Morning, y’all — and happy Friday!

I can’t believe week one of me handing the newsletter has come and gone. To everyone who has reached out and welcomed me aboard, it means more than you know, and to ANYONE reading this, I can’t thank you enough.

One of my favorite parts of DawgNation is the community, and I want to help us continue building that. It may sound like a line, but, especially as a Georgia native and UGA grad, I promise it’s not.

I’m sure I’ll see lots of DN folks at Foley Field this weekend for super regionals. Come say hi if you spot me (unless I’m jogging somewhere; that probably means I’m on deadline).

I know I’ve been leading the newsletter with tons of baseball, with Georgia baseball on such a heater, but I figured why not switch it up and start with some football this Friday:

This defensive lineman dishes on his great UGA visit

Seth Tillman was in Athens over the weekend for a vital official visit. There was a lot that stood out amid an overall “great” visit.

The 4-star ranks as the nation’s No. 15 DL and the No. 123 overall prospect for 2027 on the 247Sports Composite. The Rivals Industry Ranking has him as the No. 13 DL and No. 131 overall.

Bear in mind, this is a prospect who already knows Georgia football better than most recruits. He can readily recall which teams UGA beat for the back-to-back national championships earlier this decade.

His most recent visit was either his sixth or seventh trip to check out UGA as a recruit. He’d already taken an official to see South Carolina. Michigan is another team that’s in the mix here. How did the Dawgs help themselves with this OV?

“The biggest way was showing me their vision for me on the team,” Tillman said.

When he tried on the all-black UGA uniform, he said it was “straight fire.” What’s the biggest way the Dawgs raised their stock with him?

“The program raised its stock because they showed me how they invest in a culture to win and to take care of their players,” Tillman said.

Seth Tillman: D-line target had another ‘great’ visit with Georgia football

Four-star South Pointe High School defensive lineman Seth Tillman, shown here at the Georgia-Texas game at Sanford Stadium in November, is one of the top 150 overall prospects in the 2027 class. The South Carolina native has had UGA among his top schools for some time. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNation 2025)

What does Georgia football love about Tillman?

Tillman was part of a state championship team at South Pointe High School last fall.

The South Carolina resident weighed close to 300 pounds during his official visit. That’s about 20-30 pounds heavier than he was at the end of last season.

You can watch his highlights here.

“I want to make sure I’m physical and I’m getting my hands in the right place,” he said. “When I’m at the ‘3′ tech, and I’m getting double-teamed, I’m trying not to get pushed back or stay out of my gap. Then at defensive end, I want to make sure I’ve got my outside contain(ed). I’m surfing and getting hands on the tackle. Making sure I’m doing my responsibility to help my teammates make plays if I’m not making plays.”

“I’m basically trying to stay within the scheme.”

When asked if he’d rather rush the passer or defend the run, it proved to be a tough question.

“That’s a hard one,” he said. “Me personally, I like getting a mean old hit on the running back in the backfield. But I’m going to have to go with a sack. Because when I get a sack — especially when it is in a big game — that’s the best feeling.”

Excitement high for Talyn Taylor

Javon Wims understands what it’s like to be the No. 1 wide receiver at Georgia.

He led the Bulldogs in receiving during the 2017 season — when the Bulldogs won the SEC, beat Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl and advanced to the national championship game.

Wims also knows a good bit about the current Georgia wide receiver room. He serves as an assistant quality control coach for the offense, holding that role last season as well.

That experience gives him great insight into redshirt freshman Talyn Taylor and what he is tasked with this season.

Unlike Wims, who arrived as an unheralded JUCO recruit, Taylor came to Athens as a 5-star prospect. George Pickens is the only other 5-star wide receiver the Bulldogs have signed under coach Kirby Smart, and Pickens led Georgia in receiving as a freshman.

Expectations were high for Taylor. Wims picked up on why pretty quickly.

“With my own two eyes that I can physically touch and watch and all these things, I thought Talyn Taylor was the best freshman that I have been around in a physical form,” Wims said in an appearance on “Off the Clock” with Davin Bellamy.

Georgia staffer shares why expectations and excitement remain high for Talyn Taylor

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Georgia wide receiver Talyn Taylor makes a move after a catch during the G-Day spring football game at Sanford Stadium on Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Athens. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Florida game means the same for Georgia

Last year’s Georgia-Florida game served as the end of an era. The Billy Napier campaign as Florida’s coach had come to an end in October, as he was fired just before the Georgia-Florida game.

The 2025 game, Georgia’s fifth straight win in the series, was also the last in Jacksonville, Florida, for a while. Renovations to the stadium have moved the annual Georgia-Florida rivalry game for the 2026 and 2027 seasons.

When Georgia and Florida meet in Atlanta on Halloween of this season, it will be the first time in series history that the two sides meet in Georgia’s capital city.

Those stakes make the debut of new Florida coach Jon Sumrall seem somewhat smaller.

Sumrall arrives after having led Tulane to the College Football Playoff last season. He’s spent time in the SEC footprint in his stops at Troy and Tulane. He played as a linebacker at Kentucky and has coaching stops at Ole Miss and Kentucky along his coaching career.

Despite newness that comes with 2026 matchup, Florida game means the same for Georgia

Florida might be somewhat glad to get out of Jacksonville for a few seasons. Georgia has won eight of the previous nine in this series, something it hasn’t done in this rivalry since a stretch from 1975 through 1983.

As for Georgia, it’ll hope to maintain the same level of dominance in this rivalry. New coach, new venue, it doesn’t matter.

Beating Florida is still paramount for the Bulldogs to have a successful season. Especially as it leads into a November that sees Georgia go on the road for trips to Ole Miss and South Carolina.

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Rivalry game vs. Auburn carries a heavy bit of irony for Georgia

From 1937 to 2019, Georgia and Auburn would play each other in November. The lone exception came in 1943, when the two teams did not play.

But since 2020, the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry has been played earlier in the season. Five of the last six meetings have taken place in October, with the sixth being played in September. This year’s game will take place on Oct. 17, just before Georgia’s off week.

One of the bigger reasons that the game was moved was because Auburn no longer wanted to play Georgia and Alabama in back-to-back SEC games at the end of the season. From 2015 to 2022, those teams combined to win five of the eight national championships.

But during this upcoming season, Georgia will, ironically, face Alabama and Auburn in back-to-back weeks. On Oct. 10, Georgia will travel to Alabama.

This year’s rivalry game against Auburn carries a heavy bit of irony for Georgia

To round out today’s newsletter, I just wanted to say thank you to all of DawgNation once more for the warm welcome!

I know it was football-heavy today, but we’re about to have a majorly baseball-heavy weekend. We should have plenty of stories and videos for you, so check back at the DawgNation website and our YouTube channel for Georgia baseball coverage.