It was Dawgs vs Dawgs on G-Day as the Red Team beat the Black Team in the 81st Annual G-Day game 27-17. Georgia’s offensive identity last season, as it often has been in the Kirby Smart era, was built around its running attack, and the Bulldogs are primed to repeat their success on the ground this season. Both of Georgia’s top two rushers from last season, Nate Frazier and Chauncey Bowens, return. In total, Frazier and Bowens combined for 1,473 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, and in the trenches, paving the way, the Bulldogs brought back eight of the ten linemen who started a game, including 2025 Freshman All-American Dontrell Glover and senior Drew Bobo.
Aside from their strong ground game, Georgia at times last season suffered from a lack of big plays through the air, most notably in their Sugar Bowl loss to Ole Miss, when they couldn’t keep up with the Rebels’ explosive offense.
In particular, throughout the season, Gunner Stockton was criticized for holding onto the ball for too long and missing receivers downfield. There were signs of improvement in that area in his four series with the Red Team.
Stockton looked poised and decisive while airing the ball downfield. He hit incoming four-star freshman Craig Dandridge for a 33-yard gain amongst a number of other impressive deep passing attempts, and found redshirt-sophomore Jaden Reddell for a 7-yard touchdown. It wasn’t just Stockton who was firing deep; Ryan Puglisi found redshirt-freshman Talyn Taylor for a beautiful over-the-shoulder 32-yard catch, and incoming-freshman Brayden Fogle withstood a tough hit for 32 yards courtesy of redshirt-freshman Hezekiah Millender.
Jaden Reddell, who appeared in all of Georgia’s games last season on special teams and as a blocker, but only had one catch for nine yards, impressed in the aerial attack for the Red Team. Craig Dandridge, a four-star out of Milton, Georgia had a strong performance in the passing game and on return duty. Isiah Canion only saw a few snaps on G-Day but had a strong season last year with Georgia Tech with 33 catches for 480 yards.
It felt like the Georgia coaching staff was actively emphasizing passing the ball deep. Dandridge, Fogle, Talyn Taylor, CJ Wiley, Colton Hendrich, Landon Roldan, Ethan Barbour and Will Taylor all had catches for 20 yards or more and are all either freshmen or sophomores. Wiley, Barbour, Roldan, and Talyn Taylor all saw the field for Georgia last year.
Kirby Smart, after the game, said he was very pleased with the progress of the young receiving corps, but added they needed to become more physically tough and show it on the field.
Seniors London Humphreys and Lawson Luckie saw limited action on G-Day but will likely be top targets for Georgia in the fall. Along with their returning seniors, the Bulldogs will need their younger receivers to step up, as six of their seven leading receivers from last season have departed UGA, including leading pass-catcher Zachariah Branch and tight end Oscar Delp, both of whom are likely to be picked in next week’s NFL draft.
On the defensive side of the ball, Georgia returns valuable starters at all three levels. 2025 Second Team All-American KJ Bolden and 2025 FWAA National Defensive Freshman of the Year Ellis Robinson IV return to the secondary. Raylen Wilson, Gabe Harris Jr., and Quintavious Johnson all return as starting linebackers. Freshman All-American Elijah Griffin leads a defensive line with all their impactful players from last season, aside from Christen Miller, who has entered the NFL draft.
The Bulldogs return their 7th-place Heisman quarterback, along with large portions of their stellar running attack and bend-but-don’t-break defense. If the potential their receiving corp demonstrated on G-Day can translate onto the field in the Fall. It would be hard for the Dawgs not to be confident about returning to both the SEC Championship Game and the College Football Playoff.
Georgia opens next season in Athens against Tennessee State on September 5th and begins SEC play on September 19th in Fayetteville, Arkansas, against the Razorbacks.
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