On DawgNation Daily Wednesday, we discussed an exchange between Paul Finebaum and Kirby Smart.
Smart appeared on Finebaum’s show this week and took a humorous jab at Finebaum for some doubt he had expressed in Gunner Stockton.
Finebaum previously said he wasn’t a believer in Stockton and Smart said Gunner would be using that statement as motivation.
The back and forth was in good fun — strictly for the entertainment of the audience. Both Smart and Finebaum were smiling as they spoke. However, there was still something noticeable about Smart’s tone.
He seemed confident.
I believe that confidence should perhaps serve as a warning to Georgia’s doubters — of which there are seemingly many as of late.
Do you really want to be on the wrong side of Kirby Smart? That’s a decision they may soon regret.
For the rest of the news, check out our coverage below.
Trivia time
When was the last time Georgia played a Big Ten team in nonconference play?
Happy guessing! Answer at the bottom of the newsletter.
Could Georgia add a Big Ten game to the nonconference schedule?
Some in the SEC would like to see the league schedule more games against the Big Ten. The two are the top conferences in college football and figure to have plenty of future battles in the College Football Playoff.
For Georgia, the math isn’t as straightforward. Georgia Athletic Director Josh Brooks said the Bulldogs would be open to it.
But the circumstances would need to line up.
“We do have Florida State and Louisville and other teams lined up,” Brooks said, discussing future home-and-home series on the Bulldogs’ schedule. “All of that fits in that puzzle.
“Would we be open to (playing a Big Ten team in the regular season)? Yeah, but then we’d have to take a look at what it would look like with the rest of our schedule.”
Georgia has multiple big-time nonconference games in the coming years. While a series against UCLA, which was set to be played in 2025 and 2026, was called off last year, Georgia still has future games against Clemson, Florida State, Louisville and NC State.
There is currently one future Big Ten foe in the mix, as Georgia is set to play Ohio State in 2030 and 2031. In 2030, Georgia has games scheduled against Clemson and Georgia Tech.
Add in potentially nine SEC games and you have one of the most difficult schedules in the country.
We’ll see what the league does in terms of scheduling. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey did share on Wednesday that the league may make a decision on its scheduling before the future of the College Football Playoff is settled.
For more on what Brooks had to say about future nonconference scheduling, check out Mike Griffith’s story below.
Georgia adds another commitment for 2026 recruiting
Georgia added another major target to its recruiting class on Wednesday when the Bulldogs landed a commitment from 4-star athlete Ryan Mosley.
Mosley is from Carrollton, Ga. He has the ability to play both ways, Georgia sees him as a wide receiver at the next level.
Georgia and wide receivers coach James Coley beat out Alabama, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Nebraska to land Mosley.
Georgia now has three wide receivers in the 2026 recruiting cycle, as Mosley joins 4-star Vance Spafford and 4-star Brady Marchese. Mosley is the No. 248 overall player in the class, though three out of the four recruiting services see him as a top-200 player.
With Mosley in the fold, Georgia now has the No. 5 ranked recruiting class for the 2026 cycle. Georgia has 10 commitments in the class, with six of them coming from the state of Georgia.
June figures to be a very busy month for the Bulldogs, as Smart and company will be hosting a number of visitors. Mosley is expected to be in Athens this weekend, helping recruit some of Georgia’s fellow top targets.
For more on what Georgia is getting in Mosley, check out Jeff Sentell’s full write-up on the commitment below.
The six recruitments that will define Georgia’s recruiting class
Sentell didn’t just publish a story on the newest commitment for Georgia. He also provided some intel on what comes next for Georgia’s recruiting class.
As mentioned, Georgia has the No. 5 overall recruiting class. You can bet Georgia is going to finish with a top-tier recruiting class.
But some targets are bigger than others. And Sentell has identified six prospects that will shape how the Georgia recruiting class shapes up.
The six big prospects and possible contenders are below:
5-star tight end Mark Bowman: It is shaping up to be a Georgia-Texas battle for a recruit who has drawn early comparisons to Brock Bowers.
5-star linebacker Tyler Atkinson: The No. 1 player in the state of Georgia is also the No. 1 linebacker in the country. With Glenn Schumann, that is usually a recipe for success. But Ohio State, Oregon, Auburn and Clemson will make things tough for Georgia.
4-star defensive tackle Seven Cloud: The Bulldogs already hold a commitment from the No. 1 ranked JUCO prospect in the country. But Cloud is now being represented by Drew Rosenhaus’ agency. While there are no known suitors yet, holding on to Cloud is critical, especially in a year where there isn’t another elite defensive line recruit.
4-star offensive tackle Malakai Lee: Georgia’s top offensive tackle prospect just put out a top four that includes Texas, Alabama and Michigan. Georgia missed out on 5-star prospect Jackson Cantwell but hopes to rebound with Lee.
4-star offensive lineman Ekene Ogboko: Some see Ogboko as a guard at the next level, but Georgia views him as a tackle. While Ohio State, Clemson, LSU and Notre Dame are all making strong pitches, Georgia does have his brother Nnamdi already on the team. He is a redshirt freshman defensive tackle.
4-star RB Jae Lamar: Georgia is in the running for big-time running backs like Savion Hiter and Derrick Cooper, but those recruitments could get expensive quickly. Lamar is an instate prospect and someone whose best football is ahead of him. Clemson seems to be the main competition for Lamar at this point.
For more on these targets, check Sentell’s story below.
4-star WR Ryan Mosley has committed to Georgia football in the Class of 2026.
Credit: Cayce Dunn
Quote of the Day
Kirby Smart to Paul Finebaum on embracing questions:
“I love question marks. I love when you, when you have question marks, right? I have a few. You provide a lot of motivation for us, boss. Why I keep coming back to your show because you give me great question marks. But I’m excited about the opportunity. We got a new team, new energy, young. We lost a lot of offensive and defensive linemen, like eight or nine, really good offensive, defensive linemen. When you lose those, you either replace them with guys that are vets or you replace them with youth and fire, passion and energy.”
Kirby Smart confident not just in Gunner Stockton
While Finebaum grilled Smart on his quarterback, the Georgia head coach was forthcoming on two areas of concern with his 2025 team.
That comes on the offensive and defensive lines, where Georgia had three draft picks each.
On the offensive side, Georgia will lean on its veterans in Micah Morris, Drew Bobo, Earnest Greene and Monroe Freeling to help ease any concerns.
Defensively, youngsters like Joseph Jonah-Ajonye and Elijah Griffin will help set the tone and ceiling for this group.
Still, lost in all the discussions about areas of concern is what Smart told Finebaum about his team.
And the confidence the Georgia head coach has heading into the 2025 season.
“Our team is going to be a really good team,” Smart said. “I’m excited about it. I appreciate all your questioning of it because it just gives me a little extra.”
For more on what Smart had to say about doubts entering this upcoming season, check out what DawgNation’s Connor Riley had to say.
