Welcome to September, Bulldog fans. It’s game week, and that means the usual rhythm is back: plan your days around Georgia football, start living and breathing kickoff, and get ready for live Dawgs action in a matter of days.
Kirby Smart’s first game week press conference of the season fit the moment. The message was about what you’d expect this time of year.
He liked what he saw in practices and scrimmages, but he also knows the players are eager to line up against somebody else. He said the team has been conditioned for this weekend’s heat after a hot fall camp, and he pointed to the group continuing to improve and showing leadership.
One thing that stood out was Smart’s praise for tight ends Elyiss Williams and Ethan Barbour. The compliments weren’t about highlight-reel grabs or turning defensive backs around.
It was the dirty work that caught his attention: blocking and toughness. That fits Smart’s brand, and if you’ve been hoping to see plenty of 13 personnel, there’s reason to think it’ll be part of the picture this season.
The presser also brushed up against the ongoing noise around players returning to college after time in the NFL. The subject is getting old, but the reporting says 15 of the 16 SEC schools are looking at options to try to stop it.
That effort is being discussed at the school level rather than through the conference itself, with the idea being that a school could refuse to play an opponent that doesn’t follow SEC rules. Lane Kiffin, meanwhile, has gone the other direction and said the players have his blessing.
Elsewhere in Athens, Georgia women’s soccer added another shutout with a 2-0 win over Mercer. The team still has one more matchup against ranked FSU before conference play begins.
Georgia women’s volleyball is off to a strong start as well. The Bulldogs picked up three wins in the Classic City Clash, beating Furman, George Washington, and North Florida over the weekend. Newly minted SEC Freshman of the Week Gigi Artiles was a big part of that run, and the next stretch will be a real test with a tough slate of top 30 teams in the SEC/Big 10 Challenge.
In Other News...
Jayden Wade Just Ended A Georgia QB Rumor Fans Kept Watching
Jayden Wade has taken one of the more persistent recruiting questions off the board for Georgia. The five-star quarterback commit in the Bulldogs 2028 class said he will stay in his original class instead of moving up to 2027, choosing a longer runway for development before he gets to college.
For Georgia, that keeps the future quarterback picture a little cleaner after already landing a pledge in the 2027 cycle. It also removes a layer of uncertainty around how quickly Wade might arrive, letting the Bulldogs keep building their roster plan with a bit more stability at the games most important position. [Read more 🡒]
Dillon Bells Feel-Good Vikings Win Just Turned Into NFL Uncertainty
Dillon Bells path from Georgia to the NFL took another sharp turn this week, and it was a stunning one. After an encouraging preseason that included seven catches for 59 yards, the undrafted rookie wide receiver appeared to have done enough to earn a spot on the Minnesota Vikings final 53-man roster, a milestone that looked like a real payoff for his work throughout camp.
Instead, Bell was released less than 24 hours after the roster was announced, leaving his immediate future suddenly in doubt. The move stood out even in a time of constant NFL churn, especially with Minnesota choosing to carry four quarterbacks on the final roster, a wrinkle that made Bells brief stay all the more surprising for a player who had just seemed to secure his opportunity. [Read more 🡒]
Stetson Bennetts Rams Future Suddenly Feels Far Less Secure
Stetson Bennett has at least cleared the first hurdle with the Rams, earning a spot on the 53-man roster for the upcoming season. But his place on the depth chart is still unresolved, with Los Angeles not yet deciding whether Bennett or Ty Simpson will be the backup quarterback behind the starter.
It is a meaningful twist for Bennett, whose camp and preseason work helped keep him in the conversation, even as Simpson made the competition tougher than expected. Bennett is playing on an expiring contract, and the Rams decision to draft Simpson only added to the sense that this season could determine whether Bennett has a future in Los Angeles beyond it. [Read more 🡒]