Welcome to the start of the college football season!

Georgia’s fall camp begins today and they’ll be plenty of content for UGA fans to consume.

Kirby Smart will deliver his introductory news conference for the season. One of the important topics to be addressed will be the status of various injuries — including running back Roderick Robinson, who, if healthy, could be a key to UGA’s hopes to rejuvenate its rushing attack.

There will also be curiosity around the status of offensive linemen such as Daniel Calhoun and Monroe Freeling given the lingering questions involving that position group after a lackluster performance last season followed by numerous departures to the NFL draft.

We’ll also hear from some Bulldogs players, too.

Those selected to speak on behalf of the team to kick off fall camp usually provide a strong indication of who the team’s key leaders are expected to be, and this year should be no different.

And finally, there will also be a chance for the media to observe a portion of Georgia’s practice — which will provide one of our favorite things this time of year … practice reports!

Hope you enjoy it all! And thank you for choosing DawgNation for your UGA coverage.

Trivia time

Who was the opposing starting quarterback in Georgia’s first game of the Smart era? (Hint: He went on to be a first-round draft pick.)

Answer is at the bottom of the newsletter.

The new Georgia defense: Who goes where?

If Georgia’s defensive game plan is a chessboard, then Kirby Smart is the grand master.

Smart lost a lot of star power off his 2024 defense to the NFL draft and transfer portal. That means he’s got to move around a new batch of “pieces” to attack SEC offenses this season.

DawgNation’s Connor Riley projected where those pieces are fit to land this season. In other words, we have provided a preseason projection of the Bulldogs’ defensive depth chart.

For Riley’s analysis, you can check out the story below. Here’s the full depth chart.

Projecting what Georgia’s starting defense will look like to open 2025 season

Defensive tackle

1. Christen Miller (Jr.)
2. Jordan Hall (R-Soph.); Xzavier McLeod (R-Soph.); Elijah Griffin (Fr.)
3. Nasir Johnson (R-Fr.); Jordan Thomas (R-Fr.); Josh Horton (R-Fr.)

Defensive end

1. Joseph Jonah-Ajonye (R-Fr.)
2. Justin Greene (R-Fr.)
3. Jayden-Jamal Hanne (R-Fr.)

Outside linebacker:

1. Gabe Harris (Jr.); Elo Modozie (Jr.)
2. Quintavius Johnson (Soph.)
3. Kris Jones (R-Fr.)
4. Isaiah Gibson (Fr.); Chase Linton (Fr.); Darren Ikinnagbon (Fr.)

Mac linebacker:

1. CJ Allen (Jr.)
2. Justin Williams (Soph.)
3. AJ Kruah (Fr.)

Money linebacker:

1. Raylen Wilson (Jr.)
2. Chris Cole (Soph.)
3. Zayden Walker (Fr.)

Right cornerback:

1. Daylen Everette (Sr.)
2. Dominick Kelly (Fr.)
3. Ondre Evans (R-Fr.)

Left cornerback:

1. Daniel Harris (Jr.); Ellis Robinson (R-Fr.)
2. DeMello Jones (R-Fr.)
3. Jontae Gilbert (Fr.)

Free safety:

1. KJ Bolden (Soph.)
2. Todd Robinson (Fr.)
3. Jaylan Morgan (Fr.)

Strong safety:

1. JaCorey Thomas (Sr.)
2. Zion Branch (Jr.)
3. Rasean Dinkins (Fr.)

Star:

1. Joenel Aguero (Jr.)
2. Adrian Maddox (Sr.)
3. Jaden Harris (Jr.)

National media compliments value of UGA’s championship rosters

In the interest of killing time until the season finally arrives, ESPN released an article showing every player in the NFL that would be worth a first-round pick in a hypothetical trade situation.

And the amount of Bulldogs from the two recent national championship rosters is eye-popping.

ESPN reveals staggering value of key players on Georgia’s back-to-back title teams

Nine, to be exact, and two of them were said to be worth two first-round picks.

Former Georgia quarterback and No. 1 overall pick Matthew Stafford also made the list, the only former Bulldog who didn’t win a national championship.

Current Georgia NFL players currently worthy of first-round pick in hypothetical trade situation:

• DT Jalen Carter (two first-round picks)

• TE Brock Bowers (two first-round picks)

• QB Matthew Stafford

• DE Travon Walker

• WR Ladd McConkey

• OT Amarius Mims

• CB Kamari Lassiter

• DE Mykel Williams

• OLB Jalon Walker

• FS Malaki Starks

Fall camp: What does success look like?

There are a few goals that Georgia probably needs to strive for in order to consider fall practice a success.

Here in the final weeks before we kick off the season, there is only so much Georgia can greatly improve. The roster is set, the scheme is intact and the schedule … is what it is.

But here are three things that, if Georgia can pull them off, ought to make Bulldog fans feel that much better about a national championship run in 2025.

1. Both QBs need to be ready to play

— Gunner Stockton is the assumed starter for Week 1, especially after representing UGA at SEC Media Days. But Smart still wouldn’t commit to naming him the official QB1, so Georgia fans would love to see backup Ryan Puglisi ready to go if Stockton can’t inspire confidence by the Week 3 trip to Tennessee.

1. Get the most out of its transfer additions

— Transfers Josh McCray, Noah Thomas, Elo Modozie and Zachariah Branch will all likely need to be the immediate impact players they were brought in to be if Georgia wants to win early SEC games. All are addressing places on Georgia’s roster that saw serious falloff in talent this offseason or production last season.

1. Avoid injuries

— Not much explaining to do here. If you haven’t heard Smart talk about the lack of experience on his depth chart due to transfer portal attrition, you haven’t been listening very well. The starters need to stay healthy to keep unexperienced underclassmen out of high-stakes situations.

Why these three things matter so much for Georgia

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Photo of the Day

Georgia Bulldogs tight end Brock Bowers (right) celebrates with wide receiver Ladd McConkey after a touchdown pass during the second half of the 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship.

Credit: Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com

Quote of the Day

4-star Georgia LB commit Nick Abrams on the status of his commitment to Georgia:

“I’d say it is very secure. They’ve given me everything I want. Obviously as a college football player, you are going to get paid. You are going to get offered money. I got offered more money to go other places, but at Georgia you get so much on the back end. You get that possible where you have that slight edge over a linebacker at another place because you go to Georgia, you play against the best and then the (networking and marketing) opportunities in Atlanta. There’s just so many other components to this recruitment other than NIL.”

Nick Abrams: The two Roquan Smith connections to the Georgia LB commit

Kenny McIntosh, family thank DawgNation amid ACL injury

Kenny McIntosh will likely miss his third season since entering the NFL draft after tearing his ACL in a noncontact drill on Saturday.

The Seattle Seahawks running back is set for surgery on Aug. 12. His father, Richard McIntosh, reached out to Georgia fans to thank them for the support through the process.

“Kenny and all of us enjoyed the Georgia family during his career, and it has meant a lot for so many to reach out to support Kenny now,” Richard McIntosh said.

“Our family appreciates the love and we know it has meant a lot to Kenny. He’s obviously disappointed, you never know why these sorts of things happen, but Kenny has a good attitude about it and he’s determined to get back around his team after the surgery and stay involved (in) meetings while getting the best rehab possible.”

Surgery set for Kenny McIntosh, family thanks Georgia fans for support

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Trivia answer

Mitchell Trubisky