Morning, y’all!

Fall camp has pretty much come to a close for the Bulldogs, as now they move toward cleaning up specifics and game preparations.

We heard from Georgia coach Kirby Smart, wide receiver Isiah Canion and outside linebacker Quintavius Johnson on Tuesday.

We’ll unpack plenty from those interviews Wednesday, but I also want to start out the newsletter with some, well, news: The SEC has joined the Big Ten in banning football players who have signed a professional contract or been on a professional team from being on one of its conference member’s roster.

The SEC ruling included a statute involving professional basketball, too.

Per the SEC release shared on the social media platform X, formerly called Twitter:

An SEC institution is not permitted to have an athlete on its roster who has:

1. Previously declared for the NFL, NBA or WNBA draft, and did not appropriately withdraw,
2. Signed a contract with an NFL (or other professional football league), NBA/G-League, or WNBA (or affiliate) team, or,
3. Been listed on an NFL (or other professional football league), NBA/G-League, or WNBA (or affiliate) roster.

The commissioner is authorized to enforce this expectation with penalties against member institution.

Read Mike Griffith’s full story here.

Before that ruling was officially announced Tuesday, Smart made it clear Georgia isn’t looking to the league for additional help.

“The opportunities presented to the guys on our team is important to me. They’ve earned those opportunities through an offseason, through a summer program, through a really tough fall camp. You have to decide, each and every person, if that’s valuable enough to warrant replacing your players that have worked with your team with others that might be better,” Smart said. “So our job is to upgrade and try to get better as much as we can and win games. So some people feel like that gives them an opportunity to be better and doesn’t change their culture and more power to them.”

It was previously reported that Georgia was bringing back wide receiver Cole Speer, but he never signed with an NFL team.

Smart also didn’t confirm that Speer was rejoining the team, as the Georgia coach was waiting for clearance from the NCAA. Smart did indicate the Bulldogs were speaking to multiple players about possibly returning.

Former Georgia defensive back JaCorey Thomas does plan to sue the NCAA to gain a temporary restraining order that would give him a fifth season of eligibility for the upcoming season. However, Thomas also plans to enter the transfer portal, indicating he’ll likely be playing elsewhere.

Smart remarked how much college football has changed in the nearly 30 years he’s been involved in the sport. He recalled when an LSU player took one snap in an SEC championship game in the early 2000s and it burned an entire year of eligibility.

In recent years, the eligibility rule has changed. Before moving toward a five-for-five model, players could play up to four regular season games before redshirting. Now the redshirt has been taken out of the sport entirely.

“All those rules came about because they were needed, because rosters were dwindling, people were transferring, people were not playing in bowl games,” Smart said. “So they made them exempt and they changed them. But it affected different people each time they changed those rules.

Read Connor Riley’s full story here.

Georgia fans will love Canion’s explanation on transferring from GT

Like so many students this time of year from metro Atlanta, Isiah Canion is doing his best to adjust to life in Athens.

Canion, though, isn’t a freshman coming from one of the Fulton, Cobb or Gwinnett County schools. The third-year wide receiver transferred in from Georgia Tech.

“The transition from moving out of the city,” Canion said on his biggest transition to Georgia. “That was a big thing. It took a while to get back used to it. Athens is a lot like my hometown. So it took a lot of, took a minute to get back acclimated to being outside the city, for sure.”

Georgia went into the transfer portal to add the wide receiver, giving the Bulldogs a big-bodied weapon on the outside. When the Bulldogs have gone looking for those types of players, they’ve usually been successful, whether it be Colbie Young recently or Lawrence Cager ahead of the 2019 season.

Georgia didn’t waste much time targeting Canion out of the transfer portal. The Bulldogs were familiar with him, as he played against Georgia in each of the last two seasons.

When Canion went in the portal, he was very receptive to what Georgia was pitching.

“Everybody from Georgia watches Georgia football,” Canion said. “So I grew up watching it. My family are Georgia fans. So yeah, for sure, I was excited when they hit me up.”

Canion didn’t want to say too much about his time at Georgia Tech, preferring not to make comparisons between the two rivals.

He did note the similarities between his former quarterback Haynes King and his current one, Gunner Stockton.

Canion raved about Stockton’s toughness and leadership ability. Georgia hopes that Canion helps elevate Stockton’s game this coming season.

“He’s worked really hard,” Smart said of Canion. “He’s relatively quiet, but he plays physical and he plays hard. He plays tough. He’s not afraid to go down and make hard blocks and dig people out. But he’s also got speed and athleticism to be a weapon on the perimeter. And he’s had a really good, quiet camp. And I’m very pleased with what he’s brought to our team, and great kid.”

It helps Canion that he’s deeply familiar with guys on the Georgia team. He played high school football with defensive back Rasean Dinkins and defensive end Isaiah Gibson at Warner Robins High School. Canion was also recruited by Georgia running backs coach Josh Crawford to play for Georgia Tech. Crawford was hired by Georgia after Canion signed as a member of the Yellow Jackets’ 2024 signing class.

Read Connor’s full story here.

Colorado cornerback Teon Parks (left) is called for pass interference while covering then-Georgia Tech wide receiver Isiah Canion on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in Boulder, Colo. (David Zalubowski/AP)

Georgia Tech wide receiver Isiah Canion gets by Virginia Tech linebacker Sam Brumfield on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Blacksburg, Va. (Robert Simmons/AP)

Transfer Isiah Canion takes part in the second day of spring practice on Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Athens. (DawgNation)

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Trivia time

How many receiving yards did Canion rack up at Tech last season?

A. 100-200

B. 200-300

C. 300-400

D. 400-500

Smart brutally honest, sums up Stockton’s fall camp

Smart is the last one to hide from his team’s challenges, and he has said from the start of spring drills that his team needed to find ways to be more explosive on offense.

The Georgia receiving corps, having lost five of its top six pass catchers from a season ago, has received much of the attention.

But Smart has also openly said Stockton needs to improve his skills from last season to this season, and on Tuesday he addressed that topic.

“Gunner’s been fine, he’s been good,” Smart said when asked about the starting quarterback’s progress. “He had some plays that he wished he had back from the last scrimmage (Saturday). He had some good plays in the first (scrimmage) and some bad ones in the first (scrimmage).”

Indeed, Smart called out Stockton more than once for bad decisions and missed throws during an early fall practice that was open for subscribers to the school’s “Glory Glory” NIL initiative.

The Georgia defense, featuring ball-hawking All-American defensive backs Ellis Robinson IV and KJ Bolden, had something to do with Stockton’s struggles that day and likely through fall camp.

The fact Stockton is breaking in new and less-experienced receivers and tight ends like Canion and sophomore Talyn Taylor, who was injured much of last season, also makes a difference.

Stockton, himself, has shown improvement with his footwork, pocket-presence and the process of progressing through reads more quickly.

“He’s had a good camp,” Smart said. “He’s in a much better place this year than he was last year, in my opinion, just from experience.”

Read Connor’s full story here.

Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton excelled in his first season as the starter for the Bulldogs. (Jeff Sentell/ DawgNation 2025)

Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton (right) is sacked by Charlotte defensive lineman Curtis Simpson at Sanford Stadium on Friday, Nov. 22, 2025, in Athens. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Georgia coach Kirby Smart (left) greets quarterback Gunner Stockton for Senior Day recognition before their game against Charlotte at Sanford Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, in Athens. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

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Trivia answer

D. Canion finished with 480 receiving yards on 33 catches, with four touchdowns for the Yellow Jackets last season.