.

For a group that ranked last among the 12 College Football Playoff teams in sacks, Cole may as well be the face of the Georgia pass rush. The potential is there in the room.

But Georgia knows it has to produce when it comes to disrupting the opposing quarterback.

Cole is at his best dropping back into coverage. He knows he needs to get better as a pass rusher. He led Georgia with 4½ sacks last season.

Coach Kirby Smart believes Cole has done that this offseason, praising the linebacker for having one of the best offseasons of anyone on the Georgia roster.

“This guy is the hardest worker, he hits the highest speeds, he plays with the most energy and enthusiasm,” Smart said. “There’s not a day that we don’t show a clip in the team meeting of a guy that’s chasing down a ball and running down a ball. He never saves up.”

Georgia has had a string of third-year linebackers win the Butkus Award. Jalon Walker, Nakobe Dean and Roquan Smith all won the nation’s top linebacker award.

Cole would need to have a massive year to win that award. But Georgia seems to think he’s capable of doing so.

Georgia junior LB Chris Cole was active during the first day of fall camp for the Georgia football team on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, in Athens, Georgia. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNation)

KJ Bolden knows what is on the line in 2026

It’s hard to believe that KJ Bolden is entering his third year in the program. It seems like just yesterday he was learning from Malaki Starks and Dan Jackson.

Now, he’s prepared to be the face of the Georgia team.

“I’m just excited for this year, man,” Bolden said. “There’s a lot of things I didn’t know my freshman year, and then coming to Year 3 and fall camp now, I feel like I’ve grown a lot. Just when it comes to football, play recognition, just learning the defense, communication, being a leader.”

Bolden has always been comfortable with the expectations placed on him. He was the first player to sign with Georgia out of Buford in over a decade. He took less NIL money to come to Georgia after originally committing to Florida State.

Georgia has had a long line of great safeties. Bolden looks to add to the lineage. With a great year, he could be among the best.

“He’s not afraid to confront and demand excellence from them,” Smart said. “He’s not afraid to say, ‘Hey, man, jog all the way off the field.’ ‘Hey, run to the ball.’ Hold them accountable because when he’s doing it himself, it’s a lot easier for him to hold them accountable.

Georgia junior safety KJ Bolden looks across the field during the first day of Georgia's fall camp practices on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, in Athens, Georgia. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNaton)

Nothing else matters to Lawson Luckie

Georgia has done a lot of winning during Lawson Luckie’s time in Athens.

But as for this 2026 team, he notes it hasn’t accomplished a thing.

“The big mantra is every year is independent of last year. We started over yesterday. Our first practice is today,” Luckie said. “The 2026 Georgia Bulldogs have done nothing yet. We’ve won the last two SEC championships. This team’s won nothing. You start from scratch every year.

Luckie leads a tight end room that might be among the best position groups in the sport.

As a senior, he wants to play at 245 pounds. That’s a good 10 pounds heavier than where he was last season for Georgia.

With Oscar Delp now with the New Orleans Saints, Luckie wants to be the guy who can do everything for Georgia and thus not have to come off the field.

“I think I am extremely versatile,” Luckie said. “I don’t think there’s one particular trait that I’m lacking in, especially coming into this season. I’m a lot heavier than I was last year, and I think that was one thing that was lacking. So now I might not be the best at everything, but I can do everything at a very high level.”

Lawson Luckie takes part in the second day of spring practice in Athens, Georgia, on Thursday, March 19, 2026. (DawgNation staff photo)

Trivia time

What’s the most points a Georgia kicker has ever tallied kicking in a game? Bonus points if you can name the kicker and the game.

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A smaller Juan Gaston could be the best Juan Gaston

During Georgia’s first practice Wednesday, Juan Gaston got the first look at right tackle.

Expect there to be a competition between junior Jah Jackson and the second-year Gaston.

After carving out regular playing time as a true freshman last season, Gaston wants more. And it seems like he’s put in the work to play a role as large as he is for Georgia in 2026.

“Juan changed his body a lot,” Earnest Greene said of Gaston. “That was one of the biggest things. He dropped a whole lot of body fat and really changed his body around. So I’m really proud of him for doing that in return in that aspect. Coming in out of high school was kind of hard for some bigger guys to do that.”

Gaston did most of his work at guard for Georgia last season. With Dontrell Glover manning the left guard spot, the Bulldogs will use the month of August to sort out the right side of its offensive line. Freshman Zykie Helton is a major name to know at right, as he’s expected to do what Glover did a season ago as a true freshman.

Getting to play next to Gaston could make things much easier while giving the Bulldogs their best possible combination on the offensive line.

New UGA line coach Phil Rauscher takes part in the second day of spring practice in Athens, Georgia, on Thursday, March 19, 2026. (DawgNation staff photo)

Smart ready to ‘test toughness’ in camp

Smart opened Georgia football fall camp Wednesday with a lot of tough talk.

“We have to test toughness, and a word we talk a lot about around here is grit,” Smart said at the opening fall camp news conference, shortly before putting his team through its first team workout amid an on-field heat index approaching 100 degrees.

“We have to find out what kind of grit we’ve got in this camp, so when we get in these four-quarter battles, we can win them.”

Georgia ended last season with a loss in one such game, falling to Ole Miss 39-34 in the CFP Sugar Bowl quarterfinal after leading at halftime (21-12) and the end of the third quarter (24-19).

Of course, there were plenty of fourth-quarter heroics last season, too.

UGA came from behind to win in six of its seven SEC regular-season victories en route to a dominant 28-7 SEC title game win over Alabama that gave Georgia its second straight league crown.

Senior tight end Lawson Luckie, who has bulked up to 245 pounds, said past accomplishments don’t carry weight in the locker room.

“2026 Georgia Bulldogs have done nothing yet,” Luckie said. “We’ve won the last two SEC championships, (but) this team has won nothing.

“You start from scratch every year.”

Smart said this team will continue to prioritize the same things as those before them, which is running the ball effectively and stopping the run.

“You can’t get away from that point of emphasis — that’s not going to ever change in our program,” Smart said. “We have to be able to run the football. Show me a good team that wins championships that can’t run the football.”

Georgia ranked fourth in the SEC in rushing with 182.1 yards per game and second in the SEC and fourth in the nation allowing 81.5 yards rushing per outing.

Read Mike Griffith’s full story here.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart observes his team during the first fall football practice Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, at the practice facility in Athens. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Georgia coach Kirby Smart (center, background) observes his team during the first fall football practice Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, at the practice facility in Athens. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Georgia coach Kirby Smart (center, in black) gives instructions during the first fall football practice Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, at the practice facility in Athens. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Georgia coach Kirby Smart (center, in black) gives instructions during the first fall football practice Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, at the practice facility in Athens. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Georgia coach Kirby Smart watches his team during the first fall football practice Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, at the practice facility in Athens. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Georgia coach Kirby Smart gives instructions during the first fall football practice Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, at the practice facility in Athens. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

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Trivia answer

19. Kicker Billy Bennett had six field goals and one PAT against Georgia Tech in 2001. Georgia won 31-17.