Georgia girls flag football is back on the field, and the next wave of stars is already starting to take shape.
Practice opened Monday, Sept. 7, and the first regular-season games can be played Sept. 14.
From there, the schedule runs through Nov. 14, with GHSA state championships set for Dec. 15-17 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The format stays the same, with champions crowned in five divisions, and the sport’s growth keeps pushing the talent pool wider after more than 300 Georgia high schools played last season.
A lot will change before the title games arrive. Graduation has already cleared out several of the biggest names from 2025, which opens the door for a new group to step forward. Here’s a preseason watchlist of 10 players to know in 2026.
Taking over a two-time defending state champion as a sophomore is enough pressure for most players. Odom threw for 3,396 yards and 54 touchdowns, then delivered the go-ahead score in Greenbrier's 20-13 Division 2 win over Jenkins to finish off the three-peat.
George is back after a huge junior season that included 4,161 passing yards, 56 touchdowns and a 62% completion rate. She helped guide McEachern back to the Division 5 championship game before Pope ended the repeat bid, but she still returns as one of the state’s most accomplished quarterbacks.
Marshall brings a rare resume to the receiver spot. She caught 150 passes for 1,977 yards and 26 touchdowns as Milton reached the Division 4 championship game, and now she becomes the centerpiece after quarterback Audrey Jensen graduated.
Morgan did a little bit of everything for Whitewater. In 2025, the sophomore posted 119 receptions for 948 yards and 16 touchdowns, ran for 348 yards and seven more scores, piled up 96 tackles and picked off eight passes during the Wildcats’ run to the Division 3 championship game.
Lee already showed she can carry a team deep into December. She led Jenkins to its first girls flag football state championship game, throwing for 175 yards and two touchdowns while adding 38 rushing yards in the 20-13 loss to Greenbrier.
If you’re looking for a player who can flip a game in multiple ways, Kitchens fits the bill. She entered last year’s Division 1 championship game with 2,307 passing yards and 35 touchdowns, plus 1,563 rushing yards and 12 scores, finishing with nearly 3,900 total yards and 47 touchdowns for a team that reached the state final.
North Oconee lost championship MVP Catherine Cooper, but not all the production. Mashburn was a sophomore when she intercepted two passes and caught a 24-yard touchdown in the Titans’ 31-6 Division 3 title win over Whitewater, a performance that looked like a preview.
Kalman made her biggest mark when the pressure was highest. In the Division 5 championship game, Pope’s three-peat was slipping away before she tied McEachern with five seconds left, after already running in an extra point and helping set up the decisive conversion in a 14-13 comeback. With several seniors gone, her role is only going to grow.
Butler is still just getting started. As a freshman on a state-finalist team, she caught 68 passes for 772 yards and eight touchdowns, then added a 1-yard scoring run against Pope in the final.
Stewart has been producing since day one. She threw 32 touchdown passes as a freshman, then as a sophomore was averaging about 190 passing yards per game and had 3,687 passing yards and 46 touchdowns late in 2025. A six-touchdown night against Johnson was part of that surge, and all-state recognition followed.
The list is only a snapshot, and last season proved how fast it can change. By the time the GHSA hands out trophies in December, some of these names could be even bigger.
In Other News...
Georgia Fans Are Being Asked To Pay More Just To Stay Connected
Georgia Bulldogs fans have gotten used to paying more to keep up with their team, whether that means handling the rising costs tied to game attendance, navigating donation requirements for ticket requests or simply finding new ways to stay plugged into the program. The latest reminder comes through the Bulldogs NIL efforts, where access to game highlight videos now comes with a $20 monthly subscription, another small but noticeable shift in how Georgia is packaging its football content.
For a fan base that has helped fuel Georgias rise back near the top of the sport, the asks keep stacking up even as the team sits at No. 2 and the bigger picture around the program stays bright. There is plenty to follow beyond football too, with the SEC baseball schedule for 2027 now on the calendar, but the immediate reality is that staying connected to Georgia keeps getting more expensive, one layer at a time. [Read more 🡒]
Stetson Bennett Just Put His Rams Future Back In Focus
Stetson Bennetts path back into the Rams plans got a noticeable boost when Los Angeles settled on him as the backup quarterback heading into the season. After a summer of camp reps and preseason evaluation, Bennett edged out rookie Ty Simpson, a choice that gives the former Georgia star a clearer place on the depth chart than he had a few weeks ago.
Still, the job hardly feels permanent. Bennett is playing on an expiring contract, while Simpson remains under team control for three more years, which leaves the Rams with an obvious decision to revisit next offseason. For Bennett, the assignment is straightforward enough: keep playing well enough to make it hard for the team to move on. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Fans Are Furious Over A Bulldogs Access Decision
The first look at Georgias Week 1 win has turned into a headache for some Bulldogs fans, who discovered the video highlights were posted behind a subscription wall on the Glory Glory Georgia website and app. The platform bills itself as a fan-focused hub for exclusive UGA athletics content, but the move immediately rubbed plenty of supporters the wrong way, especially with the game itself already tucked away on the SEC+ streaming platform.
On social media, the reaction was swift and sharp, with fans venting about both the added cost and the growing number of places they need to pay just to follow the team. For a fan base used to seeing Georgia football as a premium draw, the access decision has become its own storyline, and it is one that leaves the school facing some obvious questions about how much exclusivity is too much. [Read more 🡒]