Today is an exciting day for many football fans throughout the state of Georgia.
It is the real, official, no-going-back start to high school football season.
The Dave Hunter + Corky Kell Classic will kick off with two games at Kell High School.
And the first is sure to garner some interest from diehard Georgia fans, as the son of UGA great Mark Richt, Jon Richt, will make his head coaching debut with Prince Avenue Christian. Richt was the offensive coordinator for career state passing yards leader Aaron Philo, now at Georgia Tech.
The Wolverines will kick the high school season off at 4:30 p.m. against 2A foe Callaway. Kell will then host South Paulding for the nightcap at 8 p.m.
For live score updates and coverage throughout the four-day Corky Kell madness, you can head to AJC Varsity.
It’s an exciting time for football in Georgia, especially with the Dawgs just 17 days from kickoff.
And with that, enjoy the rest of our coverage below.
Trivia time
How many active head coaches have registered wins over a Kirby Smart-coached Georgia team?
Answer is at the bottom of the newsletter.
QB battle: Where things stand after first scrimmage
Alabama and Boston College both went ahead and named their starting quarterbacks yesterday.
Don’t expect Georgia to do the same.
It’s very likely Kirby Smart won’t literally say Gunner Stockton’s name until he calls on him to lead the first drive of the season.
That said, Stockton appears to have a firm grip on the top quarterback spot, at least to start the year. He was seen working with the starting offense during Georgia’s first scrimmage.
But both Stockton and presumed backup Ryan Puglisi will be expected to prepare like a QB1 would. Stockton has two more years’ experience in the offense, but Puglisi is progressing as a game manager.
“He studies, he’s smart, he picks things up,” Smart said of Puglisi. “He makes mistakes, which they all do, and he learns from them. He generally knows when he messed up. He’s walking off the field in the scrimmage and didn’t change the protection on the play that he knew he should have.
“And he knew it messed him up, but he knew it right away, which is different from where he was this time last year.”
Ranking the three best Saturdays this season
Every Saturday has the potential to be the best. That’s the beauty of college football … an overlooked afternoon matchup between Alabama and Vanderbilt can turn into the game of the year in a moment’s notice.
But we’re going to predict the top three Saturdays of the season anyways, using the new AP poll rankings. There are three Saturday that stand out in particular, loaded with top 25 battles and upset potential.
Top 25 games: No. 2 Penn State at No. 3 Ohio State, No. 5 Georgia vs. No. 15 Florida, No. 10 Miami at No. 16 SMU, No. 11 Arizona State at No. 22 Iowa State, No. 13 South Carolina at No. 21 Ole Miss, No. 23 Texas Tech at No. 17 Kansas State, No. 18 Oklahoma at No. 24 Tennessee
Upset potential: Vanderbilt at No. 1 Texas, Duke at No. 4 Clemson
Oct. 18
Top 25 games: No. 21 Ole Miss at No. 5 Georgia, No. 16 SMU at No. 4 Clemson, No. 24 Tennessee at No. 8 Alabama, No. 23 Texas Tech at No. 11 Arizona State, No. 18 Oklahoma at No. 13 South Carolina
Upset potential: No. 2 Penn State at Iowa, No. 9 LSU at Vanderbilt, No. 19 Texas A&M at Arkansas, USC at No. 6 Notre Dame, Washington at No. 14 Michigan
Aug. 31
Top 25 games: No. 1 Texas at No. 3 Ohio State, No. 9 LSU at No. 4 Clemson, No. 6 Notre Dame at No. 10 Miami (Sunday, Sept. 1)
Upset potential: Syracuse at No. 24 Tennessee, Virginia Tech at No. 13 South Carolina, No. 8 Alabama at Florida State
True freshman pushing to start immediately
There shouldn’t be any worries about Georgia offensive lineman Juan Gaston bulking to “SEC size.”
Gaston signed with Georgia as a 6-7, 360-pound force. The 4-star talent served as Westlake’s left tackle last season but could become a starting guard this season.
The battle for Georgia’s right guard spot has been a tight race all offseason. Redshirt freshmen Daniel Calhoun and Michael Uini have jockeyed alongside Gaston.
But, reportedly, it was Gaston that ran with the starting offense at right guard in last Saturday’s scrimmage.
“I’ve been really impressed with Juan,” center Drew Bobo said on Wednesday. “I think he’s done a really good job. Just, I mean, he’s huge. He takes up space. He literally, when he’s blocking somebody on film, it looks like he just engulfs them, because you can’t even see him anymore.”
Smart noted that Gaston needs to be in better shape to survive every down of an SEC season. Whether he achieves that this season or not, a monstrous force like Gaston couldn’t hurt to have in short-yardage situations.
“I want to continue to see an identity,” Smart said of the offensive line. “An identity of toughness, physical, setting edges, delivering the run game, denting the defense.
“And it’s what we have to be, and we need to have a great run game to, number one, help our quarterback, relieve third and longs, feature backs, and then utilize play action.”
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Photo of the Day
Juan Gaston Jr. signed with Georgia as a 6-7, 360-pound force.
Credit: Jeff Sentell
Quote of the Day
Tight ends coach Todd Hartley on how he pitches UGA’s NFL tight ends to recruits:
“Do I use Brock (Bowers) a lot? Yes, but I also use Darnell (Washington). Obviously, he’s big in your set.
“You’re like, look at the success they’re having in the league, and it just shows those guys that, hey, maybe what they’re doing at Georgia actually does translate to the next level.”
Sentell’s Intel: 2nd-year RB turning heads this fall
The running back question this season is very similar to that of 2024. We know Georgia has a solid No. 1 option going into the season, but who’s going to get the second-most carries when starter Nate Frazier needs a break?
There are several candidates. Illinois transfer Josh McCray has the most college experience in the room while true freshman Bo Walker has seen his fair share of hype. Roderick Robinson and Dwight Phillips also appear to be viable options.
But according to DawgNation’s Jeff Sentell, redshirt freshman Chauncey Bowens shouldn’t be counted out. Bowens has reportedly impressed throughout fall camp, especially in the scrimmage last Saturday.
You might not know too much about Bowens to this point in his young career. That’s OK, because Sentell also compiled a profile on Bowens, detailing his skill set, recent surge, recruiting journey, scouting intel, high school film and one revealing story from his high school coach.
