One of the rules I follow on “DawgNation Daily” is to keep our show free from topics that dominate other forms of media — specifically politics.
After 2,500 episodes, I’ve learned that Georgia fans possess a wide variety of points of view. I try to respect those beliefs and avoid needless conflict. After all, there’s already enough of that around UGA football as it is.
Yet, sometimes political topics are unavoidable, and today is one of those days.
The president issued an executive order Thursday around the topic of “Saving College Sports.” The specific details are too numerous to list, but the basic gist is to stop so-called “pay for play” while still allowing athletes to earn compensation.
There will be skepticism about the president’s order, and even his most ardent supporters might acknowledge it won’t fix everything broken with college athletics.
However, it’s notable that momentum is building in Washington to protect college athletics for the future. And to me, that’s a very good thing.
Enjoy more on that and the rest of the news in our coverage below.
Trivia time
How many field goals has UGA kicker Peyton Woodring missed in his two seasons? (Hint: He has attempted 48 field goals).
Answers at the bottom of the newsletter.
Georgia, Texas and Alabama share one big pressure point
In the heat of talkin’ season, everybody’s got questions that inevitably cannot be answered until football season starts.
It’s interesting that the SEC’s top three preseason teams all face the same massive question, pointed out by DawgNation’s Mike Griffith below.
It feels rare for the perceived top three teams in college football’s top conference to all be questioned at quarterback at the same time.
Georgia’s Gunner Stockton, Texas’ Arch Manning and Alabama’s Ty Simpson are the projected week one starters for all three programs.
Of course, all three offenses are built differently. Last season, Alabama’s was clearly designed to live and die with how well the quarterback played. Georgia and Texas appeared to let other players around the quarterback carry more of that burden.
New dawgs in the big pond
NFL training camp started this week for all 32 teams.
That means 13 new UGA draft picks, along with a slew of undrafted free agents, had the first full-team NFL practice of their careers.
Georgia had 58 alumni in the NFL to start last season. If you want to keep up with the newest batch of Bulldogs, here’s a refresher of where all 13 draft picks landed.
Ranking how Kirby should feel about each position group
Sometimes, with the way Smart talks, it seems like Georgia’s entire roster is one big question mark. That’s how it usually feels in spring practice as Smart bangs the “We Know Nothing And We Haven’t Accomplished Anything” drum.
But as we get closer to the season, Smart is more open about players that have emerged and will be key, reliable foundations for Georgia in 2025. So we have some question marks, but we have some exclamation marks, if you will, too.
It can all get confusing, so DawgNation’s Connor Riley ranked each UGA position group based off his confidence level entering August.
Check out the true strengths of Georgia’s roster before the 2025 season, based off talent, depth, experience and ability to take a game over.
Inside linebacker
Tight end
Defensive back
Running back
Wide receiver
Quarterback
Outside linebacker
Defensive line
Offensive line
For Riley’s deeper analysis and explanation, check out the DawgNation story below.
Atlanta Falcons linebacker Jalon Walker speaks to the media after the first practice of training camp was over on Thursday.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Quote of the Day
Smart on the difference between home and visiting locker rooms at SEC Media Days, per SEC Network:
“There should be a documentary done on SEC road locker rooms. They’re decrepit, including ours.”
Details emerge from recent UGA player’s arrest
Georgia offensive lineman Jahzare Jackson was arrested recently and charged with four offenses, including felony possession of marijuana more than 1 oz.
According to the arrest report, obtained by DawgNation via an open records request to the Georgia State Patrol, Jackson was pulled over at approximately 9:02 p.m. on July 16 near the intersection of West Broad Street and Hawthorne Avenue in Athens.
Per the report, the arresting officer noticed Jackson had driven past while having neither of his hands on the steering wheel and the officer saw that Jackson had both of his hands on his phone.
During the traffic stop, the officer allegedly noticed a strong odor coming from the car.
More details from the arrest report can be found in the DawgNation story below. Jackson’s vehicle-related arrest was the third by a Georgia player this year.
