Morning, y’all!

In the dead of summer, sometimes you get to thinking.

And in a meeting the other day, I brought up this question for the DawgNation staff: What are some of the most athletic or impressive plays you’ve seen a Georgia football player make?

It’s a broad question, for sure, but in July we have a little time to ponder these things before football season cranks up. There’s some recency bias since I gave bonus points if staff was covering the game or had seen the play in person.

I got a kick out of everyone’s answers, and I hope you do too. If anyone wants to pitch in any suggestions, feel free to send them to me at sarah.spencer@ajc.com, and maybe we’ll feature them down the line.

We don’t have perfect video of each of these plays, but I’ve tried to include clips or photos where possible.

Let’s start out with my co-worker Mike Griffith, who outdid himself with his answer:

Tight end Brock Bowers made several big plays throughout his three seasons at Georgia, but perhaps the most pivotal and impressive was “The Matrix” fourth-down conversion in the College Football Playoff Peach Bowl semifinal game against Ohio State on Dec. 31, 2022.

It was a prime example of just how unstoppable — and clutch — Bowers was in the UGA offense.

Georgia was trailing the Buckeyes 38-24 entering the fourth quarter and faced a fourth-and-6 at the Ohio State 13-yard line when Stetson Bennett connected with Bowers running over the middle.

Bowers sprinted toward the sideline and, after being tripped up, flung himself forward and extended the ball while at the same time lifting his feet off the ground to ensure they didn’t make contact with the sideline and lead to him being ruled out of bounds.

“Brock was pretty dumbfounded,” Bennett said of the play after the game, “because he was like, ‘I think I got it,’ and I was like, ‘I thought you did, too, because the route you were catching was at 5 yards, and it was fourth-and-6. People don’t stop him for a yard.”

Officials originally ruled Bowers short of the first down marker, but upon review, the call was changed and UGA converted on the drive for a field goal to cut the lead to 38-27 and spark the fourth-quarterback comeback in the 41-38 victory.

The “Matrix” play from Bowers is one of Jeff Sentell’s favorites, too, along with Jalen Carter picking up Jayden Daniels when Georgia beat LSU in the SEC championship game in 2022.

Georgia defensive lineman Jalen Carter lifts up LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels in 2022. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Jeff also mentioned Jordan Davis chasing down UAB quarterback Tyler Johnston in 2021, in an awesome display of athleticism for the big fella:

Georgia defensive lineman Jordan Davis shows some speed running down UAB quarterback Tyler Johnston III from behind on a quarterback keeper in 2021. (Curtis Compton/AJC)

Video extraordinaire Cody Chaffins brought up the one-handed catch by AJ Green in Colorado in 2010 and the Boss Bailey field goal block against Tennessee in 2002. He wasn’t there in person for those games, but the plays speak for themselves, even from a distance.

Connor Riley mentioned Jalon Walker’s sack of Arch Manning in 2024:

Georgia linebacker Jalon Walker, seen tackling Texas quarterback Arch Manning, had a big night against the Longhorns in 2024. (Jason Getz/AJC)

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For yours truly, it was super hard to decide, and I very nearly went with some Todd Gurley hurdles. But I’m going to bring it back to Bowers, one of the most impressive players I’ve ever seen in college ball.

With Bowers alone, there are several plays you could pick between, but I’m going with him somehow managing to come down with a deflected, bobbled pass for a 73-yard touchdown play against Florida in 2022.

It just seems like the perfect example of Bowers’ Supermanlike reflexes on the field:

After making an incredible catch, tight end Brock Bowers runs for a 73-yard touchdown against Florida in 2022. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Georgia tight end Brock Bowers (center) runs after making a bobbled catch against Florida linebacker Amari Burney for a 73-yard touchdown in 2022. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Georgia tight end Brock Bowers had a big game against Florida in 2022, including this 73-yard touchdown catch. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNation)

Trivia Section

Which Georgia quarterback holds the program record for most consecutive completions in a single game?

Bonus: Can you name how many completions in a row?

(Answer at the bottom of the newsletter)

Georgia football’s shakiest commitment has dropped major intel on TikTok

We’ve had a bunch of fun in this newsletter so far, but let’s dive into a little actual recruiting news from Jeff before we get out of here:

When looking at the board for Georgia’s 2027 commits, there’s always been one name that seemed a little shaky.

Kelsey Adams, a 4-star OT prospect at Langston Hughes, has been committed to UGA since about two hours before the Alabama game on Sept. 27 of last season. But he took his spring visits.

To his credit, he always told reporters and the UGA staff he was going to take his share of those.

Adams took officials to Georgia Tech, Georgia, LSU and North Carolina. He was thinking about an Auburn trip but never made that one. He also told DawgNation this spring that he felt like his recruiting process wouldn’t be final until sometime during his senior season.

What Adams posted on his TikTok account over the weekend shows where his head is at right now. It is good news for DawgNation.

Adams posted an edit on July 4 under the username “yookel_,” which appears to be his personal account. He’s thanked his family members for their support on other posts for that account.

That edit was posted with a music track from Future, which he’s reflected in his own content. It includes the following:

• A picture of him from his Georgia Tech visit that says: “I like G Tech”
• A picture of him from his LSU official visit that reads: “I like LSU”
• A picture of him from his North Carolina visit that reads: “I like UNC”
• A picture of him from his UGA visit that reads: “But I love love love uga”

The caption of the post is also revealing in its own right:

“The crib fasho.”

He followed that with this string of hashtags: #Home #college #stayinghome #godawgs

Read Jeff’s full story using the link below:

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Trivia answer

QB Greyson Lambert vs. South Carolina in 2015 with 20 straight completions in the game