Lopez was scratched from his last start with knee inflammation. There was little indication of exactly what went wrong, but it doesn’t appear to be serious. He’s already begun a throwing program and doesn’t anticipate this being a very long IL stint.

Spoke to Reynaldo López en Español. He said he’s begun a light throwing program and that he expects the it to be a short stint on the IL.

— Jesús Cano (@Jesus_Cano88) August 6, 2026

How the Braves handle the rotation the rest of the way will be very interesting. Smith-Shawver will surely get a look as a starter when he returns given his upside. It would be difficult to move Holmes or Elder to the bullpen after the way they’ve performed recently, even if Holmes has had a lot of success in a relief role during his time with the Braves.

Lopez has as well, and I’d guess that’s where the Braves put him when he’s ready. That still leaves six guys, but it’s very possible the club chooses to ride a six-man rotation down the stretch to ensure everybody stays healthy. The Braves are probably going to be very cautious with Chris Sale, knowing that if something happens to him, their season is likely over.

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(Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

Smith-Shawver has already made his season debut for the major-league club after undergoing Tommy John surgery last May, and most recently turned in a really strong appearance for the Gwinnett Stripers. He should be back with the Braves within the next couple of weeks.

Schwellenbach’s situation is the most concerning of the bunch. His 2025 campaign ended with a fractured elbow, and he was supposed to be ready for the start of this season before a setback required surgery to remove loose bodies in that same elbow. He’s thrown a handful of bullpens to this point, but serious questions remain about whether the Braves push him to return at all this season, even if they could desperately use another starting pitcher.

Suarez’s injury falls somewhere in the middle. He was placed on the IL in mid-June with elbow inflammation. Further tests revealed no structural damage, and from the sound of it, this seemed like something he’d return from within a few weeks.

It’s now been close to two months, and Suarez still hasn’t thrown a bullpen. That’s not a great sign for someone this impactful. Over 31 appearances, he owns a 0.56 ERA in his first season with the Braves, pitching almost exclusively in high-leverage situations.

The expectation is that he should still return this year with plenty of time to ramp up before October, and Walt Weiss attempted to provide some clarity on the timeline.

“The philosophy there is we want him to be 100% pain-free before he starts to ramp up again,” Weiss said, via Gabe Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “At this point of the season, we just can’t afford a setback. If he were to have a setback, his season is probably over. So we’re just really making sure he’s 100% when he steps on the mound again so he can sprint to the finish line.”

Burns also reported that the pain in Suarez’s elbow is minimal at this point, and all of this lines up with something Alex Anthopoulos said earlier this week about the situation.

“This is about October,” Anthopoulos told Suarez, making sure there were never any thoughts in his mind about trying to rush back.

It’s too early to panic. There are still a couple of months before the Braves take the field for playoff baseball, and it sounds like they’re taking every precautionary measure possible. But if we don’t see Suarez start throwing over the next month, the alarms will be sounding — because not only do they need him healthy, they need him pitching like the dominant relief arm he was before the injury.

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(Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

However, let’s be very clear about something: the Braves acquiring more arms at the deadline was never about August. The division is already well in hand, and the team’s playoff odds sit at 99%. It was always about putting together a staff that was fully loaded for October, giving this incredibly talented team the best chance at lifting the Commissioner’s Trophy — and until that’s decided two months from now, nothing should change your mind about what the Braves did or didn’t do.

I’m worried about Bryce Elder starting in an elimination game and giving up a crooked number before the Braves offense even steps to the plate, leaving Truist Park feeling more like a funeral home than a playoff atmosphere. I’m worried about having a 3-1 lead on the Dodgers and failing to close it out, then spending the next six months wondering how the Braves would have surely been World Series champions if they hadn’t been so hyper-focused on hoarding prospects.

What I’m not worried about is a couple of games in August against the Miami Marlins. So let’s save the congratulations for when things really matter. Then we’ll know if the Braves made the right decision.

What we can all mostly agree on right now is that this team is capable of winning a World Series and is getting healthier than it’s been all season at exactly the right time. But if they’re going to overcome their lack of starting pitching, at least a few of these critical developments will have to go their way.

Austin Riley Stays Hot

Most likely, the Braves are going to have to slug their way to a World Series, and they certainly have the lineup to do it. Their 8th and 9th hitters in last night’s game were both former All-Stars.

Of course, Murphy has struggled over the last couple of seasons and has played in only five games this year, but when he gets hot, he has the type of power to carry an offense.

Riley is an entirely different beast, though. He was a perennial MVP candidate not long ago and one of the most talented offensive players in the league. Injuries have taken their toll of late, but he finally seems to be finding a rhythm, hitting over .300 with an .898 OPS in 18 games since the All-Star break. If he performs like that come October, the Braves are going to be tough to beat.

Didier Fuentes — The Next Ian Anderson

Obviously, Didier Fuentes and Ian Anderson are two entirely different pitchers when it comes to their respective repertoires. Fuentes is far more talented and will hopefully have a much more successful career. But October is where legends are made, and for that one fall month back in 2021, nobody could touch the 23-year-old Anderson, who allowed just three runs over four starts, including five hitless innings against the Astros in the World Series.

I’m not sure the Braves are going to consider stretching Fuentes into a starter over the final couple of months, because he’s been so damn good out of the bullpen. But at the very least, I expect them to use him as a hybrid arm who can go multiple innings in the biggest situations. Over the course of a series, he’s going to be relied on just as much as Anderson was — and probably in higher-pressure moments. If Fuentes proves just as cold-blooded, the Braves will be in good shape.

A Break In The Injury Department

This is the most important of them all, and the Braves really need it to break in two ways. Most importantly, Anthopoulos’ lack of action at the deadline left the club with a razor-thin margin for error. One injury to a major piece of this pitching staff, and their World Series chances plummet toward zero.

On the other side of things, it would be real nice if a couple of injured arms returned and made a significant impact. Robert Suarez has been out with elbow inflammation since mid-June — can he still be the dominant setup man he was over the first few months? Can AJ Smith-Shawver, who will probably rejoin the team in the next couple of weeks, make an impact? And, of course, is there any chance Spencer Schwellenbach returns and looks anything like the guy who took the league by storm as a rookie?

If two of those three become significant contributors come October and the Braves avoid any other major injuries, they can challenge anyone.

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(Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire)

That hasn’t really been the case in Atlanta, for a variety of reasons. Neither of the Falcons’ potential starting quarterbacks entered camp healthy. Tua Tagovailoa is dealing with a minor back injury, while Michael Penix Jr. is still weeks away from being fully cleared following the ACL injury he suffered last season.

And to really add insult to injury, Jalon Walker went down in practice earlier this week. Immediately, it felt as if the energy had been sucked out of Flowery Branch. Practice was called early. Walker buried his face in a towel as teammates embraced him, and he was carted off the field. Within hours, the ACL tear was confirmed and he was ruled out for the season.

Not only will the Falcons be without Walker, but James Pearce Jr. is also expected to receive a hefty suspension from the league following his domestic violence incident during the offseason. Atlanta now has a dire need to add to its EDGE room — but that’s not the blockbuster trade ESPN has in mind heading into the season. They believe the Falcons are better off selling, accumulating draft picks as the new regime focuses on the future.

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49ers receive: S Jessie Bates III, 2028 sixth-round pick
Falcons receive: 2027 third-round pick

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This might be the fourth different outlet I’ve seen suggest the 49ers trade with the Falcons for safety Jessie Bates III, and it’s not without reason.

Bates has been a star in Atlanta, named All-Pro in two of his three seasons with the team. This is a piece the Falcons can’t afford to lose if they’re trying to win now — but how much is this team really thinking Super Bowl?

The Falcons don’t know who their quarterback is going to be in Week 1. The defense just lost arguably its most promising young piece. They have $38 million in cap space going unspent, a number that’s expected to skyrocket next year, when they might have a better idea of the future at quarterback. And perhaps most notably, this is a new regime that doesn’t really have any pressure to win right away, even if Atlanta would desperately like to break a postseason drought dating back to 2017.

The Falcons aren’t Super Bowl contenders. They’re fringe playoff contenders in a weak division at best. Given that Bates is entering the final year of his contract and probably doesn’t have many seasons left in the league, acquiring a valuable top-100 draft pick and moving him to a contender does make sense — whether that’s now or closer to the midseason trade deadline.

The connection between Bates and former Falcons head coach Raheem Morris also adds another layer to the conversations. He’s now the defensive coordinator in San Francisco, so this is a hypothetical trade that could definitely pick up some steam at some point.

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(Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire)

They were after the very few true ace-type pitchers on the market, targeting Tarik Skubal, Jacob deGrom, and Logan Webb. If they weren’t able to land someone they viewed as a game-changer, they were perfectly fine standing pat — which is essentially what happened, with the only addition being Tyler Mahle, who’s nothing more than a mid-rotation starter.

When it came to Skubal, the most high-profile option on the market, it really came down to the Dodgers and the Brewers. According to Ken Rosenthal, the rest of the offers didn’t come close, even if Atlanta was willing to part with just about every young player in its system.

“The Braves never got close to a deal for Skubal, even though they made virtually all of their young players available, including right-handers AJ Smith-Shawver and JR Ritchie,” Rosenthal reports. “The same was true for the Chicago Cubs. Infielder Jefferson Rojas, the prospect they sent to the New York Mets for right-hander Clay Holmes and outfielder Tyrone Taylor, is not at the level of Hope.”

The Dodgers deal did feel a little light, and while perhaps there were ulterior motives that had nothing to do with landing the best possible package, there’s one thing worth remembering: beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

On paper, the Braves might have been able to match the Dodgers’ offer by including AJ Smith-Shawver and Eric Hartman. But if Detroit’s scouts were blown away by Zyhir Hope, that’s what matters. Prospect rankings are a useful evaluation tool, but not every organization views things the same way.

As far as deGrom is concerned, the Braves had all but a done deal in place to bring him to Atlanta — until he refused to waive his no-trade clause. Rosenthal reported that earlier this week and has since had multiple executives confirm a deal was essentially finished. The last hurdle was deGrom’s approval.

“After that story appeared, two executives said a trade almost certainly was in place,” Rosenthal continues. “The execs, granted anonymity for their candor, pointed out that teams do not approach players about waiving no-trade clauses so close to the deadline unless something is done.”

That’s going to sting for a long time if the Braves fall just short of the World Series this year. The club has been in pursuit of a frontline starter to pair with Chris Sale for years, and they finally had one on the way before it was nixed at the last minute. That’s another thing outside their control — but it doesn’t mean the Braves shouldn’t have pivoted elsewhere to find someone who could help support such a top-heavy rotation.

According to Rosenthal, they considered those options — like José Soriano, who was eventually dealt to the Blue Jays — but felt the prospect cost didn’t line up for someone they didn’t view as a difference-maker.

“The Braves also were involved in discussions for right-hander José Soriano and other starters, according to a person briefed on their talks. But other than Skubal and deGrom, they did not view those pitchers as difference-makers, or even better than what they had.”

Ultimately, whether the Braves were right or wrong will be made clear to the entire world when October baseball comes around. The starting pitching staff has been more than adequate during the regular season and is pitching some of its best baseball right now amid an eight-game win streak. But the playoffs are an entirely different beast.

Will Atlanta’s rotation hold up enough to get them over the top? We’ll find out in two months.

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Photo: Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire

Rookie Jim Jarvis did enough to win the starting job while Ronald Acuña Jr. was out. Acuña’s absence forced Mauricio Dubon into the outfield every day, which opened the door for Jarvis. Now Acuña is back, Dubon has shifted into his normal super-utility role, and while the Braves recently said Jarvis is the team’s primary shortstop, it might be time to reconsider.

Jarvis is fantastic defensively. That’s been his calling card since the minors and it’s carried over nicely to the top level. Offensively, there have been signs, particularly in Triple-A this season, where he hit .313 with 29 extra-base hits in just 76 games before being promoted. That success carried over to Atlanta for a brief stretch, but it’s slowed considerably over his last 12 games, in which he’s hitting just .143 with a .382 OPS.

It’s pretty evident the Braves’ best lineup right now has Mauricio Dubon manning shortstop. But then there’s Ha-Seong Kim, who the club refuses to move on from despite him offering nothing all season. He has played in only 27 games because of various injuries, and has somehow managed to hit .068 with an OPS+ of -30, which I didn’t even know was possible over a sample size that large.

If Kim is going to be on the roster, though, the Braves are best off giving him at least a few opportunities at shortstop for a couple of reasons. First, he could be a quality addition to the lineup if he reverts to the player he’s been his entire career. And if he doesn’t, the Braves will know it’s time to cut bait, because he offers next to nothing on the bench.

He can’t change a game with one swing. He’s not better defensively than Jarvis or Dubon. He’s not a guy you call on to swipe a bag. That roster spot could be put to much better use if Kim isn’t starting — who cares whether the Braves paid him $20 million in the offseason.

The next couple of months will be an interesting watch at the position. If the playoffs started today, it’s hard to imagine anybody other than Dubon starting at shortstop. Both Jarvis and Kim are running out of opportunities to prove otherwise.

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(Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire)

The 19-year-old — he turns 20 tomorrow — recently received the call to Double-A after what was quite possibly the best start of his professional career, one in which he struck out 14 batters and allowed just one run over 6.2 innings.

Caminiti’s debut for Columbus wasn’t quite as dominant. In fact, it took just one batter for him to be welcomed to the Southern League, as Josh Adamczewski homered to begin the game.

Left-on-left against a top 50 prospect in the game, Josh Adamczewski cranks the first pitch of the game 100 mph off the roof of a building in right.

He is good. pic.twitter.com/fRLJdhJAsX

— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) August 6, 2026

Caminiti settled down from there, though. He allowed just one more run over the next 5.1 innings and struck out three — two of which came against Adamczewski, so there was a nice little battle between the two top prospects.

At this very moment, Caminiti is the one pitcher in the Braves system who’s shown true frontline starter potential if everything goes right. The organization has worked on a ton of things mechanically with him this season, which is why the surface-level numbers aren’t exactly eye-popping, but that’s what this entire process is about — taking a prospect with immense upside and molding him into the player you believe he can be.

Caminiti has done a very nice job handling this season, and when he’s at his best, flashing a legit six-pitch mix, it’s easy to see why the entire baseball world is high on his potential.

The next calendar year is going to be big for him. He’s inching closer to the majors, and the Braves have never been hesitant to call up their prospects. If he starts flashing his best stuff with more consistency, we could see him in Atlanta as early as next season.

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(Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire)

Ronald Acuña Jr. led the way with a couple of home runs. They weren’t exactly his typical screamers — one of them actually the result of Marlins players running into each other on the warning track — but they all count the same in the box score.

Matt Olson added a double to go along with his 32nd home run of the season. The two extra-base hits now have him leading all of baseball in extra-base knocks, just ahead of Houston’s Yordan Alvarez, who’s likely to go on and win the MVP in the American League. That’s the kind of season the Braves first baseman is having as he closes in on 40 home runs with a lot of baseball still left to play.

Michael Harris II and Mauricio Dubon also did something pretty unique, recording hits in three straight innings.

But just because the pitching staff didn’t need its A-game doesn’t mean it took the night off. Martin Perez looked great over three innings, allowing just one walk with three strikeouts before he was unfortunately removed due to a lengthy rain delay. The bullpen then covered the next six on the way to an 11-3 win — the club’s eighth straight victory.

And it’s not as if the Braves are winning by the skin of their teeth. The Nationals and Marlins barely put up a fight, with Miami never leading at any point in the series. This might be the best baseball we’ve seen in Atlanta all season, and we’re talking about a team that’s won 70 games in early August and sits 25 games over .500.

A much stiffer task awaits this weekend, however, as the Braves travel to New York for an interleague battle with the Yankees — which is where we’ll get our first look at Tyler Mahle. The trade deadline addition is set to make his Braves debut on Friday night, followed by Chris Sale on Saturday and Grant Holmes in the series finale.

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(Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire)

Both Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. are less than 100%. The back injury for Tua is minor, and he’s participating in practice. Penix, on the other hand, hasn’t even begun 11-on-11 work, and it could be a few more weeks before that happens as he recovers from the torn ACL he suffered last season.

Additionally, Jessie Bates III and Zach Harrison are also dealing with injuries. Bates has missed the last few practices, but Kevin Stefanski did provide some positive news — it’s a minor back issue, so it shouldn’t be long before we see the All-Pro safety back on the field.

Harrison has been dealing with a knee injury dating back to last year, which landed him on Injured Reserve for the final two months of the season. His absence was a big one for the Falcons, as he was amid a breakout campaign in his third season, recording 22 tackles and 4.5 sacks. With Walker out for the year, having as many disruptive bodies as possible across the defensive line is paramount. Hopefully Harrison will be ready to roll when the Falcons take the field in Week 1 against the Steelers.

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(Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

We have made the following roster moves:

– Released Troy Andersen
– Signed Kristian Wilkersonhttps://t.co/qPic7TsZA5 pic.twitter.com/bBDhmd8BSK

— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) August 7, 2026

Andersen was the 58th overall pick, and his story is a frustrating one. The Falcons bet on his athleticism — a guy who came out of a small town in Montana and went to Montana State, but had ridiculous speed for his size. It was a project pick, one where Atlanta believed they could mold him into one of the premier linebackers in the league.

Over his four years with the team, there were flashes — most notably a 2024 game against the Saints in which he had 16 tackles and a pick-six, earning NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. But he could never stay healthy, and that was ultimately his downfall. Over the last three seasons, he played in just nine games, with a lingering knee injury forcing him to miss the entire 2025 campaign.

Given his rookie contract was up, it was a bit surprising the new regime didn’t cut ties immediately, but they apparently wanted to see what he could provide if he showed up to training camp healthy. He couldn’t, beginning camp on the PUP list, which led to this move.

It really is a disappointing story. Andersen had the talent to carve out a long career, but his body hasn’t been able to hold up, and this very well could be the end of the line for him.

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(Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire)

The 2026 Georgia defense returns a solid base of starters and key contributors from 2025’s SEC Championship squad. That may be nowhere more apparent than at safety and STAR, where a potent mix of returning all-conference honorees and immediate impact transfers combine to create potentially the strongest unit on the defense.

Georgia’s 2025 safety room was anchored by sophomore KJ Bolden, who took over as the full-time starter after Malaki Starks departed for the NFL. Bolden picked up where he’d left off as a freshman, earning Second Team All-SEC honors. Kyron Jones broke through as a first year starter before a foot injury ended his season in October.

Former five star recruit Joenel Aguero appeared in 12 games, starting all of them, and tallied 39 tackles (22 solo) and 0.5 tackles for loss for two yards. Aguero actually yielded some snaps as the season went on to freshman Rasean Dinkins, who saw action in 13 games as a true freshman.

Southern Cal transfer Zion Branch emerged as a key contributor, seeing anction in 11 games and tallying 27 tackles, 5 of them in the Sugar Bowl against Ole Miss. UAB transfer Adrian Maddox rotated in behind them, while senior JaCorey Thomas stepped up significantly once Jones went down. Though the secondary as a whole was exposed at times, most notably in the Sugar Bowl loss to Ole Miss, there was enough there to expect big things moving forward.

Maddox is now at Kansas State, Aguero transferred to Ole Miss, and Thomas decamped for the NFL. But what remains on the roster in Athens is a ton of experience and a ton of talent.

Bolden is back for his junior season as the unquestioned leader of the room. In 2025 he started all 14 games and finished second on the team with 76 tackles, adding two interceptions, 5 pass breakups, a fumble recovery, and a blocked punt. His combination of physicality and range makes him a preseason All-SEC candidate again, and a likely first day NFL Draft selection next April.

Kyron Jones returns after his breakout redshirt-sophomore campaign was cut short. He started Georgia’s first six games in 2025, racking up 24 tackles and a key fumble recovery in a win over Auburn, before that foot injury sidelined him for the rest of the year. A full offseason of recovery puts him right back in the mix for a starting job.

Branch is back for another season after playing a complementary role in 2025. He appeared in 11 games, making 27 tackles (19 solo) with two pass breakups, and saw his workload increase late in the year as injuries to Jones and others took a toll on the depth chart. He should pick up right where he left off.

Dinkins likewise returns, having started the SEC Championship Game in place of Aguero, whose nagging injuries during his three seasons in Athens appear to have helped the freshman from Warner Robins pass him on the depth chart. Dinkins will likely play a versatile role in the 2026 rotation, though it’s unclear whether he’ll earn a starting nod over Jones.

Valdosta native Todd Robinson didn’t record any stats in 2025, but will likely be in the rotation for snaps and contribute on special teams. Fellow redshirt freshman Jaylan Morgan likewise didn’t make waves last season in his first year on campus, but returns with a chance to earn snaps in a reserve role.

Georgia also added two experienced transfers to fortify the position. Khalil Barnes arrives from Clemson, where a lingering hamstring injury limited him to 40 tackles and two pass breakups over 9 starts in 2025. However for his career at Auburn with a Lake Barnes was wildly productive, posting 139 tackles, 7 interceptions, and 3 forced fumbles across three seasons. He’s expected to compete immediately for a starting spot, likely at STAR.

Ja’Marley Riddle joins from East Carolina, where he earned First Team All-AAC recognition in 2025 after totaling 70 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 3 interceptions, 6 pass breakups, and a fumble recovery. Across two seasons with the Pirates he piled up 134 tackles and six interceptions, and he brings two years of remaining eligibility to Athens. While the SEC is certainly a step up in competition, Riddle’s production at ECU can’t be ignored. Like Barnes, even though he may be new to Bulldog fans he’s a player who’s excelled against solid competition and is already accustomed to the speed of the college game.

As if there weren’t enough guys vying for snaps, Georgia’s 2026 signing class also brought in a wave of safety talent. Jordan Smith, a four star prospect out of Houston County High in Warner Robins, was ranked among the top ten safeties nationally and gives the Bulldogs another premium in-state building block. Zech Fort, a four star signee from Bradenton, Florida, adds size, range, and ball skills to the room.

Tyriq Green and Blake Stewart, both four star in-state signees from the Atlanta area, round out a group of four true freshmen safeties, part of a six man defensive back haul that also included two cornerbacks.

None of the four newcomers are expected to start right away given the presence of veterans like Bolden, Jones, Dinkins, and Branch, along with proven transfers in Barnes and Riddle. But Green in particular showed in the spring that he’s going to earn some chances to prove himself. Kirby Smart expects his players to compete every day in practice, and we’ll likely see the four freshmen get early tryouts against Tennessee State, Western Kentucky, and Arkansas in the first three weeks of the season.

With so many new and returning pieces competing for reps throughout fall camp, Georgia’s safety room looks deeper and more experienced on paper than it did a year ago, even if the exact starting lineup will not be settled until closer to the season opener.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

Admittedly there is a lot of cynicism surrounding college football, and college athletics generally, these days. And that’s definitely justified.The television people and the agents and the private equity stuffed Patagonia vests are mostly in charge, and the rest of us who actually give a dang about the sport often feel either ignored or taken for granted. It’s tempting to look back on a far-off halcyon yesteryear, when things were simpler and better, and to wonder how long the sport will survive.

I find however that those sentiments tend to be most prominent during the long offseason, when the business side of college football is on full, hideous display. Once the games actually kick off we’re reminded that college football is still a whole lot of fun. It retains the power to excite, to captivate, and even to inspire like no other show on turf.

Just consider Senior Day at Sanford Stadium on November 20, 2021. That team would of course go on to break a four decade long drought by winning a national title only a few weeks later, but we didn’t know that at the time. We just knew there were a lot of special footballs players on that team. And few were more special than Jordan Davis.

The big guy began his Senior Day celebration in the first quarter by going over the goal line on a one yard run for the first touchdown of his collegiate career. Then after the Dawgs finished off Charleston Southern 56-7, Davis received an honor few expected.

A lot of people did not know that Davis had friends in the Redcoats Band, and in addition to being a fantastic singer, has a penchant for conducting. It was one of those moments that is really only possible in college football. So on this morning, with only a scant handful of Saturday mornings between you and college football, rest assured that there will be magical moments in 2026, and know that we can’t wait to share them with you in these digital pages. Until later…

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

The SEC generally, and Georgia’s schedule specifically is absolutely full of elite players. Along with the other preview series we’re running here at Dawg Sports as fall practice looms, I thought it would be instructive to look at the ten best players the Red and Black will see this season. We begin with a Vandy defensive back who’s going to have a lot on his shoulders this year.

Martel Hight, CB, Vanderbilt (vs. Vanderbilt, Oct. 3)

With Diego Pavia gone to the NFL, Vanderbilt’s defense becomes the more proven side of the ball, and Hight is its anchor. In 2025 he led the SEC in interceptions among defensive players, finishing with four picks and 35 tackles despite Vanderbilt not placing any defenders on the All-SEC teams.

Hight has been a steady piece of the Vanderbilt secondary since his true freshman year, when he played in all 12 games and accounted for 38 tackles and an interception. As a sophomore he added 33 tackles, two interceptions, four passes defended, and a forced fumble, while also handling return duties. He was chosen to represent the program at SEC Media Days entering his senior season, a sign of the trust the staff has in his leadership as the Commodores transition to a new quarterback.

In 2025 the Commodore staff gave Hight a look at receiver, where he’d been a standout in high school. The move made sense with Diego Pavia at QB but question marks surrounding Vandy’s receiving corps. Getting Hight, among the best athletes on the roster, more snaps to be explosiive made sense on paper.

On the field it was less of a winner. Hight was targeted just 11 times out of 55 offensive snaps, catching just 7 balls and accounting for just 64 yards and no touchdowns. Hight played more than 10 offensive snaps in three of Vanderbilt’s first four games, then never got that level of usage again. Just one throw went Hight’s way after week four, as the staff seems to have realized his highest and best use is at corner.

For Georgia, Hight is the kind of corner who can turn a broken coverage into a turnover. His ball skills and instincts for finding the football make him dangerous on any pass that isn’t placed well. Gunner Stockton will need to know where Hight lines up on every snap and avoid feeding him opportunities in obvious passing situations, since he has shown a knack for cashing in on mistakes against the SEC’s best offenses.

Go ‘‘Dawgs!!!

Is there anything in this world better than watching Florida Gator fans being miserable. I submit that there is not.

And if you enjoy miserable Florida fans, the 2021 World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party was a banner affair for you.It began promisingly enough. The #1 ranked Bulldogs missed a field goal on their opening drive, giving the Gators a sliver of hope. In fact the Gators held the Dawgs to a 0-0 tie through the first quarter.

The Bulldogs did manage to connect on a field goal early in the second, but the Sunshine State Saurians were still in this one.

Right up until they weren’t.

It started innocuously enough with an Anthony Richardson fumble. James Cook then scored on the next play. Then when Florida got the ball back and Richardson threw a pick. Stetson Bennett made him pay for it by completing a 36 yard touchdown to Kearis Jackson on the ensuing play. Suddenly it was 17-3 Georgia. It couldn’t get worse, right? Wrong.

Richardson’s second interception in less than a minute of game time resulted in a Nakobe Dean touchdown that everyone , including Gary Danielson, saw coming from a mile away.

Two offensive snaps. 21 points. Total Gator humiliation. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Vanderbilt is coming off one of the most successful seasons in program history, going 10-3 overall and 6-2 in the SEC while being in the playoff conversation the whole year. Head coach Clark Lea has built up the Vandy program into something extremely respectful, if not borderline borderline playoff contending – will need a couple more years of sustained success to go that far.

Offense

In 2025, the Commodores finished 8th in the nation in points per game at 38.5 thanks in large part to quarterback Diego Pavia. Pavia was the engine of the Vandy offense and finished as the Heisman runner-up. 2026, though, will see a new signal caller under center. Most believe that true freshman and former UGA commit Jared Curtis will be the starter in Week 1. A former five-star recruit and Nashville native, Curtis flipped to Vanderbilt just prior to putting pen to paper for his signing. Curtis is by far the biggest recruit in the history of Vanderbilt football, who had never had even a top 50 commit prior to Curtis signing. Having already drawn comparisons from his head coach Lea, it seems that Curtis will indeed be the starter. Other quarterbacks pushing Curtis for the starting spot are third year quarterback Blaze Berlowitz and and Whit Muschamp, son of Will Muschamp.

Though the quarterback will be new, the main player they will hand the ball off to is not. Sedrick Alexander returns for another year as the starting running back after averaging 5.4 yard per carry and accumulating 15 total touchdowns last season. Alexander will likely be tasked with carrying a bigger workload in 2026 to ease the pressure off the true-freshman Curtis.

The Commodores did lose All-American tight end Eli Stowers who will now be catching passes from Jalen Hurts for the Philadelphia Eagles. Despite the loss of their leading pass catcher in terms of receptions, Vanderbilt does return their top wide receiver in Junior Sherrill who led the team with 800 yards through the air.

Even with Alexander, Sherrill, and more returning, the offense will only go as far as Curtis can take them. While an elite talent, it remains to be seen how well his game translates from Tennessee Class A football to the SEC

Defense

While Vanderbilt’s offense was putting up video game numbers, their defense was merely trying to do their part in securing each win, giving up 22.8 points per game which was 48th in the country.

The Dores return cornerback and Rome High School grad Martel Hight who led the team in interceptions in 2025 (he also added seven catches on offense, too). Additionally, Vanderbilt returns both of their leading tacklers in CJ Heard (safety) and Bryan Longwell (linebacker). Furthermore, their leading edge rusher Miles Capers also returns to add to his sack total from 2025.

All of this is to say, while Vanderbilt’s defense was not one of the conference’s elite in 2025, they do return a good amount of their talent. Clark Lea made his name coordinating one great defense after another, and he will have that side of the ball prepared to complement their offense in 2026.

Prediction

As is the case often times when Vanderbilt comes to Athens, it will be Homecoming week of the Dawgs. As someone who holds degrees from both institutions, the game is uniquely exciting for me; however, make no mistake, I want Georgia to win by 50 every time out.

While I don’t think Georgia wins by quite that amount, I find it difficult to see Vanderbilt not just pulling off the upset but keeping it relatively close. The Dawgs are formidable in Sanford, and no one in the stadium, from the players to the fans, will make Curtis’ life any easier after spurning Georgia late in the recruiting cycle.

Georgia 34 Vanderbilt 17

Alabamas safety Keon Sabb was one of the most productive defensive backs in the SEC in 2025, leading the Tide with 4 interceptions while earning first-team All-SEC and third-team All-American honors as a junior. He was a projected top-five safety in the 2026 NFL Draft before deciding to return to Tuscaloosa for one more season, a decision that gives Alabama a proven veteran leader on the back end of its defense.

Preseason accolades have followed him into 2026. Sabb earned a spot on Athlon Sports’ preseason All-America second team at safety and has continued to be recognized as one of the premier defensive backs in the conference. His ability to read quarterbacks and close on the ball has made him a focal point of Alabama’s defensive game plan, and he’s regarded as one of the best returning safeties anywhere in the country entering the season.

For Georgia, Sabb is the type of player who can single-handedly change the math on a passing down. A safety who knows how to bait quarterbacks into thinking a window is open when it isn’t, and has shown he can finish those plays rather than just batting the ball away. When the Dawgs and Tide face off on October 10th in Tuscaloosa Georgia’s passing game will need to account for where Sabb is playing on any given snap, particularly on deep shots or intermediate crossers, since a mistake in his direction could easily end a possession.

The 6’1, 208 pound New Jersey native is also big and physical enough to make plays against the run and to create pressure at the line of scrimmage. I’s expect the Michigan transfer entering his third season at Alabama to be moved around more, making him harder to account for and taking advantage of his instincts and football IQ.

Here at DOT HQ the last several weeks, we’ve been watching the bubble for which former Bulldogs will qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs – the PGA Tour’s postseason. Last week in Detroit was fairly kind to some of our boys on the wrong side of the 70th position, so let’s take a look at who did what.

Brendon Todd started the week in 217th place, and only a win would’ve given him hope. Since he missed the cut, he is mathematically eliminated. Harris English was already top 50 and used the Rocket Classic to work on his game. It looked decent for the first two rounds and he made the weekend, but over par on Saturday and Sunday gave him a 71st place finish and he dropped to #49 on the playoff points list. No need to worry – he’s assured of a playoff berth. Russell Henley was likewise a lock for extended play at #14. He still shot all four rounds under par and tied for 20th. But that actually dropped him 1 spot to #15 in FedEx Cup points – still a lock.

Chris Kirk began last week at #147 and really needed a win to get close to the magic 70th position. His Saturday 66 gave him a realistic shot, and he spent a good chunk of Sunday within 1 or 2 shots of the lead. But a honest-to-God shank early on his final 9 holes really shook him, and his final round 70 meant a tie for 8th and he only moved up to 127th place in the playoff race.

Similarly Davis Thompson began in 93rd spot, and to leapfrog the logjam in front of him required a top 3 finish. He was 2nd page leaderboard material until a Sunday 66 jumped him into a tie with Kirk for 8th, which means he only moved up to 81st. But still within shouting distance and a realistic chance to advance if he gets top 3 or better this week. He finished 11th at Wyndham last year, and Kirk finished 5th, so there’s a chance.

After 34-odd weeks, the PGA Tour’s final regular season event is upon us. 4 majors, 8 signature events, the Players Championship, 20 other regular tournaments and a smattering of opposite-field events are in the books and it all comes down to this week. Sorta (there’s a Fall season that is only kinda official, but can be used to better your status going into 2027).

Tournament: Wyndham Championship, August 6-9, 2026

Course: Sedgefield Country Club par 70, 7,131 yards. It will likely play closer to 6,800 or 6,900 yards each day as they move tee boxes up and back. After a brutal June, the hot and wet July means the small undulating greens are protected by pretty thick rough, so be prepared to find fairways.

Purse: $8.5 million in total, and $1,530,000 to the winner.

Defending Champ: Cameron Young. The Wake Forest Demon Deacon famous for runner-up finishes finally broke through for his first Tour win. And it wasn’t particularly close – he lapped the field and was up 6 or more shots pretty much the entire final round.

Fun Fact: It’s an old-school Donald Ross design in Greensboro, NC which is famous for shuttered textile mills and birthplace of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Literally the ACC was formally brought into existence at the Sedgefield clubhouse. Do you think the ACC founding fathers envisioned Cal as a future member, and having Belichick and Dabo as the flag bearers?

TV Times: Just like last week, Golf Channel has broadcast coverage 3-6 pm ET Thursday and Friday and 1-3 pm ET Saturday and Sunday. CBS will have its last golf broadcast of the year Saturday and Sunday starting at 3 pm ET.

‘Dawgs in the Field: 6. In addition to Thompson, English, and Kirk mentioned above, Keith Mitchell (#47 in FedEx), Brian Harman (#63), and Sepp Straka (#37) are teeing it up this week in Greensboro.

So there’s who to watch and root for. When the only football is NFL preseason, this might be a good alternative. Check out the pressure as millionaires and hundred-thousandaires fight to keep their cushy jobs for next year. And as always…

GO ‘DAWGS!!!

Georgia fans and people at a squat rack have one main thing in common; they want to see a tight end.

Luckily for all, Georgia boasts a solid TE room mixed with veterans and newcomers ready to make an impact when the 2026 season begins in just a few weeks.

The most notable and positive name in the group is Lawson Luckie, who returns for his senior year after posting 15 catches for 158 yards and 4 TDs last season. Mike Bobo is certainly Luckie to have a reliable veteran in the fold, especially one who has shown the ability to make big plays when he’s needed. Luckie posted 3/4 of his TDs last season in the Ole Miss V1.0 game in Athens, each of which were needed to help secure the Dawgs’ one-possession win.

The big Senior out of Norcross, GA, coming in at 6’4” 240 lbs, is not a player you want to mess with nor cross, as he has the size and strength to certainly hold his own. This size helps in the running game, as Luckie is often tasked with blocking Defensive Ends and Outside Linebackers. Last season, he spent a considerable number of plays as the lead blocker on WR screens, of which Georgia fans are undoubtedly all too familiar.

This commitment to WR screens was frustrating to some, but opened up the “fake WR screen TE wheel route” play that seemed to work for at least one big gain every game. With the Screen Menace Branch now in the NFL, it will be interesting to see if this type of play is as potent as before.

If not, Mike Bobo et al. will have to come up with more creative ways to get Luckie the ball. His combination of size and speed makes him a mismatch, and like we said, any Offensive Coordinator would be Luckie to have him on their team.

With that being said, Luckie has career totals of 41 catches for 515 yards over three season, not necessarily numbers that jump out at you. But as one of only two returning players who had multiple TD receptions last season, he should have plenty of opportunity to improve upon those significantly.

The other big name to know in the TE room is Elyiss Williams. Not unlike real estate, the three most important words when talking about Elyiss Williams are “potential, potential, potential.” The towering 6’7” Sophomore returns after showing flashes in an overall quiet Freshman season. But in an offense that loves featuring 2-tight end sets, and with Oscar Delp now in the NFL, Williams should see the field much more often in 2026.

This aforementioned potential was on full display early in the Mississippi State game last season. On one first-quarter drive, he made an acrobatic, leaping catch on third down, then shoved a defender 5 yards back to pave the way for a Chauncey Bowens TD run.

Mike Bobo, like a young artist seeking inspiration, should look no further than the 2022 UGA offense to find ways to properly use Williams. That national title winning squad used fellow giant TE Darnell Washington perfectly, taking advantage of his agility and strength as a lead blocker on the perimeter, while using his frame and catch radius in the passing game.

Defenders hated seeing Big 0 rumbling full speed at them, and his consistent presence as a lead blocker wore teams down over the course of games, opening up lanes all over.

We saw the natural abilities and uncoachable size of Williams last season, but he needs to improve his blocking ability if he wants to be the offensive staple Georgia fans hope to see. He has the potential to completely open up the playbook in a way that’s been missing since Washington crossed the Allegheny into the NFL, and here’s to hoping that potential is realized.

Lastly but not leastly, and excuse my French, nous avons Kaiden Prothro. The electric young Freshman moves more like a WR but could be listed as a TE given he’s 6’6” and 210 lbs. Though it is hard to project ahead, the highlight reel and high school accolades hint at a promising collegiate career. Prothro enters college this year as the great state of Georgia’s all-time leading TD catcher, which not many others can say (none, to be specific).

Prothro certainly has a chance to make an impact from day 1, but Kirby has always been adamant that if you can’t block, you can’t play. Adjusting to the physical nature of SEC ball will be the biggest challenge for him in year 1, especially early, but if he is able to hold his own in the running game, then we could see some electric plays from the start.

The offensive coaching staff has a lot of interesting and complimentary pieces to play with this season when it comes to the TE position. While this room may not have a Brock Bowers, becuase no room ever will, there are players who are capable of impacting the game at multiple levels.

How the coaching staff chooses to use these chess pieces will be very interesting, and luckily, we are only a few weeks away from finding out.

Holmes on the hill pic.twitter.com/jtjTjbGMNL

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 30, 2026

Once again, Drake Baldwin will hit leadoff, one of the few players who’s had success with the stick in recent days. Ronald Acuña Jr. is back in the second spot, which could be something we see the rest of the way as Walt Weiss tries to break up the left-handed hitters at the top of the order.

But the big story is obviously Riley’s absence. He gets the night off after a miserable series in New York in which he went 0-for-10 with eight strikeouts. It’s been one step forward and three steps back for Riley all season. He seemed to finally be finding a groove, and then he turns in a five-game stretch where it doesn’t look like he’s ever seen major-league pitching before.

For what it’s worth, this is unlikely to be something that lasts more than a couple of games. The Braves aren’t going to give up on the highest-paid player in franchise history this early — no matter how atrocious he’s been. However, giving Austin Riley a day or two off to clear his head can’t hurt at this point.

(Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire)

Is it enough to earn him a spot back on the roster? I’m not sure, but it’s a decision that has to be made over the next 24 hours. His 20-day rehab stint expires today, meaning the Braves either have to bring him back to Atlanta, designate him for assignment, or move him in a trade.

If the Braves eat almost all of the remaining money he’s owed, it’s conceivable there would be some interested parties across the league, but it would be foolish to act like the market is going to be robust. The most likely scenario is they decide who could be more valuable for the rest of the season: Kim or Jorge Mateo.

Mateo offers tremendous speed on the bases and is better defensively, but the offense has really fallen off a cliff since the start of June. He’s hitting just .120 with a .330 OPS over his last 53 plate appearances. Those are still better numbers than Ha-Seong Kim produced, of course, but there’s no question the monetary aspect will hold some weight in these conversations. The Braves are going to want to see if they can get anything out of the $20 million investment they made in the offseason.

What absolutely should not be on the table is optioning Jim Jarvis. I know losing Kim or Mateo means thinning the overall depth at the position, but Jarvis has provided the first spark at shortstop we’ve seen since Orlando Arcia‘s first half in 2023. His playstyle is infectious, he’s been tremendous defensively, and he’s sporting a 104 OPS+ — 4% above league average — over his first 24 games. The Braves should be riding that wave as long as they can, because it looks like they may have found an incredible diamond in the rough.

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(Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire)

Those could come at the trade deadline or internally, with AJ Smith-Shawver and Spencer Schwellenbach really being the last beacons of hope inside the organization. The former made his season debut earlier this week, allowing a couple of runs over 4.1 innings. It was a positive step for Smith-Shawver, one the Braves are hoping he can build on over the next two months. He certainly has the repertoire to start a playoff game down the road if everything clicks.

Schwellenbach isn’t as far along, but it looks like he could begin a rehab assignment in the very near future. He threw several bullpens down in Florida and is now throwing more in front of the Braves in Atlanta. Provided there are no setbacks, a return in early September feels like a realistic timeline for one of the most talented arms in the organization.

Schwellenbach said his velocity is returning after being unable to top 90 mph in throwing sessions before undergoing surgery in Feb.

He said facing hitters and game situations will be another uptick – and another test – as will adding all his pitches. A stress test if you will. https://t.co/SkJwi1GF9X

— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) July 31, 2026

The update on Hurston Waldrep isn’t as encouraging, however. He’s been shut down after feeling discomfort in his elbow during his last start for the Gwinnett Stripers. Walt Weiss didn’t want to confirm anything, but anytime a pitcher is getting multiple opinions — especially when it comes to elbow injuries — it’s never a good sign.

Weiss said Hurston Waldrep is still being evaluated and getting multiple opinions. The assumption over the past couple weeks has been he’s done for the season. So, the update will likely just provide a sense of when he could pitch again in the future.

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) July 31, 2026

Waldrep isn’t going to pitch again this season. The only question is whether the injury keeps him out for all of next year as well — a massive blow for someone who really enjoyed a breakthrough in 2025.

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(Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

I’ve covered this year’s trade deadline from just about every angle, but one I’m not sure I’ve discussed enough is which prospects they should actually consider moving. It’s something I feel very strongly about, because the answer is easy: the Braves should be willing to trade every single pitching prospect in their organization.

From Cam Caminiti all the way down, they should have no hesitation about moving them if they’re getting an impact player back, and the reasoning is quite simple.

The Braves have been hoarding pitching prospects for over a decade. The entire rebuild was built on drafting and developing pitching, yet the number of those pitchers who’ve actually contributed to the team’s success has been minimal.

Seriously, think about the last decade of Braves baseball. How many homegrown pitchers have had a significant impact for multiple years?

The answer is one: Max Fried. And it’s not because the Braves can’t develop pitching. They’ve produced numerous frontline starters like Michael Soroka, Spencer Strider, Kyle Wright, and Spencer Schwellenbach. Unfortunately, drafting and developing is only half the battle when it comes to pitchers. Keeping them healthy has been an entirely different story.

This isn’t unique to the Braves, either, even if they’ve probably had worse luck than most organizations. Keeping pitchers healthy these days is nearly an impossible task. Almost every single arm is headed for a 12-month absence at some point early in their career.

So why treat any of them like they’re sure things?

If I’m the Braves, I’m aggressively shopping every single prospect arm in the organization in return for a proven frontline starter who can make an impact now. They’re much better used as trade chips than as guys you’re counting on to deliver in the future.

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(Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire)

The mumblings surrounding the Braves — as per usual — are extremely minimal. They always operate quietly, and they’re extremely difficult to get a read on. However, Ken Rosenthal did have an exciting nugget for Braves fans in his latest piece for The Athletic, saying Atlanta is among a handful of teams showing “strong interest” in Freddy Peralta.

“The Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies are among the clubs showing strong interest in Peralta, according to people briefed on the situation. Rotation-needy teams are, however, casting wide nets in their respective searches,” Rosenthal writes.

I’ve said it probably fifty times over the last month, so why not one more: I have a hard time believing the Mets are going to do business with the Braves unless Atlanta is willing to pay a significant tax. They’re two of the biggest rivals in the sport.

That said, Peralta is an obvious fit for a Braves club desperate for starting pitching. He’s having a career-worst campaign after finishing fifth in the Cy Young race a season ago, boasting a 4.99 ERA over 22 starts — but most believe a lot of that has to do with the Mets. And as someone who’s watched that organization fall over itself continuously for the last 25 years, I’m not going to argue against that stance. The stuff is still there for Peralta to be a frontline starting pitcher at 30 years old.

Given Peralta is in the final year of his contract, he’s almost certain to be moved before Monday night. The asking price shouldn’t be astronomical, but again, the Braves are likely going to have to pay more than any other club.

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(Photo by Chris Arjoon/Icon Sportswire)

Falcons signed guard Matthew Bergeron to a contract extension. pic.twitter.com/MnhcAfogBJ

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 1, 2026

The exact figures of the deal haven’t been released, but according to the team’s official website, the extension will keep Bergeron in Atlanta through the 2030 season.

Bergeron has undoubtedly been one of the better draft picks of the previous regime, especially among guys taken outside of the first round. He’s been a starter from day one at left guard and has played in all but two games over his first three seasons in the league.

“Matthew is the type of player you build around,” general manager Ian Cunningham said, via the Falcons team website. “He’s establishing himself as one of the top young guards in the NFL, and his toughness, consistency and leadership have made him a cornerstone of our offensive line and the culture we’re building in Atlanta.

“Extending players like Matthew reflects our commitment to investing in the trenches and building a strong foundation for the future. We’re very excited he will be a Falcon for years to come. We also appreciate Chase Callahan for his professionalism, communication and partnership throughout this process.”

Despite the team’s overall lack of success from a wins and losses standpoint, the offensive line has been a strength over the past several seasons, particularly on the interior. This extension ensures the Falcons’ menacing guard duo of Bergeron and All-Pro Chris Lindstrom will both remain in Atlanta for at least the next three seasons.

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UPDATE: Mike Garafolo is reporting that is a $96 million extension for Bergeron over four years — a massive deal for the 26 year old from Canada.

The #Falcons and G Matthew Bergeron have agreed to terms on a four-year, $96 million contract extension, sources tell me and @JFowlerESPN.

The 38th overall pick in 2023 gets $60 million guaranteed in a deal done by @Chase_Callahan of @excelfootball. pic.twitter.com/HwbDfp3sVJ

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 1, 2026

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(Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire)

Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough for the Braves to keep him on the roster. The club announced today that Hernández has been designated for assignment, recalling James Karinchak from Gwinnett.

The #Braves today recalled RHP James Karinchak to Atlanta and designated RHP Elieser Hernández for assignment.

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 1, 2026

I say “again” in the title because this is now the second time Hernández has been designated for assignment after a brilliant performance, simply so the Braves could have a fresh arm in the bullpen. He’s now thrown six innings this season, picking up a win and a save in his two appearances. Those kinds of performances should be rewarded, not punished because the rules essentially give the Braves no other choice.

Hopefully Hernández clears waivers for a second time and makes his way back onto the major-league roster. He’s played a key role in the Braves’ second-half surge, which now has them leading the Phillies by eight games in the NL East.

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(Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

Because of that, the Falcons pivoted to veteran Jawaan Taylor, who inked a one-year, $5 million contract to protect the blind side of whoever Atlanta starts under center. Taylor’s been a reliable starting right tackle for the last seven seasons, spending time with the Jaguars and the Chiefs, and what stands out most about him is his durability. He’s never played fewer than 12 games, and has appeared in 16 or more in six of his seven years in the league.

However, Taylor did enter training camp with an undisclosed injury. Thankfully, Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski eased some concerns on Friday by calling it minor and saying Taylor could be back practicing within a week.

#Falcons Kevin Stefanski says OT Jawaan Taylor is working hard to return. He's hoping to have him back soon, possibly within a week.

— Kevin Knight (@FalcoholicKevin) July 31, 2026

Taylor might not be an All-Pro at the position, but he’s certainly a much better option than what the Falcons trotted out last year in the wake of injuries to both McGary and backup swing tackle Storm Norton. Atlanta was down to its third-string right tackle before the first snap of Week 1, forcing Elijah Wilkinson into the starting role, where he appeared in all 17 games.

For most offenses, right tackle is a spot where teams can get by with below-average play and still be alright. That’s not the case for the Falcons, who will be featuring a left-handed quarterback under center for the second year in a row — whether it’s Michael Penix Jr. or Tua Tagovailoa.

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Photo: Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire

It’s been reported by several MLB insiders that the Braves would like to add a right-handed bat to their outfield mix, which makes sense given the production they’ve gotten out of left field — a position that was supposed to be occupied by Jurickson Profar. His suspension has really hurt the club, forcing Mike Yastrzemski into more of an everyday role, which was never the plan when they signed him in the offseason.

Acquiring someone to at least platoon with Yastrzemski should be the goal, but it’s a position group that appears extraordinarily thin at this year’s trade deadline, and nearly half the league is looking for the same thing. It could end up being very costly.

Now, I’m not saying the Braves should be seriously considering Andrew McCutchen for that role. He hit just .192 in 37 games for the Rangers before his release. But Atlanta didn’t sign him to sell some extra tickets in Gwinnett. He’s in the organization for a reason, and if he keeps raking, there’s a chance we see the veteran at some point over the final two months.

At the very least, it’s a cool story anytime a 39-year-old who’s accomplished just about everything imaginable is willing to gut it out on the farm in hopes of one last opportunity. He’s certainly doing all he can at the moment to keep that dream alive, whether it’s with the Braves or another club.

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(Photo by Terence Lewis/Icon Sportswire)

Braves updates:

Spencer Schwellenbach had four bullpen sessions in Florida and is back in Atlanta to throw in front more bullpens of the Braves.

Robert Suarez is still just playing catch.

Weiss said there will be conversations about what shortstop looks like when HSK returns

— Jesús Cano (@Jesus_Cano88) July 31, 2026

Suarez has been out since mid-June with what the Braves are calling elbow and forearm inflammation. Further tests revealed no structural damage, but the fact that it’s been six weeks and he’s still nowhere close to returning is raising some red flags. Even when he does come back, there’s no telling whether the Braves will be getting the guy who was downright unhittable over the season’s first couple of months — pitching to a 0.56 ERA over 31 appearances.

That certainly has to factor into the equation heading into the deadline. The Braves’ bullpen is seemingly taxed every single night, forcing them to turn to fringe roster guys in high-leverage situations every other game. It feels like they have to operate as if whatever they get out of Suarez the rest of the way is icing on the cake.

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(Photo by Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire)

The SEC enters 2026 with six new head coaches after last year’s carousel turned into a Game of Thrones episode, sending Auburn, Florida, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Kentucky, and LSU to the Indeed portal to make new hires. That churn means most of the pressure this season falls on a smaller group of holdovers who’ve already had time to prove, or fail perhaps fail to prove, that they’re the man for the job. Let’s take a look at the coaches feeling the heat, what needs to go right for them, and the games that could decide their futures.

Five alarm fires (coaches under the most pressure)

Shane Beamer, South Carolina. Nobody in the league enters 2026 with a toastier back side than Beamer, who followed his best season in the lesser of the Columbias (9-4 in 2024) with a 4-8 shambles of a 2025 that included blowing a 30-3 halftime lead to Texas A&M and a five game losing streak. He fired his offensive coordinator and brought in Kendal Briles, which given Briles’ baggage shows a palpable sense of desperation. I also means that there’s no one left to blame if the ‘Cocks can’t score points. For Beamer to survive, South Carolina probably needs at least a couple of statement wins. Knocking off Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Florida in the Swamp, or Oklahoma in Norman would fit the bill. A win over Clemson in the season finale might also salvage things if the SEC slate doesn’t go according to plan, but only if there are no more “statement losses” like last year’s A&M debacle. Anything resembling last year’s finish likely ends his tenure.

Jeff Lebby, Mississippi State. Lebby’s improvement from 2-10 to 5-8 in 2025 was real, but a 1-15 SEC mark over two years won’t buy much more patience in Starkville. One advantage Lebby had that Beamer doesn’t is that the path to survival runs through Davis-Wade Stadium: a home upset of Alabama or Oklahoma would change the entire narrative, and there are winnable conference games against Missouri, Vanderbilt, and Auburn. Win those three and upset somebody else and he probably has another year to really hit pay dirt, as a finish on the good side of .500 is likely the bar for a fourth season.

Fire contained (For Now)

Josh Heupel, Tennessee. Heupel’s tenure on Rocky Top has been a study in inconsistency. There was an 11-2, Orange Bowl-winning 2022 sandwiched around 4-4 SEC finishes in three other seasons. The 2026 schedule offers a lifeline, though: Texas, Alabama, and LSU all visit Neyland Stadium. Going 2-1 in those games, on top of handling the teams Tennessee is supposed to beat, likely keeps Heupel in Knoxville. A 1-2 showing at home against that trio would turn up the temperature considerably.

Kalen DeBoer, Alabama. I don’t really think DeBoer is in danger of being fired in 2026, but Alabama’s standard is unlike just about anywhere else in the sport. And when that type of fire kicks up it usually does so in a hurry. Following a living legend like Nick Saban means the grading curve doesn’t bend. In Tuscaloosa a Playoff berth and quarterfinal run that would thrill every other fan base in the country would barely register as “good enough.” DeBoer needs to contend for the SEC title and make a real January run to fully quiet the noise.

No smoke, but conditions are right.

Steve Sarkisian, Texas. Sark’s seat is far cooler than the others on this list, but the bar has been raised by his own roster. With Arch Manning entering his second year as a starter and a loaded team that will open the year ranked in the top three, a favorable home slate against Ohio State and Ole Miss means the Longhorns are expected to make the College Football Playoff. Missing it two years running would start real conversations in Austin about whether he’s the man for the job.

Brent Venables, Oklahoma. Norman, like Austin, is not a place known for patient and forgiving football fans. But a 10-3 record and a College Football Playoff appearance in 2025 should buy him another year unless the Sooners absolutely self-immolate this season. With John Mateer back and healthy and plenty of talent around him, I just don’t expect a blaze to kick up under Venables’ nether regions this season.

What buys everyone else safety

Kirby Smart remains the standard-bearer for stability in the league, and new hires at Florida (Jon Sumrall), Auburn (Alex Golesh), Kentucky (Will Stein), and Arkansas (Ryan Silverfield) all get the traditional grace period afforded to first-year coaches, whatever their win totals look like. Barring an odious scandal or actual criminal wrongdoing I don’t see any of those guys getting the hook.

LSU’s Lane Kiffin arrives with enormous expectations after his Ole Miss departure, but a first season at a new job typically buys patience even at a program with LSU’s resources. That said, Lane’s a different kind of guy, and LSU’s got alumni crazier than a bag full of nutria rats beneath a full bayou moon. So who knows?

Texas A&M’s Mike Elko and Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz have both built real momentum, and Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea has turned a longtime SEC punching bag into a genuinely competitive program. None of the three faces meaningful pressure. If anything, their administrators and donors probably need to be thinking about how to keep them in town if 2026 goes really well and other programs come calling.

Ranking all 16 SEC coaches from safest to most in jeopardy

1. Kirby Smart, Georgia
2. Mike Elko, Texas A&M
3. Lane Kiffin, LSU
4. Clark Lea, Vanderbilt
5. Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri
6. Jon Sumrall, Florida
7. Alex Golesh, Auburn
8. Ryan Silverfield, Arkansas
9. Will Stein, Kentucky
10. Pete Golding, Ole Miss
11. Brent Venables, Oklahoma
12. Steve Sarkisian, Texas
13. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
14. Josh Heupel, Tennessee
15. Jeff Lebby, Mississippi State
16. Shane Beamer, South Carolina

Barring an unexpected implosion, the SEC probably won’t see the six-coach turnover it experienced heading into 2026. But athletic directors and boosters across the league are rarely content with the status quo, and for at least a couple of names near the bottom of this list one more disappointing fall could mean a very different sideline in 2027.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

SEC Media Days 2026 was, as usual, a lot of sizzle and very little steak. But one announcement was significant enough that it merits further consideration.

The league announced that beginning in 2026 a player’s first targeting ejection of the season will no longer carry an automatic suspension into the next game. The player is still disqualified for the remainder of the current game, but may play the following week regardless of whether the foul occurred in the first or second half. A second targeting ejection in the same season results in missing the first half of the next game, while a third results in a full game suspension. Conferences may also use an appeals process after a second offense. This all aligns the SEC with the NCAA’s new one year trial rule. 

The change could reduce the impact of borderline targeting calls on future games, especially when star players are ejected late in a contest. Supporters of the changes argue the new rule preserves player safety while making the punishment more proportional since a first offense no longer creates an automatic carryover suspension. Critics may worry that removing the immediate next game consequence could slightly weaken deterrence, though players still face ejection and escalating penalties for repeat violations. At a minimum, there’s a strong argument that this rule penalizes repeat offenders and actual “head hunters” while not penalizing players as harshly for an isolated incident.

According the SEC coordinator of officials John McDaid, six FBS players were given two targeting fouls during the 2025 season. Seven players were given two targeting flags in both 2021 and 2022. Five were flagged twice in 2023 and four were given two in 2024. No FBS players were given three or more targeting fouls in a season over the last five years. McDaid highlighted the data as evidence showing the targeting rule is effective to shape player behavior. Personally, I think some of it is also a shift in coaching practices now that the targeting rule has been generally in its current form for a decade. Nobody teaches tackling the way Greg Blue did it anymore, whether for good or ill.

Other conferences are likely to monitor the rule’s effects closely. Because the NCAA approved the policy as a one year experiment across  the Football Bowl Subdivision, many leagues are expected to gather data on player behavior, officiating consistency, and injury trends before advocating permanent adoption or further revisions. If the trial appears to be  maintaining safety while reducing controversy broader support across college football seems all but assured. Conversely, if repeat offenses increase or enforcement becomes more contentious, conferences could still push for stricter penalties or modifications before making the rule permanent.

It remains to be seen how these changes will actually affect the game. I think the best outcome would be that they really don’t, and we don’t notice the change. I’m all for player safety, but there’s long been a school of thought that the current rule is overly penal, especially on bang/bang plays where there’s clearly no intent to injure. Not taking players off the field for extended periods in that situation strikes me as, on balance, a more sensible way of administering the rule.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

The Twin Cities injected some excitement into the late season last week, and there was good news for former Bulldogs to boot. First, Tour rookie (I mean like 24 days since turning pro) Jackson Koivun won the 3M Open in his 3rd start as a professional and 7th time playing a Tour event (he played several as an amateur and based on his NCAA Championship). He beat everyone not named Scottie Scheffler by 5 shots, and held off the world #1 in the process. His incredible collegiate career at Auburn was not a fluke, unlike their academic credentials.

For the boys in red & black: Keith Mitchell finished in a tie for 44th, so his position in the FedEx Cup points did not change. Chris Kirk got to 12 under par, and the T31 finish bumped him up 3 spots to 143rd in the FedEx. But he’ll need a VERY high finish the next two weeks to get into the post-season. David Thompson got a much-needed top 10 (T7) and that moved him up to 93rd position – still outside the top 70 but do now he has an outside chance to advance.

And Brian Harman played the final day alongside Scottie Scheffler and for the most part kept up with him. Harman shot a Sunday 65 and got a T3 – and those points bumped him from the dangerous 74th spot to a more comfortable 62nd spot. So let’s see what’s on tap this week.

Tournament: Rocket Classic, July 30-August 2, 2026.

Course: Detroit Golf Club, par 70, 7,328 yards. 

Purse: $10 million total, with $1.8 million to the winner.

Defending Champ: Aldrich Potgeiter. The youngster (only 20 at the time) came out blazing and had a 2 stroke lead entering the final round. He shot a 1 under 69 Sunday, but that was enough for Georgia’s own Chris Kirk to catch him with a 67. Duke Blue Devel Max Greyserman matched Kirk and got into the playoff too, but that’s the side story. The main story is that Kirk felt sorry for the South African rookie and let him win after a few holes.

TV Times: Similar to last week, and much like a “regular” Tour event, Golf Channel has coverage Thursday and Friday from 3-6 pm ET, and Saturday and Sunday 1-3 pm. CBS will take over the late weekend coverage Saturday and Sunday at 3 pm ET.

‘Dawgs in the Field: Russell Henley, Chris Kirk, Brendon Todd, Davis Thomson, Harris English.

If you’ve been following along, and Mom I know you have, you realize both Henley and English are in good shape for the FedEx Cup Playoffs at 14th and 48th respectively. You know Davis Thompson needs some high finishes the next two weeks to jump from now 93rd place into the top 70. Chris Kirk is at 143 and needs a miracle. And Brendon Todd would need a win this week (and only a win), plus make the cut next week at Wyndham and I’m not sure he can enter next week. Straka, Harman, and Mitchell are in pretty good shape, but some may play next week to tune up for the fast-approaching post-season.

Enjoy this during the dog days, before the ‘Dawg Days truly begin, and hopefully a ‘Dawg will have his Day in the winners circle in Rock City. And as always…

GO ‘DAWGS!!!

There have been other Bulldogs tailbacks who ran for more yards than Knowshon Moreno. There are Bulldog tailbacks with more SEC and national title rings than Knowshon Moreno. But pound for pound and carry for carry, has there ever been a more electric Bulldog tailbacks who ran than Knowshon Moreno? I submit that the answer is ““no.” Just ask the Central Michigan Chippewas.

CMU came to Athens for the second game of the 2008 season and met a Bulldog squad with a chip on its shoulder. Georgia, led by future #1 draft pick and likely NFL Hall of Famer Matt Stafford had begun the season ranked #1 in the nation for the first time in decades. But the Red and Black actually dropped to #2 after a sleepy home opener win against Georgia Southern. They took their frustrations out on the Chips, scoring on four straight possessions coming out of halftime to cruise to a 56-17 victory.

There were plenty of highlights in this one, but the iconic moment remains Knowshon’s twisting, leaping run for a drive extending first down.

Few tailbacks have ever been as shifty in traffic and as smooth in the open field as noted quiet hours back flipper Knowshon Rockwell Moreno. Knowshon would finish his day with 168 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns. But it was this leap that ended up on teeshirts and message board avatars.

Go ‘‘Dawgs!!!

There are many ways in which Georgia is fortunate to have Kirby Smart as its head football coach. One of them is seen currently at six other SEC schools.

As this season begins, LSU, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Auburn, Florida and Arkansas have new head football coaches. For Auburn, Florida and Arkansas, they get a handful of a the cruelest of measuring sticks since each of them draw Georgia on their schedule.

Did any of these teams get these hires right? Clearly time will tell. But that’s not the utmost concern for Georgia fans. That worry, on the other hand, should be which new coaching staff should cause fans from the Classic City point of view the most concern.

Which should worry Dawg fans the most? Here’s a ranking, at least for the current time before the season.

Ole Miss: Pete Golding

Look, this team came within a break or two of playing for a national title, and Georgia fans saw first-hand what kind of group that the Rebels have. There’s no adjusting as a program to a new regime since Pete Golding took over as interim last year…and having a Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy in an offense does not hurt…neither those a defense with a core group that’s a year more experienced.

LSU: Lane Kiffin

It’s hard to discredit Lane Kiffin. Toss aside of thoughts about how he flung himself at the feet of multiple suitors in front of the world not just last year, but in his entire coaching career. He’s coveted for a good reason. If his offensive mind alongside OC Charlie Weis, Jr. and embarrasing load of transfers can accelerate an adjustment curb, the Tigers could quickly slingshot back near the top of the SEC. Having all key contests aside from Ole Miss at home does not hurt, either.

Auburn: Alex Golesh

Auburn University is to be commended for ensuring the program is stuck in ditch with the recent head-coaching hires of Bryan Harsin and Hugh Freeze.

At some point, the Tigers will get back to a point of respectability. Is Alex Golesh the one to do that? There’s an obvious desire to see if what he was able to do as South Florida can be replicated. He took a Bulls team from a three-year, 4-49 mark to three winning seasons in a row, so it’s not a shock that of Auburn’s 60 new players, 13 are from USF. That’s all well and good…but at some point, you have to consider that these players were at an American Athletic Conference school for a reason. Golesh may very well get results that the YellaWood Mafia desires..but it may not happen this year, not with an October From Hell with games at Tennessee, Georgia and Ole Miss with LSU at home.

Florida: Jon Sumrall

If there’s one thing Georgia fans have an easy way of doing, it’s making fun of the University of Florida. Look, when you consider Jorts as high-quality fashion and count Corrine Brown as an alumna, it’s kind of low-hanging fruit. New Gator boss Jon Sumrall made it easy with his recent personal-care habits being revealed. To quote Lewis Grizzard, “Damn, Brother. I don’t believe I’d of that.”

One thing that is no laughing matter is that Sumrall looks to be counting on Buster Faulkner to replicate what he was able to do with Haynes King at Georgia Tech at Florida…with Tech transfer Aaron Philo under center. The Gators may have been shaky last year in a four-win season, but their upset of Texas likely kept the Longhorns out of the postseason, and they gave both Georgia and Ole Miss a handful in late-season losses. If this new coaching staff can sew up some weak spots on both sides of the ball, this is easily a top-25 team.

Arkansas: Ryan Silverfield

Congrats, Ryan Silverfield. You get to feel like General Custer at Little Big Horn.

Coming over from Memphis, he’ll take on one of the nation’s toughest schedules. Before the schedule gets deep into October, the Hawgs draw Utah, Texas A&M and Georgia, and the season wraps up against Texas and LSU. That Utah game is on the road the week before hosting Georgia, for those who missed those offseason airings of grievances.

While there should be solace in being just -11 in turnover margin last year amid an 0-8 SEC mark, they’re one of the conferences least experienced. As this year goes on, it may be more obvious that Sam Pittman got more out of this team than he had any business doing.

Kentucky: Will Stein

After Mark Stoops publicly tried to leave town, it was a matter of time for the Wildcats to make a move at head coach. Enter Will Stein, whose roster and coaching staff are full of energy. With just five starters back from last year, this new staff was done few favors. Facing Alabama and Texas A&M in September may very well have fans asking when basketball practice is earlier than usual.

January 1, 2021 could be looked back upon as the catalyst for the Dawgs’ back to back national championships. If you don’t want to go THAT far, then surely we can all agree that this day provided some serious good vibes heading into the 2021 offseason that led to Georgia’s first title in 41 years (and don’t call me Shirley).

On that day, in the midst of the world still dealing with the Covid pandemic, the Georgia Bulldogs faced the Cincinnati Bearcats in the Peach Bowl. It was a tough fought game, with Cincy up 11 heading into the fourth quarter. Georgia, in what has now become a theme for the program, did not quit and fought back to 21-19 with seven seconds left.

Up steps up kicker Jack Podlesny to attempt a game-winning 54-yard field goal, in the black jerseys nonetheless.

We all know what happens next. Hot Pod drills a curling right-to-left kick that sails through the uprights, giving the Dawgs a 22-21 win. Podlesny would go on to be the starting kicker for both of Georgia’s national championships, playing a key role on both teams.

So raise your morning cup of Joe to Hot Pod, a DGD.

Quintavius Johnson took a major step forward in his first year as a full-time starter at outside linebacker for the Red and Black in 2025. The redshirt sophomore played and started all 14 games, finishing with 35 total tackles (21 solo), 6.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, a forced fumble, and 3 pass breakups.

Even better, his production was spread across the schedule rather than concentrated in a couple of standout games. Johnson showed out against Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn, and Mississippi State, where he notched a sack, a forced fumble, and a tackle for loss in the same outing. It was a steady, productive season that established him as a reliable piece of Georgia’s defense. Johnson justified the rave reviews coaches bestowed on him in fall camp, showing real growth in his ability to set the edge, shed blocks, and get after the quarterback. Just ask poor Ty Simpson.

Entering 2026, Johnson should retain a featured role in Georgia’s outside linebacker rotation. With the ‘Dawgs losing key front seven pieces to the NFL, including linebacker CJ Allen, the door is open for Johnson to become not just a primary edge rusher and every-down defender, but also a vocal veteran leader of the defense. He’ll be working alongside returning veterans like Raylen Wilson and Chris Cole, and is one of Georgia’s third-year players whose draft stock could take a significant jump this season.

At 6’4 and 255 pounds, he has the frame to hold up against the run while still offering the athleticism to win as a pass rusher, and Kirby Smart’s staff will likely lean on him to be more disruptive in obvious passing situations. If he can build on last year’s 6.0 tackles for loss and turn that into double-digit disruptive plays, he could emerge as one of the anchors of Glenn Schumann’s defense.

Johnson is not yet a household name in NFL Draft circles, but his combination of size, athletic testing history (he was clocked below 4.70 in the 40-yard dash coming out of high school and looks even quicker now) and increasing production puts him firmly on the radar for the 2027 NFL Draft cycle. He projects ann a true edge defender with room to add strength and refine his pass rush counters. A strong, featured 2026 season, particularly one with a jump in sacks and pressures, would likely push him into early-round conversations. For now, he profiles as a developmental but high-upside prospect whose stock hinges heavily on how much he can produce as a full-time featured rusher in Georgia’s 2026 defense. If he picks up where he left off in 2025, it would be a huge boost for an already loaded Bulldog defense.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

Arkansas football enters 2026 looking almost nothing like the team that stumbled through a disastrous 2025 season that saw them go 2-10 overall and 0-for-the-SEC. After Sam Pittman was fired in late September and Bobby Petrino finished out the year as interim coach, the Razorbacks turned to Memphis’ Ryan Silverfield to lead yet another full scale rebuild of the program. With a new staff, a roster overhauled through the transfer portal, but one of the toughest schedules in the country waiting, expectations in Northwest Arkansas are cautious but hopeful.

Silverfield arrives after six seasons at Memphis, where he went a solid 50-25 and built a reputation for explosive offenses. Memphis has always been a place at which it was tough to succeed. Despite a ton of local talent, the university’s commitment level (or lack thereof) and competition on the recruiting trail from SEC schools frequently combined to keep the Tigers from reaching their potential.

Silverfield won more than ten games twice, but 2025 saw the Tigers drop to 8-4, and Silverfield leave prior to them taking a 31-7 beating from NC State in the Gasparilla Bowl. In short, he was not the most highly sought after coach on the carousel, and probably had a hit of a sell by date in Memphis. But Arkansas isn’t exactly a plum assignment in the SEC. So in some ways it felt like program and coach found each other at the right time.

Silverfield wasted little time assembling his first Arkansas staff. Tim Cramsey, his offensive coordinator at Memphis for four seasons, follows him to Fayetteville after helping the Tigers average 36 points per game and rank among the top 25 offenses nationally. On defense, Silverfield hired Ron Roberts, who spent the last two years running Florida’s defense and previously called plays at Auburn, Baylor and Louisiana, including on Baylor’s Sugar Bowl winning 2022 staff. Chad Lunsford, a former Georgia Southern head coach, takes over special teams duties after a strong 2025 at Auburn. The staff also brought in several assistants from Memphis and around the country, including veteran offensive line coaches Jeff Myers and Marcus Johnson, signaling a clear intent to rebuild a line that struggled last season.

Those new coaches are going to need name tags to keep up with all their new players. Few programs churned their roster harder than Arkansas this offseason. With dozens of scholarship spots to fill, the Razorbacks needed a portal class that ranked among the largest in the country, and they landed roughly 29 commitments that placed them near the top of the SEC and top 15 nationally in industry transfer rankings.

The quarterback room was essentially rebuilt from scratch. Longtime starter Taylen Green departed for the NFL Draft, and both Trever Jackson and Grayson Wilson left for Coastal Carolina and Boston College. In their place, Arkansas brought in Memphis transfer (and cousin of former Georgia offensive lineman Trey Hill) AJ Hill, a former top 100 recruit out of Houston County who nearly won the Memphis job before Silverfield left. He’ll be joined by Clemson’s Cade Trotter and Division II standout Braeden Fuller from Angelo State. Returning sophomore KJ Jackson remains in the mix as well.
Hill and Jackson appear to be the top options at the position, but the battle for the starting spot may extend well into fall camp.

Whoever takes the snaps will likely be handing off to bruising junior tailback Braylen Russell or shiftier senior Sutton Smith. Russell tallied 286 rushing yards on 55 carries in 2025, earning one start. Smith comes with the new staff from Memphis, where he put up 778 yards of offense (662 on the ground) and 7 touchdowns. Smith will likely be the every down versatility back in Silverfield’s system, while Russell at 227 pounds is likely going to be the short yardage go-to.

At receiver junior CJ Brown returns off a solid 2025 season in which he hauled in 28 catches for 319 yards and 3 touchdowns. Redshirt junior Ismael Cisse is looking to contribute after catching 26 passes for 241 yards at Stanford in 2024 but missing last year with an injury. Boise State transfer Chris Marshall gives the Razorbacks another big, experienced outside receiver.

Arkansas always seems to have a weapon at tight end, and this season should be no different. Big (6’5, 255 pound) Jaden Platt is back as the leading tight end, coming off a 2025 season in which he had 21 catches for 296 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Cramsey’s offense should look familiar to anyone who watched Memphis in recent years: up-tempo, balanced, and built to create explosive plays. The quarterback battle between AJ Hill and KJ Jackson will be one of the more closely watched position competitions in the SEC this preseason. While it didn’t show up in the win column, Arkansas actually finished last season ranked among the nation’s top 15 offenses in total yards and averaged nearly 33 points per game under Bobby Petrino, so there is a foundation to build on even with the staff and personnel turnover.

The receiving corps returns several contributors and adds portal pieces like Marshall, who should stretch the field after averaging significant yards per catch production in his career. The offensive line is the biggest question mark, given the wholesale coaching and personnel changes up front. But but the addition of experienced linemen through the portal gives the staff options as they piece together protection for a new quarterback.

Defense on the other hand was the story of Arkansas’ collapse in 2025, when the Razorbacks allowed 33.8 points per game, among the worst marks in the country. Ron Roberts inherits a unit that returns limited production and had to be almost entirely restocked through the portal, with new defensive linemen, linebackers and defensive backs arriving from programs across the country.

Up front, senior defensive end Quincy Rhodes Jr. could be the unit’s key player and is a legitimate all-conference candidate. At linebacker, Bradley Shaw has shown flashes as one of the SEC’s more underrated linebackers, recording 62 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, three sacks and a forced fumble over his career, and he’s expected to anchor the position as a full-time starter.

Roberts’ track record suggests improved structure and discipline, but expecting an immediate turnaround against SEC competition may be unrealistic. If Arkansas can simply avoid being the conference’s worst defense, that alone would represent progress.

The Bottom Line

The schedule does the new staff no favors, and it’s possible the Hawgs could be better on the field but not much better in the win column. Arkansas opens with North Alabama and a tough road trip to Utah before diving into a nine game SEC slate that includes the Red and Black, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Auburn, Texas and LSU.

With that lineup five wins feels like a stretch goal, though better coaching and depth on defense could make games more competitive even without a leap in the standings. Arkansas has not had a winning SEC season since 2015, and this year is less about a bowl game and more about establishing a culture and picking up the program’s first conference win in nearly two seasons. Silverfield will get patience early if he can demonstrate proof of concept, but Razorback fans will be watching closely for signs that the rebuild is heading in the right direction.

When the Razorbacks come to Athens on September 19th the Athenians will be fresh off hosting Tennessee State and Western Kentucky in Athens. Arkansas on the other hand plays at Utah on September 12th (in a game set to start at 10:15 eastern/9:15 central). It will likely be a tired and physically beaten up Razorback squad taking the field in Sanford Stadium, but they will have had some time to build cohesion, and I think will be surprisingly tough. But in the end I expect this one to be a microcosm of a tough rebuilding year. A better Arkansas team is still not good enough to hang with the SEC’s big boys. Arkansas scores a late touchdown to make this one look respectable in the box score, if not on the field.

Score prediction: Georgia 34, Arkansas 20

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

Mascot: Sooners, named for the *ahem* overly enthusiastic folks who rushed into the territory to claim land prior to the starter’s pistol that officially announced the race had begun. 

2025 Record: 10-3, 6-2 SEC

Conference: Big 12 SEC. Still feels weird.

Series History: Georgia leads 1-0 (won 54-48-in the greatest Rose Bowl ever played).

Head Coach: Brent Venables, aka Great Valu Kirby Smart.

Famous Alumni: Ed Harris, Olivia Munn, Dari Nowkhah, Atlanta Braves broadcaster Joe Simpson, a whole buncha NFL talent, including Kyler Murray, Adrian Peterson, and DeMarco Murray, former Atlanta Hawk Trae Young.

Fun Fact: The university was founded in 1890, 17 years before Oklahoma itself became a state.

2025 Recap

Venables seems to live his life perpetually on the hot seat. The 2025 edition of the Sooners may have bought him some goodwill with a surprise playoff appearance and marquee victories over Michigan at home and Alabama on the road. They were sometimes fun to watch, thanks to quarterback John Mateer’s swashbucking style of play and the fact that their biggest margin of victory over a Power Four team was beating a floundering South Carolina by 19. 

Of course, they also lost the game they care about the most, dropping the Red River Shootout 23-6 after trying to rush Mateer back from a hand injury, leading to a three-interception performance that set offensive football back a decade or two. And despite a thrilling regular-season win in Tuscaloosa, the Sooners promptly bowed out of the playoff at the hands of those same Elephants in a 34-24 loss.

Tl;dr: They overperformed last year, and they’re a likely candidate for regression.

On Offense

The Oklahoma teams of yesteryear wed high-powered offenses to Swiss cheese defenses, turning every game into a wild shootout. Under Venables, they’ve reversed that formula to play a grueling style of defense-first football that only a fan could enjoy. To try to goose the offense a bit, last year’s team brought in rising star OC Ben Arbuckle and Mateer from Wazzu. Early results were promising, with Mateer getting Heisman buzz after the Michigan win. But he never got quite back on track after his injury. Was that the nagging effects of the injury, or was Mateer just bumping up against his ceiling after beating an overrated Michigan team with a host of problems of its own? He’s back this year, so we’ll find out!

Beyond Mateer, the team returns its best offensive weapon in wide receiver Isaiah Sategna, III. He’s not CeeDee Lamb, but he’s fast and elusive. Whatever he lacks in size (he’s listed at 5’10, so he’s small for a wideout), he makes up for in speed and YAC ability. To help out some, the team also added receiver Parker Livingstone from Texas. 

Arbuckle’s offense has elements of the air raid, and Mateer is well-suited to running it because he gets the ball out fast and is dangerous in the short- and mid-range passing game. But the Sooners were at their best last year when taking advantage of his abilities as a runner. If you’re looking for a reason to be nervous about this one, let me draw your attention to the frustrations a dual-threat QB has traditionally caused Kirby Smart’s defenses. 

On the other hand, Mateer’s biggest weaknesses are his long-range accuracy and a susceptibility to pre-snap confusion. Stopping the Sooners will be a matter of jamming the middle with a lot of bodies, employing ample pre-snap twists and stunts, and forcing them to throw deep where Ellis Robinson will be waiting. 

On Defense

Venables’ teams have made their hay on the defensive side of the ball, and there’s no reason to suspect the 2026 edition will be any different. Although they lost fearsome pass rusher R. Mason Thomas to the NFL, last year’s team sack leader Taylor Wein is back, as is Kip Lewis. If there’s a defensive weakness, the Sooners aren’t quite as ball hawky as you might expect a Venables defense to be. But that doesn’t mean they’re going to be a pushover by any stretch.

Unless Arkansas is much, much better than anyone expects, this game will be the first real test for new o-line coach Phil Rauscher’s group. You can be fairly certain their gameplan is going to be to stuff the line and jam the run, hassle Gunner Stockton and try to make him win it through the air. So basically the exact same thing we’re going to do to them. 

Prediction

Because it’s early in the season, I’d be a little more worried if this were in Norman. And if the offensive line is still a work in progress in late September, this one could turn into a hammer fight in a phone booth. Oklahoma plays a similar style to Georgia but without quite as much panache or the same quality players, which should favor the Dawgs, as will playing in Athens. Points will come at a premium, but I think UGA pulls away late to win, 28-17.

So after two SEC title game appearances in three years, how did Georgia spend the 2005 college football offseason?

As a trendy prediction to lose to an upstart.

With mega-stars like David Greene, David Pollack and Fred Gibson having just graduated, holes had to be filled in a hurry – and that will had to be proven against an upstart from out West in Boise State.

With Georgia’s perceived rebuild and the Broncos coming off a third WAC title and high-scoring Liberty loss to Louisville, throes of conventional wisdom called for a coming out party for Boise.

But the new breed of Bulldogs turned out to be just fine in this top-20 matchup. It wasn’t even close as the Dawgs won 48-13 Between The Hedges. Chief among them? DJ Shockley. After previously spitting time under center with Greene, his first start saw him break a school record with six total touchdown passes – five through the air.

Boise’s much-touted quarterback Jared Zabransky – he did his best Shane Falco in the Sugar Bowl impression. He was picked off on the game’s first offensive play by Tony Taylor and again on the next drive by Dannell Ellerbe, helping to a 14-0 Georgia lead as the Broncos didn’t even scratch the scoreboard until the third quarter. After having five interceptions in all of 2004, Georgia had four against Boise alone.

The romp of Boise set the tone for the rest of the year for the Dawgs, who’d go on to topple LSU for the SEC title in December. The Broncos’ 2005 showed that they were a team not yet ready for prime time. They went 9-4, losing three times to ranked opponents. But as we know, Boise would eventually get their arrival a few years later against Oklahoma, who Georgia also has fond memories of playing against.

Go Dawgs!

The game should have been signed, sealed, and delivered in the ninth, but Ozzie Albies let a groundball go right through his legs, allowing the tying run to score and sending the game to extras. The Orioles then had a golden opportunity to steal one in the tenth, loading the bases with nobody out. However, a double play followed by a pop out meant there was going to be an eleventh inning.

Austin Riley gave the Braves the lead with a single, and then the struggling Tyler Kinley — of all people — got the job done for the save, even if it didn’t come without stress. Walt Weiss opted to load the bases with two outs, putting the go-ahead run in scoring position, so the Braves could get the matchup with backup catcher Sam Huff, who’s sporting a .329 OPS on the season. It couldn’t have worked out better, as he grounded out to third for the final out of the game.

The gutsy wins are starting to pile up, but the man who deserves a tip of the cap in what was otherwise an ugly affair is Dylan Dodd. He was once again magnificent in relief, needing just 11 pitches to cover 1.1 innings, which lowered his season ERA to 1.99 over 31.2 innings.

Dodd was an afterthought coming into the 2026 campaign. He converted to the bullpen last year and had some decent success in limited opportunities, but nobody was expecting this. He’s blossomed into somebody Walt Weiss can trust in just about every situation, and this emergence gives Alex Anthopoulos some options going into the trade deadline.

The Braves definitely need at least one reliever, especially with the uncertainty surrounding Robert Suarez, who’s been out for the last six weeks with elbow inflammation. But with Dodd stepping up as a more than reliable arm from the left side, Anthopoulos doesn’t have to solely focus on adding a southpaw. It’s probably still preferred, but there’s certainly more flexibility than existed before.

—

(Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

But after the rotation, there’s some debate about where most of their attention should be focused. For the longest time, a right-handed hitting outfielder — preferably one with some pop — would have been second on the list. It still might be, but the bullpen all of a sudden looks like it needs some pretty considerable TLC.

Robert Suarez hasn’t made an appearance in close to six weeks after being placed on the IL with elbow inflammation, and Walt Weiss said earlier in the week he’s still not close to returning. Even if the expectation is he’ll be back well before the postseason, there’s concern over whether he’ll be the same guy who posted a 0.56 ERA this season.

Suarez’s absence, combined with the rotation’s inability to go deep into games, also seems to be taking a toll on Didier Fuentes, Dylan Lee, and Raisel Iglesias. They’re pitching a ton of stressful innings and appear to be running on fumes — not a great sign with still more than two months left in the season.

The reality of the situation is the Braves aren’t likely to land two starters before the August 3rd deadline. It’s a seller’s market, prices are going to be high, and Alex Anthopoulos has never been one to overpay. Getting one is probably the best we can hope for, which would still leave a ton of questions in the rotation.

Those questions can be overcome in October, but only with an elite bullpen. The Braves don’t have that right now — not even close — and the addition of a healthy Robert Suarez alone won’t be enough. They need to add at least one reliever capable of pitching in high-leverage situations, and could probably really use two. It’s quickly become an area that can’t be overlooked at the trade deadline.

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(Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire)

The Braves are promoting Tate Southisene to Double-A per sources.

— Geoff Pontes (@GeoffPontesBA) July 26, 2026

Even I’m a bit surprised by this one. Not because Southisene isn’t deserving — he’s been unbelievable — but for a prospect this young to take this big a step in his first professional season just isn’t something you see very often.

Southisene began the campaign with the Low-A Augusta Green Jackets, but it didn’t take long for the organization to realize he needed to face better competition. Over 51 games, he hit a hair under .300 with eight homers, a league-leading 36 steals, and a .929 OPS.

The promotion to High-A Rome didn’t go smoothly right off the bat. He did record four hits in his first four games, but overall, it took a couple of weeks for him to get his feet under him. That changed once July arrived. He’s now hit safely in 13 of his last 15 games, with five multi-hit performances over that stretch.

The combination of power and speed is extremely intriguing. Southisene is a terrific athlete, a natural in the batter’s box, and now he’s just a couple of steps away from the majors.

In a recent interview, Alex Anthopoulos referred to one prospect who was close to untouchable. Many assumed that was Eric Hartman, who just posted a 20/30 first half in Rome. But maybe we’ve underrated just how high the organization is on Southisene. He’s a year younger, and he’s the one getting the first call to Columbus — even though it likely won’t be long before he’s joined by Hartman and others.

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(Photo by Brandon Sloter/Icon Sportswire)

Now, keep in mind there’s a lot more that goes into trade value than just who’s the best player in baseball. The contract tied to a player is often even more important, and age and projectability are two significant factors as well. Surprisingly, only three Braves made the list — Ronald Acuña Jr. at #43, Michael Harris II at #41, and the Brave with the highest trade value according to FanGraphs, Drake Baldwin, coming in at #31.

“Baldwin is the second of the three catchers in this group, which means you’ll have to wait for tomorrow to see who I like most out of the trio (or just guess, I don’t think it’s a huge mystery),” Ben Clemens writes. “The latest in a long line of Atlanta prospects who have comfortably outperformed their draft pedigree and exploded onto the big league scene, he became the team’s primary catcher when former Trade Value stalwart Sean Murphy started last year on the IL and he hasn’t looked back.”

Dillon Dingler was the catcher ranked just ahead of Baldwin that Clemens was referring to, and that’s not unfair given how Dingler has performed this season. That said, I think we might be having a different conversation had Baldwin not suffered an oblique injury in the middle of the season. Not only did it keep him out of the lineup for more than a month, but he really struggled to find his footing once he returned. That’s not the case any longer. Over his last 18 games, Baldwin is hitting close to .400 with an OPS approaching 1.200.

Ronald Acuña Jr. coming in at #43 is definitely going to turn some heads. Clemens even noted the lowest he’s ever had him on this list before is 11th, and had him first back in 2020. But at this very moment, Acuña’s trade value is nearly impossible to judge. A lot of teams wouldn’t even seriously consider engaging in conversations with the Braves because of the asking price and his injury history. On the flip side, it only takes one team willing to gamble on the talent, and there would certainly be a handful of clubs willing to take that risk.

If the Braves ever were to entertain offers, I’m pretty confident they’d still get whatever the hell they wanted — more than they would for Michael Harris II or Drake Baldwin.

Speaking of Harris, what a difference a year makes. He couldn’t hit water in the ocean a season ago, but one minor adjustment to his stance in the second half led to much better results that have carried into 2026. He looks like one of the best center fielders in baseball again, and the Braves have him under team control through 2032. He’ll be much higher on this list next year if the success continues.

The only somewhat surprising omission from the Braves’ perspective is Matt Olson. That’s obviously due to his age — he’s 32. But this is arguably the best first baseman in baseball, and he’s under team control through 2030 at a more than palatable $22 million per season. He’d command an absurd haul if the Braves were to make him available right now.

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(Photo by Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire)

The reality is guys like Martin Perez, Bryce Elder, Reynaldo Lopez, and Grant Holmes were never supposed to make this many starts. The Braves entered Spring Training expecting a lot from Spencer Schwellenbach, Hurston Waldrep, and Spencer Strider — a trio that’s provided absolutely no value thanks to injuries and inconsistencies.

The fact that the Braves are six games ahead of the Phillies for first place in the NL East, with several pitchers having unexpected career years, is a testament to the impact Hefner’s had on the club — something Phillies star Bryce Harper apparently saw coming when it was announced Atlanta had stolen him right from under the fingertips of the New York Mets.

In a recent podcast appearance alongside Mookie Betts, Harper gave Hefner the ultimate compliment while throwing some shade at the team in Queens — always a fun activity, even coming from one of the Braves’ biggest rivals.

“Once Jeremy Hefner left (the Mets) and went to the Braves… I was like oh no….crap”

-Bryce Harper on the Braves hiring Jeremy Hefner. pic.twitter.com/T2IVrbiVOe

— MattOlsonsBurner (@ChoppinBravos) July 25, 2026

As a whole, the Braves pitching staff ranks third in the National League in ERA at 3.67, an incredible turnaround from last year, when the team ranked 11th and was giving up nearly a run more per game.

Jeremy Hefner came to Atlanta with a reputation as one of the brightest young pitching minds in the game — a title that’s proving to be well deserved. Now it’s time for Alex Anthopoulos to do his job at the trade deadline and get this guy some real firepower to work with.

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(Photo by David John Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

The Braves’ needs are obvious. They should be in the market for every frontline starting pitcher available, they need another middle-of-the-order bat, and with concerns surrounding the future of Robert Suarez, another high-leverage reliever has climbed toward the top of the priority list as well.

Given Atlanta has the sort of prospect capital at the trade deadline that they haven’t had in the past, there’s little reason for them not to address each of these in some form or fashion. With that in mind, here’s my trade deadline wish list, featuring a dream trade target for the Braves at every position of need — and I’ve included a backup option, because the reality is they likely aren’t going to go the blockbuster route on three separate occasions.

Starting Pitcher

Dream: Tarik Skubal

Backup: Kevin Gausman

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The Tigers just dropped two out of three over the weekend to the Royals, and the rumblings continue to grow that they’re leaning toward trading Skubal. The Braves have been named a favorite by some MLB insiders, and they’ll certainly be involved in conversations, but most believe a move to Los Angeles is inevitable as the Dodgers aim to become the first National League team to repeat as champions three years in a row.

I’m all aboard the Skubal train, and I haven’t been afraid to shout it from the rooftops for months. If the Braves pair Chris Sale with Skubal at the top of their rotation, they shouldn’t be scared of anybody come October — not even the Dodgers. The rumored prospect capital it would take to acquire him — since he’s a rental — also isn’t that daunting.

Of course, there’s risk. The Braves could trade a solid piece of their future rotation for Skubal and still fall short of winning a championship. But this team needs a true frontline starter, and I’m tired of them wasting opportunities with this core because they’ve been unwilling to acquire one. Plus, by acquiring Skubal, the Braves also deny the Dodgers another generational arm to throw at them in the postseason.

If Skubal isn’t available or goes elsewhere, Gausman isn’t a terrible backup plan. Since he’s on an expiring contract and having a bit of a down year, the prospect cost should be minimal, but he’s still a guy who can be trusted in a playoff setting. There’s familiarity between him and Atlanta, and he was really good for the Blue Jays last year on their run to the World Series.

Outfield

Dream: George Springer

Backup: Heliot Ramos

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I’m very intrigued by the idea of taking a flier on George Springer. He’s another veteran on an expiring contract from Toronto who shouldn’t cost a haul to acquire, and the potential upside is immense.

Springer is hitting just .231 with 11 home runs and a .711 OPS on the season. Perhaps age is finally catching up to him, but he’s only a year removed from posting a .959 OPS, and the results have been much better of late. Over his past 26 games, he’s hitting .286 with an .815 OPS. At the very least, Springer could serve as a platoon piece against left-handed pitching, and he’s been a demon in the postseason, with an .880 OPS for his career.

Heliot Ramos being the backup option is a sign of just how weak the outfield class is at this year’s deadline. Still, he has an .850 OPS for his career against left-handed pitching, and he’s under team control for pennies through 2030.

Bullpen

Dream: Adrian Morejon

Backup: A.J. Minter

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Of course, the ideal dream candidate to address the bullpen would be Mason Miller. But I don’t think the Padres are going to trade him, and if they did, it’s highly unlikely the Braves would give up multiple top-100 prospects for a relief pitcher. That just isn’t Alex Anthopoulos’ M.O.

That said, the Braves could look to San Diego for another one of their relievers — left-handed Adrian Morejón. He’s an elite setup man in the final year of his contract, which makes him much more likely to be traded. Over the past three seasons, Morejón owns a 2.65 ERA over 184 appearances.

As a backup plan, I wouldn’t be opposed to a reunion with A.J. Minter. The injuries have been worrisome, and he’s struggled as of late, but he still owns a 2.18 ERA over 35 appearances since the start of the 2025 campaign. Given he’s also a rental, the prospect cost should be minimal.

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(Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

“Scouts have flocked to Braves minor league affiliates,” Cano writes. “High-A Rome, which has the best crop of talent to offer, had scouts from the Padres, Detroit Tigers and Athletics in attendance this weekend.”

Rome features most of the Braves’ top prospects in the organization — headlined by Eric Hartman, Cam Caminiti, and Tate Southisene (though Southisene has just been promoted to Double-A Columbus). Those are the top three prospects in the Braves system. It would take a blockbuster deal for any of them to be included, but the Emperors’ lineup also includes John Gil and Isaiah Drake — two extremely talented and athletic prospects oozing with upside.

Playing a little game of connect the dots, the Padres, Tigers, and Athletics all have something they can offer when it comes to the Braves’ biggest needs.

Tarik Skubal could be the frontline starter the Braves have been missing if they wanted to swing big, but Casey Mize wouldn’t be a bad consolation prize. The Padres could potentially be looking to move Mason Miller or other core pieces, but even someone like Adrian Morejón — a dominant left-handed setup man on an expiring contract — could really boost the Braves bullpen.

Oakland doesn’t have nearly as many high-profile pieces to trade, but Tyler Soderstrom could be high up on Atlanta’s radar. Left field has been a weak spot for the team over the last several seasons, in large part because of the two suspensions to Jurickson Profar. The addition of Soderstrom could put an end to that now and in the future. He recently signed a seven-year, $86 million extension with the Athletics, which keeps him under team control through 2033 at a very palatable rate for someone who’s become a 3-4 WAR player.

A lot still needs to be sorted out over the next several days. Teams like the Padres and Tigers aren’t quite sure whether they’re buying or selling — or both. But come the weekend, we should start seeing some significant trades come to fruition.

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(Photo by Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire)

The #Braves today returned OF Ronald Acuña Jr. from his rehabilitation assignment and reinstated him from the injured list, and optioned OF Brewer Hicklen to Triple-A Gwinnett.

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 27, 2026

A couple of new developments have really helped the offense turn back on since the All-Star break. For about six weeks, the Braves got absolutely nothing offensively behind the plate. Drake Baldwin missed a month with an oblique injury, and when he returned, it took some time for him to find his footing.

That’s changed in July. Baldwin has hit safely in all but five games this month, sporting a .341 average with six home runs and a 1.017 OPS.

We’ve also seen a second-half surge from Austin Riley. He has four multi-hit performances over his last ten games and has reached base in eight of them, to go along with three homers, a .308 batting average, and a .921 OPS. This comes after a dreadful first half in which he struggled to hit over the Mendoza Line and sported a .618 OPS.

Those are massive developments, but nothing compares to the addition of a healthy Ronald Acuña Jr. He’s still the best player on the team. His mere presence makes things infinitely more difficult for opposing pitchers — and easier for his teammates hitting around him. Acuña’s return also gives Walt Weiss more flexibility with his lineup card, allowing Mauricio Dubon to fill in at shortstop or in the outfield as needed rather than using him strictly as an everyday outfielder.

But the excitement doesn’t stop at the major-league level. It was reported yesterday that Tate Southisene is headed to Double-A Columbus. It’s the second promotion for the 19-year-old first-round selection from a year ago, as he continues to make a case for the title of the organization’s #1 prospect.

That move opened up a spot for Alex Lodise — the Braves’ second-round selection from the 2025 draft — in High-A Rome, where he’ll look to keep tearing the cover off the baseball. Following a slow start, the former Florida State Seminole now has 21 home runs with an .826 OPS on the season.

As I tweeted yesterday, it is expected that Alex Lodise is promoted to High-A Rome this week.

— Gaurav (@gvedak) July 27, 2026

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(Photo by Chris Arjoon/Icon Sportswire)

By matching Jones' sheet, the Nuggets face a $32 million increase in current luxury taxes ($36M to $68M) and enter the second apron. They are deep in tax bills but could shed money via trades in season.

Next Denver order of business: Navigate retaining RFA Peyton Watson while… https://t.co/N5arhPRTjM

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 27, 2026

A first-round selection four years ago, taken 30th overall, Watson has slowly worked his way into a really respectable starting-caliber player. He’s coming off a breakout campaign in which he averaged 14.6 points per game on 49% shooting from the field and 41% from three-point range, to go along with 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists.

The Hawks currently sit at around $196 million in payroll. That’s $4 million under the luxury tax threshold and $13 million below the first apron. In the past, we’ve never seen ownership willing to go into the luxury tax, despite constant promises that they would be willing to for the right pieces. Perhaps they’re starting to see the light with the direction this club is headed, but Atlanta also has to make some subtractions from their current roster to shed salary.

The Hawks already have 17 players on their roster. Adding Watson would make it 18, meaning they’d need to get rid of three players. Some obvious candidates to be dumped are Corey Kispert, Buddy Hield, Devin Carter, and Ryan Nembhard — with some of those contracts being much easier to move than others.

Atlanta is much deeper on the wing with the additions of Aaron Wiggins and Lu Dort this offseason, but Watson’s length, perimeter shooting, and overall upside make him a very intriguing fit. The Hawks have a lot of bullies who are going to make things tough on opposing offenses as they grind through an 82-game schedule, but they need more guys who can knock down shots from behind the arc, or there are going to be a lot of ugly affairs at State Farm Arena.

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(Photo by Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire)

There’s a lot of work to be done in Atlanta if this team wants to challenge the Dodgers come October, with starting pitching the top priority. The Braves desperately need a true frontline arm to pair with Chris Sale at the top of the rotation. Without one, it’s hard to imagine a deep postseason run.

Tarik Skubal

Braves receive: Tarik Skubal
Tigers receive: AJ Smith-Shawver, John Gil, and Lucas Braun

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I could have easily swapped in JR Ritchie for AJ Smith-Shawver — that’s probably what most Braves fans would prefer to give up — but if Skubal is available, the competition for his services is going to be immense.

AJ Smith-Shawver is the kind of piece that should really pique Detroit’s interest. He’s super young with a ton of upside, and he’s major-league ready — something the Tigers, who aren’t out of the playoff race, will covet.

John Gil is thrown in as a sweetener, and a pretty good one at that. He’s had a bit of an underwhelming season so far, but the tools are still really exciting. He has incredible range defensively, elite speed on the basepaths, and has really grown into some power. This is a package that should interest Detroit.

Casey Mize

Braves receive: Casey Mize
Tigers receive: JR Ritchie and Alex Lodise

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Casey Mize is another Tigers frontline starter on an expiring deal. He’s not Tarik Skubal, but he shouldn’t be viewed as a consolation prize — he’s amid a breakout campaign in which he owns a 2.70 ERA and 2.59 FIP over 16 starts.

The asking price for Mize will be lower than Skubal’s, but Ritchie and Lodise is still a really intriguing package. The former is another major-league-ready starter who’s already gotten a cup of coffee in the majors, and the latter is a second-round pick from last year who just earned a promotion to High-A Rome after slugging his 21st home run of the season. Not a bad haul for a rental starting arm.

Mize is also the type of pitcher the Braves would have a decent chance of retaining, while Skubal would almost certainly walk at the end of the season.

José Soriano

Braves receive: José Soriano
Angels receive: Eric Hartman, JR Ritchie, and Owen Murphy

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I’ve had my eye on José Soriano since the start of the season, knowing the Angels would likely be sellers and could blow up their entire roster at the deadline. They don’t have to force anything, given he still has two more years of affordable team control remaining, but for the right offer they should be open for business.

Soriano is having a really good season for the Halos — a 3.29 ERA over 22 starts. But I don’t even think that does his stuff justice. Under the wing of Braves pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, he could be a superstar in Atlanta for years to come.

Because Soriano has several more years remaining on his contract, it’s going to take something that blows the Angels away to consider moving him at this deadline. This would be that kind of deal.

Hartman is the top prospect in the Braves organization and ranked inside the top 50 overall. JR Ritchie and Owen Murphy are two major-league-ready starting pitchers who could occupy spots in the Angels’ rotation for years to come. It’s a lot, but that’s the cost of doing business when discussing frontline starters with multiple years of control.

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(Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire)

Day two of SEC Media Days is about to get underway with Kirby Smart first up on the schedule. The Bulldog Skipper is notoriously tightlipped about his football team at these type of events, but occasionally offers some interesting remarks about the league more generally or the state of college football writ large. I expect this year will be no different.

As with yesterday, you can catch coverage of the event live on SEC Network , and check in here with any breaking news.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

In a casual sense, the instant reaction to hearing about Buck Belue is one of two things:

“Belue To Scott”

Or executing the well-planned offensive strategy of one of two run plays in 1980 and 1981 – “Herschel left or Herschel right.”

But if you want to talk about Buck Belue in the full sense of of a Georgia Bulldog, possibly his greatest moment came outside both of those instances.

Rather, it was in December of 1978 when Belue was subbed into the game against Georgia Tech, leading a comeback win from trailing 20-0 in the second quarter. The win was thrilling, no doubt. But given the 1978 season for a team appropriately named the “Wonderdogs,” a riveting rally in Clean Old-Fashioned Hate should honestly be expected.

After all, this scrappy bunch of Dogs beat a Clemson team that would not lose again in 1978 and rallied for road wins at LSU and Kentucky as well as holding off Florida in Jacksonville.

But could this team, one that had in the late weeks of the season seen SEC title hopes dry up thanks in part to a tie against Auburn, pull together another comeback?

Down 20-0 to the Yellow Jackets, it seemed doubtful. But Vince Dooley went looking for an offensive spark and found it as he swapped out quarterbacks, subbing in Belue in place of Jeff Pyburn.

The change paid off quickly with Belue engineering one scoring drive to get UGA on the board, and a Scott Woerner interception set up a short scoring drive. Just like that, Georgia was down 20-14, and the Dawgs went up front in the third on a ground-shaking punt return by Woerner.

The drama was not done on both sides, however. Georgia’s 21-20 lead was short-lived as Tech’s Drew Hill ran back the kickoff 101 yards for a 28-21 Georgia Tech lead. Down by the same margin with about five minutes left, the Bulldogs began a drive that stalled at the Yellow Jackets 42-yard line.

Larry Munson may have summed it all up.

“Fourth down…what a year!”

Dropping back on that fourth down, Belue scrambled, finding an open Amp Arnold for a 42-yard score. But an extra point would only tie the score. Georgia went for a the win, a call that nearly blew up in disaster on an incomplete pass before a penalty gave the Dogs one more shot. UGA took advantage as Arnold took a reverse pitch in for a two-pointer, sealing the win along with a Dave Archer interception.

No, this frigid day didn’t win a national title. But wins over your in-state rival are sweet, especially when it involves a big comeback.

Go Dawgs!

2026 Majors are in the books. The boys in Red & Black had some good showings, but it is time to put that behind you, as the end of the season and the big payout in the FedEx Cup playoffs looms.

Tournament: 3M Open, July 23-26, 2026.

Course: TPC Twin Cities, par 71, 7,431 yards. On the outskirts of Minneapolis.

Purse: $8.8 million total, $1,584,000 to the winner.

Defending Champ: Kurt Kitayama. The UNLV Rebel got his 2nd Tour victory here in 2025, after getting into contention on Saturday and then a blistering opening stretch on Sunday put him way out in front.

Fun Fact: The course is technically in Blaine, MN. They say it’s in the Twin Cities, but that is not Blaine. But the Tour was in the “Quad Cities” a couple of weeks ago for the John Deere, and the Quad Cities is made up of 5 cities. Seems UNC Chapel Hill isn’t the only place where they can’t math.

TV Times: Back to regularly scheduled programming. Thursday and Friday on Golf Channel from 4-7 pm ET. Saturday and Sunday on Golf Channel 1-3 pm, then CBS from 3-6 pm ET.

‘Dawgs in the Field: 4. Brian Harman, Chris Kirk, Keith Mitchell, Davis Thompson.

Most of the other Classic City alums are both weary from a compressed 2026 golf season and sitting pretty in the FedEx Cup points race. Remember that only the top 70 players make the opening playoff event, and some of our boys are lucky enough to take time off due to their position.

The same can’t be said of Chris Kirk. He’s currently 146th in points, and would need at least a 2nd place finish in the next 3 weeks, or 3 top 5s. Otherwise his season will end in early August.

Davis Thompson is a little better off in 100th place. But he will still probably need a top 10 finish in the next couple of events to qualify.

Brian Harman is officially on the bubble in the 74th spot. At a minimum, some top 25 finishes would help move him up a few spots into that coveted top 20. A top 10 or top 15 would go a long way too.

Keith Mitchell is 46th. And with the way players are logjammed between 20-60, he’s pretty much assured of getting to the post season.

Other former Bulldogs not playing this week and their spot in the points race:

Russell Henley – 14th

Sepp Straka – 36th

Harris English – 48th

Brendon Todd – 217th (so basically only a win would help, and Todd has a conditional status currently so it doesn’t look good. He might not even be trying.)

The Tour season winds down just as college football talking season. Either way, Fall Is Coming.

As always…

GO ‘DAWGS!!!

Looking ahead to this fall in Athens, the atmosphere leading up to kickoff stands to be tamer against Tennessee State and Western Kentucky compared to that of later in September when Oklahoma comes to town.

Sure, those early-season tailgates will have lots of elements of reuniting with old game-day friends. But as far as intensity of SEC games? It won’t be at that level.

That is of course if someone brings up two words – “Mike Bobo.”

Yes, that Mike Bobo. The former Georgia quarterback who is a lightning rod for disagreement. The same one that won the Frank Broyles Award and has directed one of the country’s top-performing offenses under two Georgia head coaches and was a finalists for that award last year, too. That’s not an award handed out as a courtesy.

But there’s the rub, as well. Yes, for the most part Mike Bobo’s offenses have been high-performing and good enough to get the job done.

Trouble is, the key reason for Georgia going about things like gangbusters in its back-to-back title run was what Todd Monken was able to do – having a generational player like Brock Bowers helped, obviously.

But almost ever since Bobo came aboard Georgia’s staff under Kirby Smart, you could hear the grumbling from a segment of Georgia’s fans that had anxiety of Bobo even being allowed in the football offices, let along a later elevation of offensive coordinator.

The play of Georgia’s offense in losses to last two years to Notre Dame and Alabama and being good enough but no great in other big moments has not helped that anxiety for one group of the fan base, with the other being of the mind that ‘if it’s ok by Kirby, it’s ok by me.‘

But if Georgia head coach Kirby Smart was looking to overwhelmingly reassure Georgia’s fans of how confident they should be in Bobo’s offense, Tuesday at SEC Media Days in Tampa was not a slam dunk when asked directly about Bobo by reporters at SEC Media Days.

“I look at things through facts and I look at things I see with my own two eyes. I was blessed to work for the greatest college football coach in the history of all of college football, and I don’t even think it’s arguable. I don’t think you can even debate it, but I learned from him that you evaluate things from inside out. And I do think that football intuition is one of my strengths. Knowing that, I know that we’ve got the right offensive coordinator. What you guys want to write and talk about is completely up to you. I look at the production he’s had, the success he’s had, the team success where he doesn’t worry about stats. He worries about winning football games, and the way he coaches our players day-to-day is unmatched in this country.”

Look, it’s fine and well to say that ‘we have the right offensive coordinator,’ and talk about production and success, but at the end of the day, the expectation in Athens is simple – not just win a lot of games, but win the ones that matter the most.

Last season, you saw Georgia slowly cut Alabama apart and take its will in the SEC Championship Game, but it was hardly flashy. Against Georgia Tech, moving the ball was a problem. The Sugar Bowl saw the Bulldogs unable to keep as torrid of a pace as Ole Miss.

Is Mike Bobo saddled with replacing an incredible OC in Monken? Yes. But at the end of the day, Georgia’s offense needs to be more than good enough, and time will tell if that’s enough to meet the standard in Athens, or if this offense will be just good enough.

Go Dawgs!

There may be no figure associated with University of Georgia football less respected proportionally to their program contribution than Ray Goff. Before Goff was the Bulldogs’ head coach he was the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback, and he was a danged good one. In fact, Goff was the SEC player of the year in 1976, when he led the Bulldogs to an SEC title and a 10-2 record.

Goff then moved into the coaching ranks, coaching tight ends and tailbacks for the Bulldogs, as well as serving as recruiting coordinator for Vince Dooley. In that capacity he recruited and coached Bulldog legends like Tim Worley, Lars Tate, and Rodney Hampton. Then when Dooley retired Goff stepped in to try to be the guy who replaces The Guy. That’s never an easy or enviable position.

But good deeds are seldom rewarded and not every story gets an Hollywood soft And so it was that after some early success the Ray Goff era in Athens ended with less of a bang and more of a whimper. Goff was terminated prior to the 1995 Georgia Texh game after having already dropped games to Tennessee, Ole Miss, Alabama, Florida, and Auburn. If you were around in those days, you probably remember that things were over long before athletic director Dooley called Goff in to deliver the news.

And yet the Bulldogs soldiered on. And the team found itself with nothing to lose as the Red and Black took on hated rival Georgia Tech on Thanksgiving afternoon 1995. A loss would be the final indignity of the “Ray Goof” era. But a win could, improbably, propel the Athenians to a bowl game as Goff’s final sendoff.

However things didn’t start out well. The Bulldogs fell behind the Jackets 14-0. But then the staff put the ball in the hands of their best player, do-everything standout Hines Ward.

Ward’s 3870 yards of total offense placed him second only to Herschel Walker in Bulldog history, and on this day he earned a big chunk of those yards by bringing the Bulldogs back for a chance to win. On the Bulldogs’ final drive Ward, who’d been forced to move from wide receiver to tailback and then to quarterback due to injuries, completed three separate third down passes to move the chains. Kanon Parkman then hit a knuckling 34 yard field goal to deliver an 18-17 victory for the beleaguered Goff.

Georgia would then end the season by losing to Virginia in the Oahu Bowl, a miserable experience for another day. For now, let’s instead focus on the fact that Hines Ward remains one of the most gifted athletes to ever don a bock G helmet.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

At SEC Media Days this morning Kirby Smart provided an injury updates on a number of players. While most of those were pretty pedestrian, the update on transfer tailback Dante Dowdell is more serious.

Smart confirmed reports that Dowdell did indeed suffer a significant injury. The Top Dawg didn’t specify a timeline for a possible return, and also didn’t downplay the seriousness of the injury. 

“The Dante Dowdell situation is tough,” Smart conceded . “I don’t know when he’ll be back. He had an off-campus accident back home during our break, and we’re praying for him and his family. We expect a full recovery, but the outlook right now is we’re waiting to see.” 

Reports from several other outlets indicated that Dowdell’s injury while riding an ATV, and that he is treating at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, a world-renowned facility for head and spinal cord injury, an ominous sign. Coach Smart provided some details, saying “I don’t know the specifics of it, to be honest with you. It was a recreational vehicle, and he had some serious injuries.” Smart added that Dowdell is “out of the really tough range, but as far as his complete health and coming all the way back, I don’t know what that looks like in terms of this year.”

Dowdell transferred in from Kentucky this offseason after rushing for 560 yards and 3 touchdowns for the Wildcats last in 2025. Dowdell spent the 2024 season with Nebraska and the 2023 season with Oregon and was looking to polish his NFL resume in Athens while splitting carries with Nate Frazier, Chauncey Bowens and others. It sounds like that goal may be on hold for now, if not permanently.

When Georgia landed Khalil Barnes out of the transfer portal in January it marked a full-circle moment for the Bogart, native. Barnes grew up minutes from Athens, starred at North Oconee High School, but chose Clemson over the hometown Bulldogs coming out of high school. But three seasons and 30 starts later, he is finally putting on the red and black, arriving with one year of eligibility remaining and skills that should make him an immediate factor in Kirby Smart’s defense.

Barnes’ body of work at Clemson is substantial. Over three seasons, he racked up 139 total tackles, 7 interceptions, 11 pass breakups, 6.5 tackles for loss, 3 forced fumbles, and a sack. He burst onto the scene as a true freshman in 2022, becoming the first player of the Dabo Swinney era to record multiple interceptions and multiple forced fumbles in his debut season, earning Freshman All-America recognition.

Barnes’ best all-around year with the Country Gentlemen came in 2024, when he posted 61 tackles and 4 interceptions, third highest in the ACC, while helping Clemson reach the College Football Playoff. His 2025 season was more quiet. Nagging injuries limited him to 10 games and 9 starts, and he finished with 40 tackles, 5 quarterback hurries, 2 pass breakups, and one tackle for loss, and without an interception for the first time in his career.

Barnes brings Power 4 experience, football IQ, and versatility to a secondary that lost five players in the transfer portal this offseason. Coach Smart praised him as intelligent, well-coached, and comfortable having played multiple positions and defensive schemes at a high level. Barnes’ 2022 and 2024 tape shows a player with natural ball skills and the instincts to be around the football, evidenced by his takeaway numbers early in his career. At 6’0 and 200 pounds he also brings physicality against the run, reflected in his tackle for loss production.

The questions surrounding Barnes are tied mostly to his 2025 season. The lack of turnovers and reduced role, driven largely by injury, leave some uncertainty about whether his playmaking ability will translate immediately to the SEC.

Barnes appears ticketed to start at the STAR position where Georgia has had success plugging in transfer standouts in the past. Tykee Smith for example earned All-SEC honors in 2023 after transferring in from West Virginia and taking over that slot. With former five star prospect Joenel Aguero transferring out, Barnes and sophomore Rasean Dinkins will likely be the competitors for the STAR spot in fall camp. But Barnes, with his experience and physical tools, could be a key component if the Bulldog secondary is to live up to its substantial potential.

In this age of college football coaches don’t take transfers, especially transfers like Barnes with one year of eligibility, unless they expect that guy to make an immediate impact. A successful season for Khalil Barnes would involve a return to his 2024 form, with solid production and an injury-free season. It will also be interesting to see how much of a leadership Barnes can assume as a “brand new veteran” on a defense that returns experienced starters at every level.

Go ‘‘Dawgs!!!

Here’s a terrifying thought for you: one day in the distant future college football fans may forget just how amazing Brock Bowers was during his Georgia Bulldogs career.

I know, it’s difficult to imagine. Bowers played three seasons of college football and was named All-SEC and All-American in each of them. He won the Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end two years running. Over 50 catches every season, 2538 receiving yards, and 26 receiving touchdowns. Every honor and number is truly impressive.

But a picture is worth a thousand words. Just ask the South Carolina Gamecocks.

In 2022 Bowers could have beaten Shane Beamer’s squad all by himself, scoring three touchdowns, one on the ground and two through the air, including a 78 yarder in which he made the Gamecock defense look like it was stuck in concrete.

Unfortunately for the Garnet and Black Bowers had teammates, on both sides of the ball. The Gamecocks ran only 34 plays on offense in a first half that saw them shut out while the Bulldogs cruised out to a 24-0 halftime lead. Somehow it got even worse in the second half, with Georgia veritably tap dancing to a three more touchdowns in the third quarter to take a 45-0 lead into the fourth quarter. The Dawgs would tack on one more field goal before the ‘Cocks got on the board late to avoid a shutout, losing “only” 48-7.

Bowers led all Bulldog receivers with 121 yards on 5 catches, to go with his rushing touchdowns. It was a bravura performance from one of the greatest to ever play his position, and one of the greatest to ever play in Athens.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice? Shame on me. Win the SEC twice in a row over the teams that league media had thought would take home the trophy? Well then people decide they won’t be fooled again.

The assembled voters at SEC Media Days have tabbed the Red and Black to be back in Atlanta this December. Georgia is projected to finish first in the SEC, according to the predicted order of finish poll conducted at Media Days. The Bulldogs comfortably beat out the Texas Longhorns for the top spot ahead of the 2026 season.

The ’Dawgs received 88 votes to be crowned SEC Champions on December 5 in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with Texas being picked to be the Bulldogs’ opponent. The ‘‘Horns picked up 57 votes to win the title under the leadership of reputed genius Steve Sarkisian and golden child Arch Manning, who has one more year to win one of the three Heisman Trophies Longhorn fans assured me he’d pick up before leaving Austin.

Before you get too excited, bear in mind that only 10 times since the league began playing a championship game in 1992 has the predicted preseason champion at SEC Media Days gone on to win the SEC Championship Game. But there’s no doubt that a Bulldog team bringing back loads of talent and experience on both sides of the ball will be a contender once again.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

This is Free Form Friday, the virtual community pool around which we lounge while waiting for the blessed return of college football. Remember, one poster at a time in the diving board, and yes, all minors must be accompanied by an adult who’s consumed fewer Coors Lites than they have fingers. Other than that, it’s just like Heaven.

As usual, I’ll throw out a topic about which you’re free to give your opinion, or to ignore in favor of other more interesting topics. Maestro, the music:

As we noted recently, the return of talkin’ season heralds the coming of college football as surely as day follows dawn. And you’re going to be watching some of it, regardless of how frustrating you may find the current landscape of collegiate athletics. What we want to know is, how do you plan to do that?

I’ve determined that YouTube TV is a viable option for getting the SEC football that I need to watch. It also carries the CBS and FOX major matchups that I could pick up on terrestrial television.

Our family also happens to have a subscription to Disney+, which members of our household demand in order to watch Bluey and Dance Moms (okay, you caught me, it’s me). And that service is a sneaky good add-on for a football degenerate like me who occasionally likes to unwind by watching North Dakota State, Colorado School of Mines, or some other streaming-only level FCS program do freaky things on offense that won’t show up in the SEC until next year.

How about you? Am I missing a better streaming option for the money? Has anyone made a purchasing mistake they’re willing to own up to so the rest if us can avoid it? We’d love to hear from you.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

As always, he’s never going to give too much away or talk explicitly about any specific deals, but Anthopoulos is typically a relatively straight shooter, and he didn’t hesitate to acknowledge that this Braves roster can improve in all areas leading up to the deadline.

“We can add in all areas, right,” Anthopoulos said to Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio. “We’re definitely not a complete team. I think we’ve got the upside to be a complete team, but we can add rotation, bullpen, bats. And as much as we all like to say, ‘I need to get this, I need to get that,’ as you know very well Jim (Bowden) from all the trade deadlines you’ve been involved in, sometimes you have to take what ends up being available.”

The Braves’ top priority entering the deadline will be the rotation. It’s become an abject disaster, and the potential solutions internally are dwindling. They’ll be involved in every conversation for frontline starting arms, but the number available will be minimal, and the price tags are going to be sky high.

That’s why waiting this long to make a move is always a dangerous game, especially with the expanded playoffs creating fewer opportunities for buyers. But it’s the bed Anthopoulos made when he didn’t go after a starting pitcher during the offseason — despite saying on several occasions it was the club’s top priority. Nobody should be shocked if the Braves exit the deadline without acquiring a starter, and Anthopoulos essentially acknowledged as much.

“You might want a starter, if that doesn’t show up, maybe you need to make the offense better, maybe you need to make the bullpen better,” Anthopoulos continued. “I think it’s been pretty obvious that if there is a playoff caliber starter out there that we would jump at that. If there’s a reliever, we would jump at that. We see it all the time in the playoffs with all of the off days, not that many guys are going deep in terms of starts, and having a deep bullpen is pretty important. We’ve seen teams play bullpen games in the postseason as well because of the off-days.”

I’ve long believed the Braves don’t really have much of a choice but to be ultra-aggressive in pursuing any frontline starting pitcher who becomes available — which could even mean overpaying for the right arm. But in light of these recent comments, it’s fairly evident that doing so is far from a foregone conclusion.

I’m a big believer that if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a damn duck. Anthopoulos has never been shy about showing the world who he is when it comes to adding starting pitching. He doesn’t believe in the current market value for frontline arms, which is why the Braves have always avoided those kinds of deals. And if he wasn’t willing to pay the price during the offseason, it’s hard to believe he’s going to do so now when the market is even more inflated.

Anthopoulos’ philosophy on modern-day bullpens being far more impactful in the playoffs is spot on, and the Braves already have a very good bullpen as currently constructed. There’s a world where he sees that as the more viable source of innings come October, and adding even more firepower to the group could let them piece things together in a unique way behind Chris Sale. It puts a lot of pressure on Sale, and Walt Weiss to pull all the right strings, but it does sound like his preferred course of action — which history backs up as well. The last time the Braves acquired of starting pitcher of significance at the trade deadline was Kevin Gausman all the way back in 2018.

The offense also can’t be forgotten. The lineup has shown some very positive developments over the last couple of weeks, hinting at a return to the juggernaut it was in the first two months of the season. Austin Riley seems to be finding his footing. Drake Baldwin appears to have put the oblique injury in the rearview. Ronald Acuña Jr. is expected back within a week or so, and even Jim Jarvis has sparked some real life into the back of the lineup as the club’s starting shortstop.

Still, there’s a clear and obvious need for another middle-of-the-order bat to limit how often Walt Weiss has to turn to Mike Yastrzemski and Dominic Smith. Both are fine players in limited stints, but neither should be tasked with playing every day. Just a little more juice could put the Braves offense over the top — enough to carry this team to the NL East crown on its own.

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(Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

According to Braves beat reporter Mark Bowman, Perez will be back this week, set to start Wednesday against the Padres.

Braves probables vs. Padres
Monday: Elder
Tuesday: Lopez
Wednesday: TBA (The Bionic Arm, aka Martin Perez)
Thursday: Sale

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) July 19, 2026

Perez hit the Injured List with a forearm contusion after being struck by a screaming line drive off the bat of Juan Soto. He’s eligible to return Tuesday, and the Braves are hoping he comes back as the guy who really helped carry the rotation during the first two months, not the version that struggled over his last three starts.

The reality is Perez is probably closer to the pitcher we saw right before he hit the IL than the alternative, but he’s still a professional-type veteran who should be able to give the Braves some competitive innings while they continue to sort things out.

Smith-Shawver offers a lot more upside. He tossed 4.2 scoreless innings with five strikeouts in his last start over the weekend with the Gwinnett Stripers. His pitch count is up to 72, and the repertoire looks just as good as it did before Tommy John surgery, touching 100 MPH on the radar gun on several occasions.

Expectations always have to be tempered when discussing pitchers coming off significant arm injuries, but Smith-Shawver is making that difficult with the way he’s performing throughout this rehab assignment. Alex Anthopoulos said the plan is for him to push his pitch count north of 80 his next time out, and after that, they’ll decide whether he’s ready to rejoin the major-league club.

Because Smith-Shawver still has options, the Braves don’t have to rush him back. But with the way he’s looked, another strong start next time out might force their hand.

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Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

He threw just 36 pitches, and the velocity was down across all of his offerings.

Hurston Waldrep’s velo was down and he was removed after 36 pitches while pitching for Gwinnett yesterday. He’ll be further evaluated. Weiss said it’s concerning any time a pitcher has to be removed. Waldrep had arthroscopic elbow surgery in February

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) July 20, 2026

After undergoing surgery during Spring Training, Waldrep worked his way back to the majors and made three appearances for the Braves, recording an 8.44 ERA over 10.2 innings. It’s unclear whether the discomfort began while he was in Atlanta or if it’s something that popped up more recently.

Waldrep made some adjustments to his repertoire last year, and it led to him becoming one of the Braves’ breakout stars during the second half of the season. In 56.1 innings, he posted a 2.88 ERA and averaged nearly a strikeout per inning. He entered the 2026 campaign expected to be a staple in Atlanta’s rotation. That, of course, hasn’t happened, and now there are real concerns about whether he’ll be available for the remainder of this season — or next year, for that matter.

Hopefully, it’s nothing more than inflammation and some extra rest is all that’s needed. We’ll have more when further updates come in.

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(Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

The Atlanta #Braves today announced the club has signed each of its 21 picks from the 2026 First-Year Player Draft: pic.twitter.com/a0on94wgrP

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 20, 2026

AJ Gracia and Carter Beck were both taken in the first round. The Braves received the extra pick as compensation from the Prospect Promotion Incentive, earned when Drake Baldwin took home the NL Rookie of the Year award last year.

Atlanta’s draft strategy closely mirrored the one they used in 2025, focusing on athletic prospects willing to take signing bonuses under slot value early. They then turned around and used the money they saved on high school arms who needed some convincing to forgo college baseball.

Kaiden McCarthy and Jensen Hirschkorn — the Braves’ second- and third-round selections — each received signing bonuses above slot value, with Hirschkorn’s near-$4 million bonus standing as the highest ever for a player selected outside the first round. That was enough to convince the 6-foot-7 hurler to choose professional baseball over his commitment to LSU.

The Tigers probably aren’t too happy with the Braves right now. That’s now the second consecutive year Atlanta has swooped in with a massive signing bonus to steal one of LSU’s highest-rated commits, with Briggs McKenzie being the other example.

Atlanta has done a fantastic job under Alex Anthopoulos drafting, signing, and developing young talent. The signing part is an often forgotten piece of the puzzle, but it’s the sign of a front office that doesn’t overlook any details.

Of the members of the 2026 draft class, three were featured among the Braves’ top 10 prospects — AJ Gracia (#5), Kaiden McCarthy (#7), and Jensen Hirschkorn (#8) — according to Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.

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Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire

MLB Trade Deadline note: The A’s have received inquiries on their MLB outfielders. (They have 5 on the active roster and Clarke on the IL.) The scenarios would involve the A’s trading an outfielder in exchange for young pitching. @MLBNetwork pic.twitter.com/BBgOdiDCjy

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 19, 2026

It’s been well documented that the Braves have a dire need for rotation help, but they also have a logjam of young, talented arms they’re eventually going to have to make decisions on.

AJ Smith-Shawver, Spencer Schwellenbach, Hurston Waldrep, JR Ritchie, Didier Fuentes, Owen Murphy, Spencer Strider, and Bryce Elder are all starting pitchers with MLB experience, 27 or younger, and under team control for multiple seasons. That’s eight guys, and it doesn’t even include older options like Reynaldo Lopez, Chris Sale, and Grant Holmes — or any of the up-and-coming prospects moving through the system. The reality is there aren’t enough spots for all of them, and some trades will eventually have to be made.

Several of these arms should draw interest from a small-market team like the Athletics, who operate with a limited payroll — and Oakland has a few outfield/DH options that could substantially improve the Braves lineup in return.

Lawrence Butler

Lawrence Butler looked like he was on his way to becoming a star for the Athletics after hitting 22 home runs and stealing 18 bags over 125 games in 2024. But his production has dipped tremendously since, hitting just .193 this season and accumulating -1.4 WAR in 91 games. He’s probably not the type of trade candidate the Braves should be banking on to help put them over the top this season, but taking a flier on his talent could be worth the gamble. Butler is an Atlanta native and a childhood friend of Michael Harris II — perhaps a move back home could unlock his potential.

Tyler Soderstrom

Tyler Soderstrom had a breakout campaign for the Athletics a season ago, hitting 25 home runs with an .820 OPS on his way to a 3.8-WAR season, and he’s been even better this year. Over 87 games, he’s already recorded 2.5 WAR and is on pace for around 30 home runs.

There are some split concerns, however. At home, Soderstrom has a near-1.000 OPS, while on the road that number drops to .673. Still, he’d be an upgrade over what the Braves currently have in Dominic Smith and Mike Yastrzemski — even if the Braves would probably prefer to add a right-handed bat rather than another lefty.

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(Photo by Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire)

I asked the question last week, though — is there any prospect the Braves should view as untradable? Alex Anthopoulos answered that yesterday in an interview with 680 The Fan, saying nobody is completely untouchable, but there is one guy the Braves would have a tough time letting go.

“Off Limits? No,” Anthopoulos said. “We actually had a meeting today talking about that exact scenario. It depends, right? Most times at the deadline the rentals are the guys that are available in trades, meaning guys on expiring contracts… But look, there might be some surprising controllable guys, meaning guys with more than one year of club control that we kind of went around the room and said is there anybody — because we know we’re going to get asked this — there’s probably one guy that we’d have a hard time with.

“But do we have a slam dunk, like somebody we think is a Hall of Famer right now, no. We have some guys we think are really good. I think the tricky part for us is we always want to win in the current year, but we’re trying to keep this sustainable. We have a core, we have a very good core, but that core is aging… If you want to not have a rebuild, you need some young guys to replenish.”

So, who is the mystery man Alex Anthopoulos is talking about?

If he’s talking strictly about current prospects, the best guess has to be Eric Hartman. The 20-year-old is amid a historic campaign for High-A Rome — one in which he recorded 20 homers and 30 steals in the first half. Baseball America already has him up to the 25th-ranked prospect in all of baseball after entering the season unranked.

However, Tate Southisene is another one the Braves would have a really tough time parting with, and I wouldn’t overlook Cam Caminiti either. He entered the season as Atlanta’s #1 prospect, and while most outlets have him relinquishing that title, the Braves might not feel the same way.

Perhaps Anthopoulos isn’t talking about a current prospect at all, though. The Braves have multiple prospects who’ve graduated recently, and if he’s including them in this conversation, my best guess would be Didier Fuentes. He’s a young arm who’s already become an integral piece of the Braves bullpen — not a bad floor for a guy who just turned 21. But his ceiling is so much higher as a potential frontline starter.

Inquiring teams will be trying to pry Didier Fuentes away as part of potential blockbuster deals. He’s probably the player the Braves will get asked about most at this year’s deadline, and I’d assume the club has very little interest in moving him.

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(Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

It’s a move that really solidifies the Hawks’ defensive outlook, which should carry the team through the regular season, but Onsi Saleh isn’t done quite yet. At the very least, there have to be a couple of subtractions to get the club down to 15 players before the end of the offseason.

Updated Atlanta Hawks Roster

PG: CJ McCollum, Kingston Flemings, Ryan Nembhard, Devin Carter
SG: Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Aaron Wiggins, Buddy Hield
SF: Dyson Daniels, Lu Dort, Corey Kispert
PF: Jalen Johnson, Asa Newell, Zuby Ejiofor, Mo Gueye
C: Onyeka Okongwu, Jock Landale, Henri Veesaar

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There’s still a lot to work out in terms of who starts where, but it’s evident the Hawks have severely improved their depth to the point where they now have too many guys. My guess is Buddy Hield isn’t on the roster by the time the season starts, and one of Ryan Nembhard or Devin Carter could be out the door as well.

CJ McCollum and Dyson Daniels will probably handle a lot of the early work at point guard. Even if it’s not their natural position, they both offer enough playmaking to make it work, and having Jalen Johnson as a point forward gives the starting five another primary ball-handler.

However, the ultimate goal is for Kingston Flemings to start sooner rather than later. He was the 8th overall pick in a loaded draft class, and the expectations for him are much higher than they ever were for Zaccharie Risacher coming into the league, despite the fact that Risacher was drafted first overall. It’ll be intriguing to see how the Hawks bring him along. He’s mature beyond his years and should have an instant impact on the defensive end and as a floor general.

The one area that still looks concerning, however, is the center position. The Hawks are essentially running it back there, and while Onyeka Okongwu is a very valuable piece, there are certain centers he just can’t hold up against defensively because of his size. A healthy Jock Landale will help, and Zuby Ejiofor could surprise some people, but the Hawks will likely have to add more size if they want to compete with the bigger teams across the Association.

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(Photo by Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire)

Apparently, back in 2021, the Braves had a deal in place at the trade deadline that would have brought Kyle Schwarber to Atlanta as they desperately searched for lineup help following the injury to Ronald Acuña Jr. Anthopoulos thought it was done, but it ultimately fell through — something he believes was likely tied to the division rivalry between the Nationals and the Braves.

“We thought we were getting Schwarber from the Washington Nationals at the time,” Anthopoulos said. “Mike Rizzo was the GM, good guy, very successful GM, World Series winner, very accomplished. I thought we were done, I thought we had a price, we agreed, but it’s not done until it’s done. And it didn’t get done. I think being in the division was a challenge.”

When that happened, Atlanta quickly pivoted to Jorge Soler, and I guess you could say everything worked out about how it should have.

The Braves added four outfielders at the 2021 trade deadline — Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler, Eddie Rosario, and Adam Duvall — and it’s really amazing just how significant an impact each of them had on the club’s World Series run.

Joc Pederson brought the vibes. He changed the energy of not just the clubhouse but the entire city, and it really seemed to turn the tide as the club struggled to find momentum. He also delivered some memorable Joctober moments, with critical home runs against the Brewers and Dodgers that helped get the Braves back to the World Series.

Eddie Rosario went on to win NLCS MVP, recording 14 hits in just six games, including three home runs. Adam Duvall hit 16 home runs in just 55 games after being acquired, then added three more in the postseason, including two in the World Series. And, of course, Jorge Soler went on to win World Series MVP.

There’s not a single Braves fan on the planet who’d change anything about how things worked out, but I don’t think the team would have been much worse off with Schwarber, who was eventually traded to the Red Sox, where he also tore the cover off the ball. It would have been interesting to see how things played out from there. Perhaps the Braves would have re-signed Schwarber, which could have led to some very different results between Atlanta and Philadelphia in the years that followed.

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(Photo by Terence Lewis/Icon Sportswire)

Elder was making just his second start of July. He’d been rested to work through some mid-season fatigue, which may have contributed to some less-than-stellar results. He entered the night with an 8.47 ERA over his previous seven starts, having allowed ten home runs over that stretch. But Monday looked a lot more like the guy who was pitching like a legitimate Cy Young candidate over the first two months of the year, allowing just two earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts over six innings.

It was enough to give the Braves the lead, thanks to home runs from Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II — two guys in the middle of outstanding bounce-back campaigns after forgettable 2025 seasons, fresh off representing Atlanta in the All-Star Game.

Well, at least Albies did. It’s still a complete and utter shame that Michael Harris II wasn’t given an All-Star nod. He had better numbers than at least one of the National League’s starters, and plenty of the reserves. The All-Star Game has very little credibility these days, and you’d think, since the game means absolutely nothing, Major League Baseball would make things right and ensure snubs like this don’t happen. Who cares if there are a few extra guys on each roster?

Robbing Harris of that experience is criminal, but he seems to be taking it the right way — on a war path to begin the second half. He’s hit safely in all four games, with three multi-hit games and a couple of home runs. Ever since he made adjustments to his swing around this time last year, he’s become one of the best all-around outfielders in the game, and eventually he’s going to get recognized properly for it.

But as good as Elder, Albies, and Harris were, the performance of the night might have come from Victor Mederos. In a one-run game with a severely depleted bullpen, Walt Weiss turned to him for the final 2.1 innings, and he delivered with a near-flawless outing. It capped off a pretty damn good week for the 25-year-old, who’s had only a few cups of coffee in the majors over his career — one in which he became the first pitcher to record a hit since 2021 and picked up his first save.

On Tuesday, the Braves will look to make it back-to-back series wins as Reynaldo Lopez faces off against Walker Buehler.

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Photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire

Acuña’s role is defined. Alex Anthopoulos didn’t mince words about the idea of him becoming the primary DH — that’s not happening. He’ll continue as the club’s everyday right fielder, which gives the Braves lineup so much more flexibility. Drake Baldwin can DH on his off-days, and it also allows Mauricio Dubon to play shortstop more regularly if needed.

That alone gives the position a much more positive outlook, but Jim Jarvis‘ play since his call-up has sparked some optimism as well, and even Ha-Seong Kim is showing signs of life during his rehab assignment. He’s hit safely in four of six games, has three extra-base hits, and more than anything, is hitting the ball hard again.

More encouraging is that 4 of the 7 balls Kim has put in play for Gwinnett have had an exit velo of 98.7 mph or higher. Just 6 of the 49 balls he put in play for Atlanta were hit that hard. It’s AAA pitching, but that’s what we have to evaluate for now. As for defense, Dubón and… https://t.co/meuPArXmR0

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) July 20, 2026

Everybody should still have their reservations about Ha-Seong Kim. He spent the first six weeks on the IL and came back looking like the worst player in baseball, hitting .068 over 73 at-bats. A few decent games on the farm against far lesser pitching isn’t going to make anybody forget that, but on the off chance he does find his footing over the last couple of months, it could be a massive addition to the Braves lineup.

Still, it’s going to be an uphill battle for Kim to earn playing time at all. Jim Jarvis has been a breath of fresh air in his absence, and even if he begins to falter, Mauricio Dubon should get most of the starts at shortstop. Kim is going to have to do a lot to prove he deserves play, and there might not even be enough time left for him to earn that chance.

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Photo: Chris Arjoon/Icon Sportswire

The day has arrived. It’s time for us to start previewing the Georgia Bulldogs’ 2026 opponents, starting with the Tennessee State Tigers.

We make it a policy here at Dawg Sports not to lie to our readers, and we’re not going to start now. So here goes: the Tigers aren’t an exceptional football team. I do not expect the Bulldogs to find themselves in a close football game when they visit Sanford Stadium next month. But that won’t stop us from bringing you an inordinate amount of information about them. Let’s dive in.

2025 Review: It’s Gotta Get Better, Right?

Tennessee State’s first season under head coach Reggie Barlow was a rough one. Barlow arrived from the DC Defenders of the UFL to replace Eddie George, who left for Bowling Green after leading the Tigers to a share of the OVC-Big South title in 2024.

The transition wasn’t particularly smooth, with dozens of players leaving the program through the transfer portal before Barlow’s staff could even hold spring practice. The result on the field was a 2-10 record, including an 0-8 mark in OVC-Big South play. The Tigers opened the year with a win over North Carolina A&T in the John Merritt Classic, but that turned out to be the season’s high point. They were blown out by top ranked North Dakota State, dropped a tight one to Alabama A&M, and lost lopsided games to Tennessee Tech and Eastern Illinois down the stretch. With the previous three year starting quarterback gone to graduation, the offense had to be rebuilt almost entirely through the portal, and it showed in the win column. By year’s end, quarterback Rodney Tisdale Jr. had emerged as the primary option under center, giving the staff at least one building block heading into year two. Hooray progress!

Offense: Maybe Better, Definitely Different

The biggest change on offense is at the top, where Barlow brought in Matt Leone as offensive coordinator to replace Shannon Harris and install a new system this offseason. That shift alone reshapes how the Tigers will attack defenses in 2026. At quarterback, the spring competition was expected to come down to Tisdale and Florida State transfer Brock Glenn, but an injury to Glenn during spring camp opened the door for Tisdale to take firm hold of the starting job. The staff also added depth at the position by bringing in South Florida transfer Marcelis Tate as another arm in the room.

Up front, Tennessee State restocked the offensive line with additions like Conner Speller from Erskine College and Lookman Balogun, a Southern Utah and Iowa Central transfer, both expected to compete for guard spots. At tight end, Francisco Pratts III joined a group that Leone’s new scheme may make more use of, a departure from how the position was deployed under the previous staff. Overall, the offensive identity is still being defined, but continuity at quarterback paired with a fresh coordinator gives the Tigers a chance to be more stable than the patchwork unit that struggled in 2025.

Defense: Continuity, For A Change.

Unlike the offense, the defensive staff returns largely intact, with Gregg Williams back for his second season as coordinator. That continuity should help after a first year in which the group had to be pieced together on short notice following the coaching change and mass roster turnover. Williams brings decades of coaching experience at the NFL and college level, and having a full offseason to install his scheme and evaluate personnel is a meaningful upgrade over the compressed timeline the staff faced a year ago.

The 2026 signing class leaned more toward offensive and depth pieces, so the defensive roster is expected to rely heavily on players who were already on campus in 2025 growing into bigger roles, along with a handful of transfer additions still being folded into the two deep. The unit gave up a lot of points last season, including in blowout losses to North Dakota State and Tennessee Tech, so tightening things up against the run and creating more turnovers will be a central focus this fall. That being said, Georgia is still going to have a pretty decided advantage when looking across the line of scrimmage.

Special Teams

Special teams was not a major storyline in Tennessee State’s offseason moves, with most of the attention going to the quarterback competition and offensive line overhaul. In the words of the great Charlie Munger, “I have nothing more to add.”

The Bottom Line

Tennessee State was just picked to finish last in the conference by league media, and that wasn’t an accident. This remains a team clawing its way back up toward respectability after requiring a total program rebuild. Sadly that kind of thing is happening a lot in college football’s lower echelons,.

I don’t expect the Tigers to be particularly competitive in Athens. The combination of a Georgia team returning a lot of key components and a TSU squad that would be outmanned at best could get ugly. Score prediction: Georgia 56, Tennessee State 7.

2017 may not have ended with the raising of a championship trophy for the Georgia Bulldogs, but it will never not be special.

It harkened the arrival of what the current level of the Georgia football program is today. For sure, it had plenty of moments that still stand out, and you can probably start some good back and forth conversations at tailgates this fall about which was the favorite.

Yes, there was the dawg-stomping of Tennessee, Florida, and Georgia Tech. You had the South Bend Takeover and the riveting Rose Bowl win.

Yes, those wins were great and memorable in their own way. But each special season has a moment when you knew something really special was in the works. And that came in another slice of time in the Classic City – that was on Sept. 23 when Georgia absolutely demolished Mississippi State, who entered the game unbeaten.

So many trendy picks coming into this game were leaning on an upset of Georgia. In multiple ways, that logic had some legs, albeit shaky. Georgia did not yet have a reputation of staying on a high level after an emotional win like they had the week before at Notre Dame. Sure, Jake Fromm and Co. had beaten Notre Dame that week before, but could it be enough week-to-week. And then you had Dan Mullen, having elevated Mississippi State and gained notoriety for doing as well as one could at a second-tier program, one that could take down conference heavyweights.

It took only a few seconds to show that this time…things will be different.

How long? Try less than three minutes, when Jake Fromm’s flea flicker way downfield to Terry Godwin was good for 59 yards, and the route was on as the Dawgs led 14-3 at halftime. If MSU was going to key on the run, it already had second thoughts thanks to that offensive trickery.

On both sides of the ball, the Bizzaro Dogs had no answer for Georgia, which rolled up 404 yards of offense in a 31-3 win with Nick Chubb’s two rushing touchdowns pacing to a 21-3 third-quarter lead, one added to by a 41-yard pass from Fromm to Isaac Nauta in the second half.

With the win, that night in Sanford Stadium showed that just one signature win would not define Georgia in a football season. It also was the start of showing that MSU had reached a ceiling under Mullen, a team that had progressed but could not get over the hump. 2017 saw State lose four games, three to Georgia, Alabama, and Auburn. Mullen would not escape being tormented by Kirby Smart, however, as he departed Stark Vegas for Florida at season’s end.

Go Dawgs!

Mascot: Hilltoppers

2025 Record: 9-4, 6-2

Conference: Conference USA

Series History: Georgia leads 1-0 (won 48-12 in 2006).

Head Coach: Tyson Helton

Famous Alumni: John Carpenter, director of Halloween and Escape From New York

Fun Fact: Its mascot is a literal blob

Tyson Helton is liable to get a few side-eyes in the Peach State due to Georgia Southern fans being uneasy with the tenure of his brother, GSU head coach Clay Helton as the Eagles head coach. That’s not so much the case for Tyson Helton at WKU, where he’s grown a knack for developing a revolving door of talent season-to-season to make a team better – no easy task with teams in the Conference USA being akin to a AAA baseball team in the current college football landscape. Case in point, this year’s team lost six in the offseason via the transfer portal to FBS schools and has 66 new players on its roster, give or take. Also, take last year when WKU overcame returning two defensive starters to have a shot at playing for a conference title near the end of the season.

Despite the current dynamics of college football, WKU still finds success. The Hilltoppers’ eight bowl wins in 12 years are the most nationally behind Georgia and Minnesota. Under Helton, he has led Western Kentucky to a winning season in each year. The black mark? No conference title and just one C-USA title game appearance. It goes without saying that there’s a desire in Bowling Green to see a next step taken.

Anytime, anywhere…

Say this about Western Kentucky – it does not duck hard challenges. This year, it begins not just with a three-game road trip, but one that cuts few corners. The Hilltoppers face Georgia after a road opener at Nevada followed by going to defending national champion Indiana.

On Offense…

WKU uses what’s best called “pro raid,” a hybrid between a pro-style and air raid on a unit that is the stronger of the two sides of the ball thanks to seven returning starters.

One of those is quarterback Rodney Tisdale, who established himself the final six games last year and can impact the game as a dual threat. There’s not a lot of returning muscle on the offensive line with Karsten Upchurch being the only returner, but there seems to be a feeling that thanks to heavy lifting in the portal, this could be one of the team’s positions of strength.

There are a good number of playmakers as well in KD Hutchinson at receiver and Ajay Allen at running back, which mesh well (no pun intended for you fans of the air raid) with Tisdale’s mobility.

On Defense…

This is where there could be growing pains, which could be tough for OJT against Georgia. The defensive line is entirely new, and no transfers have any FBS experience. The flip side is in the defensive secondary with Jaylen Lewis and Jaylen Webster expected to set the tone.

Prediction

Look for WKU to put a few solid chunk plays up ahead of Georgia’s first SEC game, but the Bulldogs to have a big offensive day in a 51-10 win.

The level of excitement surrounding the two couldn’t be on more opposite ends of the spectrum. The Braves are a completely different team without Ronald Acuña Jr., and not in a good way. Since he went down on June 9th, Atlanta has lost 19 of 29 games. He’s desperately needed back in the lineup, but don’t expect the Braves to push anything. They must do everything in their power to ensure he’s healthy for the home stretch, and he’s now injured the same hamstring twice.

On the other hand, Braves fans could probably do without Ha-Seong Kim playing another game for the team — and they may get their wish. He’s straight up robbed the Braves of $20 million after signing a one-year deal in the offseason, hitting just .068 over 73 at-bats this season without a single extra-base hit.

Given that Jim Jarvis has looked pretty damn good in a small sample size, this rehab assignment is Kim’s last chance to prove he deserves a roster spot at all. Perform or a DFA is in his near future, but yesterday was an encouraging start, as he homered and added a single in three at-bats.

Also of note, veteran Andrew McCutchen — who signed a minor-league contract with the Braves — was part of the game as well, going 0-for-2 with a walk.

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(Photo by Allan Dranberg/Icon Sportswire)

A lot has changed since then, with those options are dwindling fast. Spencer Strider is on the IL following yet another elbow injury. It feels highly unlikely he returns this season, and even when he was on the mound, he wasn’t effective. There’s no reason for the Braves to rush him back.

Martin Perez showed signs of severe regression before the All-Star break, then joined Strider on the IL with a forearm contusion. He should be able to return this season, but he’s really nothing more than an innings eater at this point in his career. The same can be said about Bryce Elder and Grant Holmes — fine at the back of the rotation, but not arms that are going to carry the Braves to a division title, let alone a World Series.

The real hope lied with the young arms and the guys coming back from injury. So far, it’s just been a reminder that relying on those types of options is a recipe for disaster.

JR Ritchie doesn’t quite look ready — at least not to be a featured piece at the top of a rotation. Hurston Waldrep returned, got smacked around while flashing zero control of his repertoire, and is now back in Gwinnett. AJ Smith-Shawver is next in line, likely to rejoin the club sometime this month. He’s flashed some really impressive stuff during his rehab assignment, but this is a 23-year-old with 15 MLB starts under his belt coming off Tommy John surgery. He shouldn’t be expected to be the club’s saving grace.

Every single option outside of Chris Sale is a hope and a prayer as the second half approaches. It’s left the Braves with no choice but to aggressively pursue starting pitching at the trade deadline — which is always extraordinarily expensive, and they might need more than just one arm.

There is one internal option they haven’t given a fair look, however: Didier Fuentes, who Jeff Francoeur believes should make his way back to the rotation in the second half.

Jeff Francoeur believes the Braves should begin stretching out Didier Fuentes as a starter.

"The need right now outweighs the role that he's had."

Frenchy says he'd like to see Atlanta build Fuentes' innings now with an eye toward making him a full-time starter. pic.twitter.com/GrAhBygXn7

— 680 The Fan (@680TheFan) July 13, 2026

This is a topic I’ve discussed at length before, and as the season has progressed, it’s only become more evident the Braves could use an arm like Fuentes in their rotation. He has legitimate frontline starter potential and should be oozing with confidence given the way he’s performed out of the bullpen.

That said, there’s a compelling argument on the other side — the one against messing up a good thing. Didier Fuentes has been an absolute weapon in relief, a guy who can get big outs no matter the situation. Losing him in that role would be a blow to the bullpen, and there’s no guarantee he’d immediately adjust to starting.

It’s also not easy to stretch out a starter mid-season. The Braves would likely have to begin that process over the All-Star break, then give Fuentes some starts in the minors before recalling him to join the rotation. Dreaming about his repertoire in the rotation without acknowledging everything it takes to get there is just that — a dream. It’s something the Braves will undoubtedly consider, but they might wait to see how things shake out at the trade deadline before making such a drastic decision with one of their brightest young arms.

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(Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

San Francisco Giants

Best Fits: Robbie Ray, Jung Hoo Lee

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At 41-55 in the much more competitive National League, there’s no debate about whether the Giants are selling, and they have a couple of pieces that could really interest the Braves.

Robbie Ray is a rental, and Alex Anthopoulos typically isn’t keen on giving up worthwhile prospects for a few months of production, but beggars can’t be choosers. Ray will be one of the best pitchers moved at this year’s trade deadline, boasting a 3.38 ERA — a number that’s continued to improve in recent weeks. Over his last eight starts, he’s 5-0 with a 1.88 ERA.

Lee could offer an upgrade in the outfield. He’s a tremendous contact bat that’s hitting over .300, but he doesn’t offer much pop, and the fact that he’s left-handed won’t be as attractive to the Braves. It’s an option, but Lee certainly won’t be at the top of the list.

New York Mets

Best Fits: Clay Holmes, Freddy Peralta, A.J. Minter

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I have a hard time believing the Mets would be willing to play ball with the Braves at the deadline, but Alex Anthopoulos is at least going to make some calls.

Clay Holmes and Freddy Peralta would both be massive upgrades to the rotation, though each comes with concerns. Holmes is recovering from a fractured fibula and isn’t expected back until August. Peralta, on the other hand, is amid a career-worst season and is a rental. I don’t see the Mets getting a ton in return for either, but the upside alone will attract a number of suitors in this market.

The familiarity between the Braves and Minter makes him an obvious fit, especially given Atlanta’s need for another high leverage left-handed reliever. He’s amid a tremendous bounce-back campaign, recording a 1.42 ERA over 19 appearances after suffering a season-ending injury a year ago. It’s unfortunate he’s playing for the Mets, because a reunion makes way too much sense.

Cincinnati Reds

Best Fits: Spencer Steer, Eugenio Suarez

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The Reds don’t have a ton to offer, but Steer is the kind of right-handed outfield bat teams will be targeting at this year’s deadline because of the scarcity. He’s not an All-Star by any means, but he’s posted a respectable .755 OPS since the start of the 2023 season, including a .749 mark this year. It wouldn’t be the worst idea for the Braves to pair someone like him with Mike Yastrzemski.

Suarez is the definition of a lottery ticket. He’s amid a miserable year, hitting just .208 with 11 home runs and a .672 OPS. However, he had 49 home runs in 2025 and 30 the year before that. The Braves need another right-handed power bat that can serve as a designated hitter, and it doesn’t hurt that Suarez can play third base in case Riley continues to struggle. Given the likely cost in prospect capital, he might be worth taking a flier on.

Colorado Rockies

Best Fits: Mickey Moniak

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Moniak is having a solid year for the Rockies, hitting .278 with 15 homers and a .900 OPS, and he comes with another year of team control. However, it’s hard to gauge how much of it is real improvement and how much is a product of playing half his games at Coors Field. The splits would suggest it’s mostly the ballpark, as he owns just a .667 OPS on the road this season.

Kansas City Royals

Best Fits: Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Lane Thomas

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The Royals, one of the league’s most disappointing teams this season, might want to hang on to starting pitchers Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo, both of whom are under team control through 2027. But in this kind of seller’s market, it may make more sense to cash in once they start hearing offers.

Wacha might not be an ace, but he’s a workhorse more than capable of starting a playoff game. He leads the American League in innings pitched, recording a 3.77 ERA over 119.2 innings. Lugo hasn’t been nearly as effective — a 4.56 ERA over 104.2 innings — but he’s a decent mid-rotation starter who will eat innings. He’s also pitched as both a starter and reliever, which could give the Braves options come the postseason.

Lane Thomas is a name Braves fans should be familiar with from his time with the Nationals. He’s cut from a similar cloth as Spencer Steer — nothing sexy, but a right-handed bat that owns a career .727 OPS and shouldn’t cost much to acquire.

Los Angeles Angels

Best Fits: Jose Soriano, Reid Detmers, Jo Adell

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Of all the for-sure sellers, the Angels offer the most intriguing group. Jose Soriano would fit wonderfully behind Chris Sale in the rotation, and he’s not a free agent until 2029. The same can be said for Reid Detmers, only he reaches free agency after next season.

In the outfield, Jo Adell will attract a lot of suitors because of his extra year of team control and his upside. He’s a former 10th overall pick who hit 37 homers in a breakout year last season but has never quite been able to put it all together. Perhaps a change of scenery could do him wonders — I’d expect the Braves to call on him.

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(Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire)

The hard-throwing right-hander began his rehab assignment at the beginning of the month. In his first two outings, he was unhittable — touching 100 MPH on the radar gun and showing off impeccable control as he worked his way up to 46 pitches.

That was in Low-A Augusta, though. In his first rehab start for the Gwinnett Stripers, against stiffer competition, the results weren’t nearly as encouraging. He made it through just 2.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits and three walks while striking out only two.

The good news is Smith-Shawver ramped his pitch count all the way up to 58 — which, at this stage, is what really matters. Taking some lumps along the way after returning from Tommy John surgery is expected. How he responds his next time out, when he should throw around 70-75 pitches, will give the Braves a much better idea of when he might be ready to contribute in Atlanta.

Because Smith-Shawver still has options, the Braves don’t need to rush him to the majors the way they recently did with Hurston Waldrep. They can let him iron things out in Gwinnett for as long as they’d like until they feel he’s ready. On the flip side, they’re running out of internal fixes for the rotation — and of all the options, Smith-Shawver might have the most upside. He probably won’t have to show much for the Braves to give him a shot.

Smith-Shawver will likely make at least two more starts over the next week or so as he continues to build up his pitch count. At that point, the Braves will consider bringing him up. It might feel a bit rushed, but that’s the position Alex Anthopoulos put this club in when he opted not to spend a dime on starting pitching during the offseason — despite claiming it was the team’s top priority.

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(Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

Can Austin Riley provide anything offensively?

Austin Riley’s decline has been brutal to watch. He’s gone from a perennial MVP candidate to a replacement-level player over the span of three seasons, and while the injuries he’s dealt with the last two years explain some of it, the excuses are starting to run thin the deeper we get into this season.

The Braves aren’t going to bench Riley, no matter how loudly a certain portion of the fan base wants them to. He’s owed far too much money over far too many years for that to even be on the table — but more than that, this team needs the best version of Riley to compete with the National League’s elite. There’s no better third baseman walking through the door at the deadline. The Braves just have to pray he finds some semblance of his old self in the second half. If he does, nobody’s going to remember what happened from late March through July.

Who is going to save the rotation?

The Braves rotation needs a savior — several, really — and the situation only looks bleaker as the season wears on. Alex Anthopoulos pushed all his chips in on rookies and arms returning from serious injuries, and it’s backfired. He’s the only one who can save face at the trade deadline. The Braves have to add at least one frontline starter, but that’s a tall order in its own right, especially in a severe seller’s market.

And if you’re expecting Atlanta to add two impact starters over the next few weeks, I’d suggest waking up from that dream and easing back into reality. Anthopoulos hasn’t acquired a notable starting pitcher at the trade deadline since 2018 — and it’s not as if the Braves haven’t needed rotation help before. I do expect one addition given everything that’s transpired the last few seasons, but the reality is someone internally needs to step up and establish himself as a playoff-caliber starter.

Reynaldo Lopez flashed some encouraging signs heading into the break. Hurston Waldrep did not, though he was probably rushed to the majors in the first place. AJ Smith-Shawver is set to return this month, and Spencer Schwellenbach could be back at some point too. There’s also the option of shifting Didier Fuentes into the rotation for the second half. None of them are proven, and it’s entirely possible they all flop — but the only way the Braves are viewed as legitimate championship contenders is if at least one of them pitches to his full potential.

How will the Braves fix the outfield?

The Braves were dealt a raw hand when Jurickson Profar was suspended for PEDs again right before the start of the season. It forced them to lean on Mike Yastrzemski and Dominic Smith far more than they ever intended, and while each has had his moments, neither is good enough to be starting every day. Atlanta has to upgrade — and aggressively pursuing multiple bats at the deadline should very much be on the table.

It’s best to have options. That’s how the Braves operated in 2021, when they acquired four outfielders following the devastating season-ending injury to Ronald Acuña Jr. Anthopoulos doesn’t need to be chasing All-Stars, even if that would be nice. Two undervalued players with some upside who deepen the roster would do just fine.

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(Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire)

The three teams I’ve been watching closely as the trade deadline approaches are the Red Sox, Twins, and Tigers. The Braves have already been linked to a couple of players on those clubs — namely Tarik Skubal and Sonny Gray. But unless they struggle over the next few weeks, I’m not sure any of them are going to be eager to sell.

The Tigers may have dropped their last two games heading into the break, but they’ve still won 9 of their last 12. That leaves them 6.5 games back in the AL Central and just 3.5 games out of the final wild card spot.

There’s still a chance Detroit trades Tarik Skubal to the highest bidder, especially in a seller’s market, because they know their odds of winning the World Series are slim and he’s almost certainly leaving in free agency. However, there’s now a very real scenario where he goes nowhere — which would only make things more competitive for teams trying to buy starting pitching at the deadline.

The Red Sox have a slew of really intriguing trade candidates at just about every position of need for the Braves, highlighted by Jarren Duran, Sonny Gray, and Aroldis Chapman. The problem is they no longer look like a team that’s even going to consider selling. They’re winners of nine straight heading into the All-Star break and sit just 0.5 games back of the final AL Wild Card spot.

The same can be said about the Twins. Everybody has their eyes on Byron Buxton and Joe Ryan, but Minnesota held onto them at last year’s trade deadline. If they were willing to take that chance then, they’ll almost certainly do so again. They’re only three games back in the division, and even though they’re a game under .500, they’re currently tied with the Mariners for the final playoff spot.

It’s really a nightmare scenario for the Braves, who need to add significant pieces in several areas. Almost the entire AL may not be open for business, creating a scarcity of options for what could be 20 teams looking to buy. Prices will be sky high — and we know how Alex Anthopoulos feels about overpaying for anything, even when it’s in the organization’s best interest for competing this season.

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(Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire)

Acuña is still playing in the Florida Complex League. Once the second half gets underway, we’ll likely see him move up to Gwinnett pretty quickly, but it’s evident the Braves aren’t going to rush anything. He’s served as the DH in each of his three games so far. We’ll hopefully see him in the field soon, but it’s looking like he’ll miss at least the first week of the second half, and it could even be a couple of weeks before we see him back in Atlanta.

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(Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire)

Braves vs. Rangers

Friday: Chris Sale
Saturday: Owen Murphy
Sunday: Grant Holmes

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) July 15, 2026

Given the issues in the rotation, this is something I expected the Braves to do — and that was before Murphy threw three perfect innings against the Cardinals over the weekend with three strikeouts.

He’s looked very encouraging over his first two appearances out of the bullpen, and now we’ll see if he can carry that success into his more natural role as a starter.

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(Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire)

Braves Updated Top 10 Prospects

1. Tate Southisene
2. Eric Hartman
3. Cam Caminiti
4. Owen Murphy
5. AJ Garcia
6. Briggs McKenzie
7. Kaiden McCarthy
8. Jensen Hirschkorn
9. John Gil
10. Alex Lodise

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For the first time in a while, the Braves’ top 10 features more position players than pitchers. Most prospect outlets have Eric Hartman as the #1 prospect in the organization after his remarkable 20/30 first half in High-A Rome. He’s an unbelievable athlete with real power who’s also outstanding in the outfield — a true five-tool talent who should really get tested in the second half with a move to Double-A.

Nobody should have much of an issue with Southisene taking the top spot, though. In his first full season of professional baseball after being drafted in the first round, he posted a .929 OPS with 30 steals in Low-A Augusta, earning him a promotion to Rome. Things proved a little tougher there initially, but he’s begun to pick it up significantly, recording a hit in five of his last six games, including three multi-hit efforts.

Caminiti entered the season as the Braves’ #1 prospect and hasn’t really done anything to lose the top spot. Hartman and Southisene have just been that good. Owen Murphy is now with the major-league club, and we’ll get a real good look at him this weekend as he makes his first MLB start against the Rangers.

The fifth spot is where we see the first member of this year’s draft class, AJ Garcia. The outfielder is coming off a monster season for the University of Virginia, hitting .354 with 14 home runs and an OPS north of 1.100. The Braves went underslot with both of their first-round picks, with the clear intention of targeting high school arms in the second and third rounds — which turned into Kaiden McCarthy and Jensen Hirschkorn.

Hirschkorn was particularly pricey, which is what it took to convince him to sign instead of heading to Baton Rouge. The nearly $4 million signing bonus he received is the largest ever for a player taken outside of the first two rounds.

“There’s not a whole lot [Hirschkorn] can’t do,” Braves vice president of amateur scouting Ronit Shah said, via Mark Bowman of MLB.com. “He’s athletic. He’s a big-time basketball guy. We’re really excited to see what he can do. He throws a ton of strikes. We saw him in the summer at a big-time event, the Area Code Games. He struck out nine guys in three innings. It’s hard to do better than that.”

The top 10 is rounded out by a couple of shortstops. John Gil looks the part of someone who could be starting in Atlanta for a long time, but his 2026 has been somewhat underwhelming to this point compared to his teammates. In 82 games, he’s hitting .247 with 11 home runs and a .733 OPS.

Alex Lodise, the Braves’ second-round selection last year, was another player who looked sluggish earlier in the year. That’s changed considerably over the last month, though. He has 10 homers in his past 22 games and is now sporting an .805 OPS on the season.

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(Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire)

Kevin Gausman

Even sitting six games under .500 and in last place in the AL East, I’m not convinced the Toronto Blue Jays are going to sell. They came just one game shy of winning the World Series a year ago, still feature a talented roster, and have a very aggressive ownership group. It also doesn’t hurt that the rest of the American League is a dumpster fire, keeping them within striking distance of the final Wild Card spot.

But if they do sell, Kevin Gausman would surely be on his way out the door. He’s in the final year of his contract, and even if he isn’t the Cy Young candidate he once was, he’d instantly become the second-best starting pitcher on the Braves roster and someone they could feel confident handing the ball to in a playoff game. Gausman owns a 4.33 ERA over 112.1 innings this season, but his 3.65 FIP suggests some positive regression could be on the way in the second half.

Interestingly enough, the last time Anthopoulos actually pulled off a mid-season trade for a starting pitcher, it was for Kevin Gausman — all the way back in 2018.

A.J. Minter

The Braves and Mets making trades isn’t something that’s happened often, and it’s not likely to happen many more times going forward. But maybe there’s a world where the two sides could find common ground on a smaller deal for a reliever who has plenty of fond memories of his time in Atlanta.

Minter joined the Mets in free agency a couple of offseasons ago and has been plagued by lat injuries ever since — one of which forced him to miss 13 months. But when he’s been on the mound, he’s been the same dominant reliever he was for most of his career, posting a 1.50 ERA over 32 appearances since joining New York, including a 1.42 mark this season.

The Braves bullpen has been the one area of the team that hasn’t faltered very often, and it’s only going to get stronger when Robert Suarez returns from the Injured List. Still, the need for another high leverage left-handed reliever to pair with Dylan Lee is legitimate. You’d have to imagine Anthopoulos will at least make the call on Minter, even if those conversations don’t get very far.

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(Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

It’s the dog (or Dawg) days of summer. And while it may not be, in the words of a classic country song, ““too hot to fish, too hot for golf, and too cold at home”, it certainly is a good time to catch up on some of the programming you won’t catch while watching Hawaii kick off at midnight eastern against some bleary eyed visitors from the mainland.

But there are so many options out there. If you subscribe to more than a single streaming service you have access to more entertainment options at any given moment than 99.999% of humans who have ever lived had during their entire lives. It’s borderline overwhelming.

So Dawg Sports wants to know: what are you watching these days? For my part I’ve recently been working on the Hulu series Tucci in Italy, in which actor Stanley Tucci explores Italy through the lens of its eclectic regional culinary traditions. The scenery is evocative, and Tucci is in an ongoing contest with Michael Stipe to be the coolest bald man in America. I highly recommend it.

I also recently finished The Boroughs, the new series from Stranger Things creators the Duffer Brothers. The Boroughs could be cheekily described as “Stranger Things, but set in a retirement community.” That however would be shortchanging its meditations on life, loss, and how to enjoy the former while coming to terms with the latter. It’s worth your time if you’re a fan of supernatural spine tinglers.

What about you? What is occupying your viewing hours in the temporary absence of college football?

With only six games remaining in the 2026 World Cup, I wanted to get out this crossover post before the tournament wraps up. While Georgia football is my favorite team across all sports, my favorite sport is actually soccer. So, what better way to blend the two than to assign each SEC school as a World Cup nation.

Disclaimer: I know there are probably several other iterations of this same idea, whether it’s also just for SEC teams or college football at large. I have not seen any of these, so any comparisons below have not been taken from a different article.

If you either like a comparison or think I’m completely off base, let me know in the comments or just yell directly at me on X/Twitter @joeyhnath.

Here are the SEC teams if they were World Cup Nations:

Georgia: Argentina

The kings, the champs, the best. Everyone is looking to knock them off the mountain top. Both teams won it all in 2022 after not having won it all since the 80s (though this was year 2 of the back-to-back titles for Georgia).

Ole Miss: Morocco

Both Ole Miss and Morocco are in the midst of their greatest run of success in their history, and both are doing it off the backs of bringing in transfers. We know Ole Miss loves the transfer portal, but Morocco also loves an international soccer “transfer”. Against Brazil, Morocco field a starting XI where all eleven players were born outside of Morocco, a first in World Cup history. They have done a great job of getting the Moroccan diaspora to declare for Morocco instead of other potential national teams.

Florida: Italy

Both teams won it all in 2006 but are currently no where to be seen, though both had a random year of success in 2020.

Tennessee: Netherlands

Maybe best known for their orange uniforms, both Tennessee and Netherlands field competitive teams that you know aren’t going to win it all. In reality, their best sports are not football (check out Netherlands speed skating – they’re awesome).

Alabama: Brazil

Both teams have won the most titles, though many of them came over 50 years ago. While they have both won titles six season/tournaments ago (2020 for Bama, 2002 for Brazil), their respective fan bases believe that has been too long and are anxious for another trophy.

Mississippi State: South Africa

Neither team is much of a threat, and they are both maybe best known for their fans’ noise makers in the stadium (Mississippi State’s cowbells, South Africa’s vuvuzelas)

Missouri: New Zealand

Both are really just happy to be included. Missouri received their SEC invite in 2013 somewhat surprisingly, and thanks to the expanded World Cup to 48 teams, the Oceania Football Confederation is now able to send at least on nation to the World Cup through automatic qualification, which will almost assuredly be New Zealand every time.

Oklahoma: Mexico

Both Oklahoma and Mexico are known as a football school/country, yet they struggle in elimination rounds. Oklahoma is 0-5 in the College Football Playoff, and Mexico has lost eight straight Round of 16 matches.

LSU: Scotland

This has nothing to do with the on-field product, as LSU has a great history while Scotland not so much. It is about the fans. Both fan bases will come to your city/country and drink every ounce of booze that is there. Boston won’t forget the Scottish invasion anytime soon.

Kentucky: Japan

Neither Kentucky nor Japan are bad at football, but they neither are great. Honestly, they just can’t wait for basketball (Kentucky) and baseball (Japan) season.

South Carolina: USA

Both South Carolina and the U.S. are fine at football and experienced a bit more success than they’re used to in the early 2010’s. But really, both are more known for their dominant women’s team.

Vanderbilt: Switzerland

Honestly, what country screams elite private school more than Switzerland? Both have a small enrollment/population that have found recent success. Additionally, both of their best players in recent times are short kings (Diego Pavia for Vanderbilt, Xherdan Shaqiri for Switzerland).

Auburn: Spain

Auburn and Spain both experienced their best moments in their history in 2010, winning it all. However, there isn’t much to talk about for either outside of 2010 except for a couple conference/continent titles.

Texas: England

I’m positive that this comparison has been made before because it’s too perfect. Both fan bases clutch onto one crowning achievement (Texas title in 2005, England World Cup in in 1966), and both fan bases declare every single year that they are back (Texas) or that it’s coming home (England), and yet it never does.

Texas A&M: Qatar

Oil money. Copious amounts of oil money. Whether its the latest five-star recruit or the hosting rights to the 2022 World Cup, there isn’t anything oil money can’t buy (except for actually winning games). As the cherry on top, both A&M and Qatar’s primary color is maroon.

Arkansas: Uruguay

Sometimes you forget about them due to their large, successful neighbors, but both Arkansas and Uruguay are pesky and won a title a looooong time ago (Arkansas in 1966, Uruguay in 1930 and 1950).

With the 37th pick in today’s MLB Draft the Colorado Rockies made Daniel Jackson the first Bulldog off the board. Colorado is getting one of the most productive players college baseball has seen in years, along with a genuine personality who made himself a fan favorite in Athens.

A Record-Setting Season

Jackson’s numbers from his 2026 season in Athens are staggering. In 67 games, he slashed .379/.473/.803 with 32 home runs, 87 RBI, 88 runs scored, and 26 stolen bases in 28 attempts. He led the nation in total bases and runs scored, finished second in hits, home runs, and RBI, and became just the third player in Southeastern Conference history to win the batting triple crown.

Perhaps most remarkable, Jackson became the first catcher, and just the sixth player in Division I history, to record a 25 home run, 25 stolen base season while playing the sport’s most physically taxing position. He posted a .997 fielding percentage behind the plate with only two errors in 593 total chances, throwing out roughly a third of opposing base runners. production earned Jackson a full sweep of college baseball’s top individual honors: the Golden Spikes Award, the Dick Howser Trophy, the Buster Posey Award as the nation’s top catcher, the Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award, SEC Player of the Year, and consensus first team All-America recognition. And of course he led Georgia to its first College World Series appearance since 2008.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Jackson’s calling card is a blend of power and speed that’s rare for a catcher. He flashes raw power to all fields, and his athleticism behind the plate and on the bases sets him apart from nearly every other catching prospect in this draft class. His arm strength should also allow him to handle a corner outfield spot if a team wants to move him out from behind the plate down the road.

The concern scouts raise most often seem to cite with Jackson is consistency making contact. Jackson has shown real swing and miss throughout his college career, striking out 64 times in 319 plate appearances during his otherwise stellar junior year. His path has also been unusual. He started at Wofford, where he won Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, then struggled through a difficult sophomore transition after transferring to Georgia before breaking out as a junior. That inconsistency gives some evaluators pause about how his bat will translate against professional pitching, even though his improved strikeout rate this past season suggests real growth.

Why The Rhino?

Jackson’s teammates and coaches will tell you his personality is as memorable as his statistics. A self-described nature documentary enthusiast, Jackson has taken to narrating batting practice in his best Nat Geo voice and handing out animal nicknames to teammates, calling “the Orca” for Kolby Branch because of his tendency to play with his food at the plate, and “Talons” for pitcher Paul Farley. When he tried to nickname a teammate the Rhino, the name boomeranged right back at him, and it stuck. Given that rhinos are big and powerful, but surprisingly fast, and tough as a three dollar steak, the name fits Jackson to a tee.

Head coach Wes Johnson has been direct about what Jackson meant to the program’s turnaround season, saying unequivocally that the Bulldogs would not have reached Omaha without him.

For the Rockies, Jackson represents a high ceiling bet at a premium position. If the hit tool continues to develop the way it did in 2026, his new organization could be getting a middle of the order bat who also happens to catch.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

If there is a pain point from Georgia’s defense a season ago, it’s a lack of something that Bulldog fans have gotten used to since Kirby Smart was hired as head coach – a relentless pass rush.

Georgia’s defense was good enough for the most part last year, but it was not elite. It was not overwhelmingly special. Sure, it was enough to get the job done, but not by the standards in place in Athens.

This is not to say that there is an expectation of talents like Nolan Smith, Nakobe Dean or Jalen Carter reincarnated, but there should be a presence of relentless effort to get after the opposing quarterback.

The bottom line is this – that ranking last in sacks cannot happen again for Georgia. And this year’s group of edge rushers will make or break that effort.

It’ll be a group that’s high on potential, but not yet proven. Nobody sums all of that up much more than Quintavius Johnson. He’s flashed some promise previously, and now he’s expected to step up as the primary pass-rush threat. In baseball terms, he’s a promising prospect who you expect to get better with more at-bats. For Johnson, that time to step up is now.

It’s a similar story when it comes to Gabe Harris, a starter a season ago after spot duty before that. Could he be one of those guys that develops over time thanks to this staff’s ability to make guys better? It would not be a shock if that happens.

But perhaps the most intriguing storyline to follow is that Chase Linton. When you hear of someone who was flipped from a school like Rutgers as Linton was, that does not move the needle – but that is not always the full story – Ladd McConkey, anyone? Linton’s rangy frame could be an x-factor matchup-wise when it comes to the pass rush, and that has been backed up with buzz around Linton coming away from spring practice.

For sure, you can expect inside linebackers such as Justin Williams and Chris Cole to play a part in the pass rush this fall. But if Georgia is to get back to what its used to on defense, it’ll fail or succeed with its edge rushers.

Go Dawgs!

Tournament: 154th Open Championship, July 16-19, 2025

Course: Royal Birkdale Golf Club, par 70, 7,223 yards. On the west coast of England, but up north between Blackpool and Liverpool.

Purse: $17 million in total, with $3.1 million to the winner.

Defending Champ: Scottie Scheffler. The UT-Austin golfer got some lucky bounces and nipped Georgia Bulldog Harris English by a slim 4 shot margin. Speaking of lucky bounces and favorable rulings, another UT-Austin golfer won at Birkdale the last time it was held here in 2017.

Fun Fact: If your idea of a 150 year old golf course and clubhouse look something like St. Andrews, you’ll enjoy the change Birkdale offers. The course is what you’d expect from an Open Championship venue – dunes, on the ocean, pot bunkers, but the clubhouse is completely different. It was built in 1935 in an art deco style, and honestly looks completely out of place.

TV Times: Do you enjoy breakfast at Wimbledon? Then you’ll love this week. The time zone and latitude combine to provide us Yankees Americans early morning watching. Local tee times start around 6:30 am and continue until after 4 pm. So if you’re stateside, you can catch live golf starting at 1:30 am ET on Peacock, which switches over to USA at 4:00 am ET. That will continue Thursday and Friday until 3:30 pm ET.

After the field is cut, they let players sleep in for the weekend so Saturday coverage starts on USA at 5:00 am ET, with NBC picking it up at 7 until 3 pm. Sunday is much the same except for a start time of 4:00 am ET. Adjust your phone alarms accordingly.

‘Dawgs in the Field:6. Brian Harman, Harris English, Russell Henley, Sepp Straka, Keith Mitchell, and upcoming enrollee Mason Howell.

The British Open has given us some of the most memorable moments and victories in the history of golf. Bobby Jones completing the Grand Slam, Ben Hogan playing the British only once but winning, the Duel in the Sun with Nicklaus and Watson, Seve doing Seve things, Constantina Rocca’s dramatics to force the playoff with John Daly, the list goes on. But in this writer’s opinion, the greatest Open of all time is the 2024 championship at Royal Liverpool.

The fact that Brian Harman, in the face of inclement weather and anti-American fans, kept his cool when others around him were losing theirs, and that Harman matriculated in the Classic City and is a Damn Good ‘Dawg, has absolutely nothing to do with it.

Thursday, Round 1 tee times:

Harris English, 9:14 am local, 4:14 am ET

Russell Henley, 9:36 am local, 4:36 am ET

Brian Harman, 10:20 am local, 5:20 am ET

Keith Mitchell, 12:14 pm local, 7:14 am ET

Sepp Straka, 12:25 pm local, 7:25 am ET

Mason Howell, 1:31 pm local, 8:31 am ET

So that should help you get started. I wish you only the best viewing experience, and here’s hoping someone can bring the Claret Jug back to South Georgia where it belongs. And as always…

GO ‘DAWGS!!!

It’s rare that life gives you a second chance. But when it does, you have to take advantage of that opportunity.

During the 2002 Georgia/Clemson game the Tigers gave Fred Gibson a second chance. And boy, did he make them regret it.

The #8 ranked Bulldogs were opening the season against the Country Gentlemen, and took a 7-0 lead. However Clemson came back and scored to tie it up early in the second quarter. With a little momentum the Tigers kicked off and looked set to continue their hot streak, stopping Gibson for a short gain out to the 24 yard line. However the officials called the Clemson kickoff team for offsides and forced them to rekick it.

And that, as they say, is when it all fell apart.

Just like on the first kickoff Gibson fielded the Clemson re-kick at the Bulldog 9 yard line. He started up the middle, broke a couple of arm tackles around the 25 before cutting upfield flying by a series of hapless potential tacklers. Around his own 40 Gibson broke into the clear and wouldn’t be touched on his way to the end zone.

No Bulldog ever ran like he was being chased quite like Fred Gibson, a man who admitted as a freshman that one reason he ran so hard was that he was scared of being tackled. Perhaps no play in his Bulldog career exemplified that phobia better than this one, on which Fred ran like his hair was on fire and his derrière was smoldering.

Gibson’s 91 yard touchdown marked the first time a UGA player had returned a kickoff for a touchdown since Andre Hastings had pulled it off in 1990 against Kentucky. It was also the first time in a dozen seasons that Clemson had allowed a kickoff return for a touchdown.

Also in the program history department, it’s worth noting that redshirt freshman and former five star recruit DJ Shockley had trotted out onto the field after the first kick for what would have been his first snaps as a Bulldog. The touchdown on the re-kick delayed that by just a bit. Until later…

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

Chauncey Bowens quietly turned into one of the better stories on the Bulldog offense during the 2025 season, and the sophomore now looks poised to take another step forward for the Bulldogs in 2026. Bowens, a former four star recruit out of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, barely saw the field as a true freshman in 2024, managing just 16 carries for 58 yards while he redshirted.

That patience paid off big time for Bowens last season as he carried the ball 103 times for 526 yards and six touchdowns, good for a strong 5.1 yards per carry average. He also caught 14 passes for 82 yards, showing he can contribute as a receiver out of the backfield, not just as a between the tackles runner.

Significantly, Bowens’ role grew as the season progressed. He actually took over as Georgia’s leading rusher for a stretch when Nate Frazier battled ball security issues, and he scored the first two touchdowns of his career against Austin Peay before adding a highlight reel 36 yard, go ahead score late in Georgia’s win over Florida. That performance in particular showed the physical running style scouts praised coming out of high school, where he was known as a powerful, downhill runner with sneaky track speed to finish off long runs.

Heading into 2026, Georgia’s running back room looks deep and experienced, but Bowens has clearly established himself as the 1B to Frazier’s 1A. Frazier remains the headline name after deciding to return to Athens, and he has piled up 1,618 career yards and 14 touchdowns. Still, Bowens proved last season he can be trusted with real carries, including in high leverage moments, and he carried that momentum into the spring, running for 42 yards on nine carries in the G-Day spring game.

Given his size at 5’11 and 225 pounds, his physical running style, and the trust he built with the coaching staff last season, Bowens looks like a strong bet to see his workload increase again in 2026. A season in the range of 130 to 150 carries, somewhere between 650 and 800 yards, and seven or eight touchdowns feels realistic if he stays healthy and continues splitting carries evenly with Frazier (and if newcomer Dante Dowdell doesn’t cannibalize the short yardage carries).

If Frazier were to miss time, Bowens has already shown he can handle a true featured back workload without much drop off. And it’s likely that at some point this season, whether due to injury or ball security issues, Georgia is going to need to lean on Bowens again.

The Georgia offense will again lean on its ground game behind an experienced front five. Bowens looks like one of the more important complementary pieces if the Red and Black are going to be consistent and explosive running the ball.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

So, when it comes to the 1980 National Championship season, what really set the tone?

Was it a bond of unity formed by five players ‘borrowing” a pig from the agriculture research farm?

A pretty solid hard-nosed defense core?

The signing of some kid named Herschel?

All of those played significant parts, for sure.

But none of them pegged things in the prime direction than what was written this week in 1980 than none other than defensive coordinator Erk Russell.

With preseason camp and a season ahead, the revered defensive mind wrote a letter to his defensive charges.

By the end of the season, it’d be a piece of Bulldog lore.

Here’s a look back at a piece of Bulldog lore.

Gentlemen: (and Linemen)

It starts off with gusto – making it clear that if you played in the trenches, you were a different breed.

The football season of 80′ will be my seventeenth as a Georgia Bulldog. During this time there have been many thrilling Saturdays of competition, each with it’s individual memories, because each game has it’s own personality.

There are two Saturday traditions and experiences which have remained basically the same throughout the years for me and I would like to share them with you.

This is key – it sets the table for not just the fact that someone is a Georgia Bulldog, but what putting on the red & black represents.

The first one concerns THE RAILROAD TRACK CROWD. These are my people because they love the Dogs almost as much as I do. Oh, I know they do some crazy things- like turn over our opponents’s busses sometimes and now and then they throw one another down the bank and into the street below. But they stamp out Kudzu and they pull for us to win and that ain’t bad.

Changing of times sadly mandated the end of the special time and place that was the railroad track crowd. Were things there basically Talladega Boulevard on a NASCAR weekend? Probably. Did this group inspire the Dawgs? Also, true.

If you can get off the bus to cheers of THE RAILROAD TRACK CROWD and walk down those steps to the dressing room and not be inspired to play football as best you possibly can, something important is missing beneath the Georgia jersey you wear. It is impossible not to be inspired. They choke me up!

To quote the late Larry Munson: “There is no tradition more worth of envy, no institution worthy of such loyalty, as the University of Georgia.“

The season of 1980 will be the last for THE RAILROAD TRACK CROWD A great Georgia tradition will have passed with the new addition to our stadium. The view from the tracks will be no more.

Your team will be the last Georgia Team to be greeted and cheered by THE RAILROAD TRACK CROWD. Wouldn’t it be fitting if their last team was also the best Georgia Team ever. Think about it!

It was indeed fitting. This 1980 team was not flashy, it was hard-nosed and found a way, somehow to win every game, a fitting tribute to the Railroad Track Crowd.

Another Saturday tradition which has meant so much to me over the years can be stated very simply.
“THERE AIN’T NOTHING LIKE BEING A BULLDOG ON SATURDAY NIGHT AFTER WINNING A FOOTBALL GAME.”
I mean like whipping Tennessee’s ass to start with, then ten more and then another one.

This is the game plan. We have no alternate plan.

Sincerely,
Coach Russell

Go Dawgs…hope you all have a drywall repairman nearby…

Hartman is making history just a couple of years after being drafted in the 20th round. He secured a 20/30 first half, vaulting himself from unranked all the way to the 25th-best prospect in all of baseball, according to Baseball America.

Southisene — a first-round pick out of high school last year — has also cracked the Top 100 after a stellar start to his first full professional season. He hit .297 with eight home runs, 36 stolen bases, and a .929 OPS before earning a well-deserved promotion to High-A Rome.

But neither of them is the Braves’ hottest prospect right now. That honor belongs to a member of Southisene’s draft class: second-round selection Alex Lodise.

Lodise is an older shortstop prospect coming off a magnificent career at Florida State, so it was a bit surprising to see him start the season so slowly in Augusta. However, any concerns have been put to rest in a hurry. Over the last month, he’s hitting a hair under .300 with 10 home runs and nine multi-hit games — good for an OPS well over 1.000. He’s now up to 18 home runs in just 81 games to go along with an .822 OPS, and at 22 years old, you’d expect a promotion could be in his near future as well.

I’ve said it all season, but this isn’t the Braves farm system of old, when it sat near the bottom of the league. Atlanta is now oozing with high-upside talent at just about every level, and a draft class headlined by two first-round selections is on the way.

That’s not a spot they’ve been in heading into a trade deadline in quite some time. The Braves can finally deal some of their young talent without feeling like they’re mortgaging the future. It should free them up to be aggressive over the next several weeks, patching up some of the glaring holes on the major-league roster.

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(Photo by Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire)

Jones came in having made just eight starts on the season after returning from injury, and across those eight he’d never eclipsed the five-inning mark while carrying a not-so-great 5.28 ERA. That was nowhere to be found on Wednesday. He was quite literally perfect over six innings, striking out eight while facing the minimum on just 77 pitches.

In truth, the Braves are lucky he’s still on a strict pitch limit, because it forced the Pirates to pull him. Had they let him keep going, we might be talking about the wrong kind of history this morning instead of a Braves win.

Holmes and the rest of the staff, though, matched Jones every step of the way. Holmes needed 90 pitches for five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and a walk, and the bullpen covered the next four frames without surrendering a run — a welcome bounce-back for a group coming off a rough week.

Offensively, everything changed the moment Jones exited. The Braves picked up their first hit in the seventh, and in the eighth, Joey Bart delivered the dagger: a game-winning two-run homer that went 422 feet over the left-center field wall against his former team. Atlanta tacked on another run in the ninth for good measure before Raisel Iglesias slammed the door for his 18th save.

It was exactly the kind of night Atlanta needed from its struggling pitching staff — and it begs the question: is Grant Holmes the Braves’ second-best starter right now?

Sure, he’s not the type to go deep into games. He allows a lot of traffic on the basepaths and struggles the second and third time through the order, which is why he hasn’t completed six innings since early June. But if the Braves needed one guy not named Chris Sale to keep them in a must-win game over four or five innings, I’m not sure they could turn to anyone else.

His ERA is now down to a respectable 3.61 for the season. He hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in a start since May 1st, and he’s riding a 0.96 ERA over his last four outings.

It’s more a testament to the dismal state of the Braves’ rotation than anything, but credit belongs where it’s due. For all the flak Grant Holmes has taken from the fan base, he’s given the club a chance to win every time he’s stepped on the mound for two straight months.

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Photo: Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire

But the NL East isn’t just a two-man race between the Braves and Phillies anymore. The Marlins and Nationals have entered the chat as well with some surprisingly good play.

NL East Standings

1. Braves 52-38
2. Phillies 51-41 (2.0 GB)
3. Marlins 50-42 (3.0 GB)
4. Nationals 47-46 (6.5 GB)
5. LOL Mets (15.0 GB)

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The Phillies and Braves have essentially flipped scripts. Philadelphia sat 10 games under .500 early in the season and has since been the hottest team in baseball — becoming the first club in MLB history to be 10 games under .500 in April and reach 10 games over .500 before the end of June.

The #Phillies are the first team in #MLB history to be 10 games under .500 in April and be 10 games over .500 at any point prior to the end of June.

— Jeff Kerr (@JeffKerrPHL) June 27, 2026

ESPN recently polled a group of executives, scouts, and coaches, asking them to rank the top running backs in the league. Coming in at #1 was Atlanta’s own Bijan Robinson.

“Robinson edged Gibbs despite a tight vote; the Detroit runner registered nearly as many first-place votes, but Robinson won with an average rating of 1.78 in the composite voting,” Jeremy Fowler wrote.

“His overall body of work is undeniable. He led the NFL with 2,298 yards from scrimmage in 2025, breaking William Andrews’ franchise record from 1983 (2,176). He joins Andrews and Julio Jones as the only Falcons to lead the NFL in scrimmage yards.”

Robinson came into the league viewed by most as a finished product — an elite runner who paired incredible agility with strength and speed in a 215-pound frame. The league had trouble bringing him down from the very first week of his rookie season, but the great ones are never satisfied.

Robinson has somehow found a way to get better every year since, culminating in a third season that saw him lead the entire league in scrimmage yards on his way to first-team All-Pro honors and a fourth-place finish in the Offensive Player of the Year race.

The biggest difference was his development as a receiver. Robinson had always been capable in that area, but he doubled his receiving output from his first two seasons, emerging as arguably the Falcons’ second most dangerous receiving weapon — hauling in 79 balls for 820 yards and four touchdowns.

The other thing we saw a lot more of in year three was his breakaway speed. He was never viewed as a back who lacked explosiveness, but the home runs didn’t really come over his first two seasons. It’s something he talked about improving heading into the 2025 campaign.

“We’re done with 30-yard runs and all that stuff,” Robinson said. “Now it’s time to get those 60 yards, 50 yards. So, I’ve been doing a lot more explosive drills. I’ve been doing a lot more running — 100 yards, like sprinting — so we can be prepared for, God willing, when those moments come in all the games.”

That extra work paid off. Robinson ripped off the longest run of the entire NFL season, a 93-yard touchdown on Monday Night Football against the Rams, and added an 81-yard score against the Bills earlier in the year.

From the outside, there isn’t a single aspect of his game that isn’t damn close to perfect. He’s even one of the best pass blockers at the position — a nightmare for blitzing linebackers who think they’ve found a lane to the quarterback. Robinson is what comes out when a kid builds the ideal running back in Madden: a blessing on and off the field, and someone the Falcons should be looking to keep in Atlanta for a very long time.

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(Photo by John Adams/Icon Sportswire)

That’s no longer the case.

Eric Hartman has taken the entire prospect world by storm. A relatively unknown commodity coming into the season, he’s now the 25th-ranked prospect in the sport according to Baseball America after hitting 20 homers and stealing 31 bases over the first half.

Tate Southisene has joined him in the Top 100, and Alex Lodise could be next after a breakout month that’s seen him club 10 homers with nine multi-hit games. Soon, the Braves will also welcome an entirely new draft class — one that includes two first-round selections.

Things have improved so much that Baseball America now ranks the Braves farm system inside the top 15.

“Eric Hartman. Turning a last-round draft pick into one of the best prospects in baseball is the kind of win that organizations dream of having,” the Baseball America staff wrote. “Hartman still has some questions about how his swing will play in the upper-levels of the minors, but there are few higher-ceiling prospects out there. He could serve as the cornerstone of a major trade, if the Braves were willing to move him. The rest of the Braves’ Top 10 is solid, as well, which is a big improvement from a year or two ago. The Braves have also been able to rely on their Triple-A pitching depth to plug multiple injury issues.”

Even when things looked bleak for the farm system, the Braves have always been able to produce high-level starting pitching. Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, AJ Smith-Shawver, Hurston Waldrep, and Didier Fuentes are just some of the names who’ve debuted over the last several years and found success — even if keeping them healthy has been an entirely different issue.

The position player side has been a different story, with Drake Baldwin the lone outlier. There hasn’t been much to get excited about there, and while the arrow is pointing up, they’re still a ways from the elite farm systems when it comes to offensive upside.

“Position Prospects. Yes, the development of Hartman and the improvements of Tate Southisene, John Gil and Conor Essenburg have significantly improved the Braves’ position player prospect depth, but it still needs reinforcements after years of drafts that focused almost entirely on pitchers.”

We’ll see how the Braves approach this year’s draft, which begins on Saturday. In 2025, they flipped the script on their traditional strategy, selecting three athletic shortstops with their first three picks. So far the return has been encouraging — which might convince them to run it back with a similar approach.

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(Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire)

Jarvis smacked his first major-league home run in the fourth inning, a screamer over the right field wall that gave the Braves a 5-2 lead.

First career home run for Jim Jarvis! #LocalFordDealer | #BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/EpRhazLBk9

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 9, 2026

He added two more hits and a couple of stellar defensive plays, coming up big with the Pirates threatening to tie in the seventh and eighth. He was the difference in the game — until Mike Yastrzemski piled on some much-needed insurance with a grand slam in the ninth.

With Ha-Seong Kim on the IL, the Braves have to this point split shortstop duties between Jarvis and Jorge Mateo. It’s an odd approach, considering you’d think the club would want to get its young shortstop into a rhythm — especially given the way Mateo has performed.

Mateo’s hot start was a nice early boost at a position of need, but he has just one hit this month and five since the beginning of June. Over his last 23 games, he’s hitting .111 with one extra-base hit, good for a .300 OPS. So for everyone complaining about Ha-Seong Kim — as they should be — Mateo has been every bit as unproductive.

Jarvis, on the other hand, has been a breath of fresh air in limited action. He’s hitting .278 with a homer and a .778 OPS while playing splendid defense at short. And there appears to be some real upside here based on his Triple-A numbers this season, where he hit .313 with 29 extra-base hits over 76 games.

The odds of Jarvis being the Braves’ shortstop of the future might not be high, but right now, he’s far and away the best option in Atlanta. He should be playing every day — at least until Ronald Acuña Jr. returns and Mauricio Dubon can slide back to shortstop.

And who knows? Maybe Jim Jarvis turns out to be the answer the Braves have been searching for at the position since Dansby Swanson signed with the Cubs in free agency.

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(Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire)

Eli White has been activated from the paternity list, and in a corresponding move, José Azócar has been designated for assignment.

The #Braves today reinstated OF Eli White from the paternity list and designated OF José Azócar for assignment.

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 9, 2026

The bigger one: AJ Smith-Shawver’s rehab assignment has been transferred to Triple-A Gwinnett, a significant step as he works his way back to Atlanta.

Guess who's back-back-back. Back again-gain-gain. AJ's back-back-back. Tell a friend-friend-friend.#Braves RHP AJ Smith-Shawver is scheduled to make a rehab start with the Stripers THIS SATURDAY, July 11th, presented by @NorthsideHosp!

: https://t.co/mGeGm575sd
:… pic.twitter.com/dNzb9m4qBL

— Gwinnett Stripers (@GoStripers) July 9, 2026

Smith-Shawver has 15 major-league starts under his belt and is coming off Tommy John surgery, so there’s no world where he should be expected to return immediately and star for the Braves. Still, it’s hard not to dream after the way he looked in his last outing with the Augusta Green Jackets — touching 100 MPH on the radar gun and tossing four scoreless innings while striking out five.

Gwinnett should give us a much better read on what to expect against stiffer competition. The goal Saturday will likely be around 60 pitches before ramping up to roughly 75 next week. If everything goes the way the Braves hope, Smith-Shawver could be back in Atlanta in about three weeks.

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Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire

“The Atlanta Braves are one of several rotation-needy teams expressing interest in Boston Red Sox starter Sonny Gray, according to people familiar with the situation who were not authorized to speak freely on the topic,” Rosenthal wrote on Thursday for The Athletic.

Whether it’s free agency or trade rumors, Sonny Gray has seemingly been linked to the Braves every year for the last half-decade. For whatever reason, a deal has never come to fruition — but perhaps the desperation in Atlanta finally changes that this time around.

“They (Braves) lead their division even with essentially a full rotation on the injured list,” Rosenthal continued. “They are fit to cover both the prospect and financial cost (the St. Louis Cardinals are paying about half of Gray’s remaining commitment, and either the Red Sox or a new team would owe him slightly more than $6 million after the trade deadline). And while Gray, 36, holds a full no-trade clause, he lives in Nashville and presumably would embrace playing in Atlanta, about a four-hour drive away.”

After a couple of decent seasons with the Cardinals, Gray has turned back the clock in his age-36 campaign, posting a 2.61 ERA and 155 ERA+ (55% above league average). He’s owed just $11 million this season and comes with a $30 million mutual option for next year that carries a $10 million buyout. Given a potential lockout and the uncertainty around the future of the sport, that could complicate things a bit for teams looking to trade for him — but the Braves aren’t exactly in a position to nitpick.

Gray has been a legitimate 2-3 option his entire career, far better than anything Atlanta has rostered outside of Chris Sale. He immediately gives the Braves a respectable one-two punch in a potential playoff series, and the prospect capital required to land him shouldn’t be too absurd.

There is, however, one potentially significant complication: after playing absolutely horrendous baseball for months, the Red Sox have begun to turn it around and are right in the thick of the American League Wild Card race.

“Boston wants to see if it could fight its way back into the playoff picture, though people briefed on the club’s thinking suggested the Red Sox will be realistic about their position as the deadline gets closer,” Rosenthal wrote.

“Despite being as many as 14 games below .500 on June 24, the Red Sox, like so many other teams, are hanging around just well enough to complicate the trade market. Since that low-water mark, Boston has won 10 of its last 12 games. They are just three games behind the third American League wild card, with FanGraphs giving them a 27.5 percent shot at making the postseason.”

This is the problem with evaluating trade targets for the Braves this year. There aren’t many obvious sellers, especially in an American League with so few quality teams. Even clubs 10 games under .500 don’t feel anywhere close to out of the race for a playoff spot.

The Red Sox match up really well with the Braves, though. They have players they could move at several positions of need in Atlanta, making them a team fans should be keeping a very close eye on over the next several weeks.

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(Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire)

The #Braves today reinstated RHP Tyler Kinley from the paternity list and optioned RHP Hurston Waldrep to Triple-A Gwinnett.

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 10, 2026

Waldrep hasn’t looked good since returning from the elbow injury he suffered right before the start of the season. The stuff has been fine, but he’s had absolutely no control of his offerings — giving up 12 free passes over just 10.2 innings. No pitcher is going to have success at the major-league level doing that, and even when Waldrep is in the zone, he’s catching too much of the plate.

The Braves rushed him back, most likely because they felt they had no choice. The rotation has been a mess for well over a month now. Multiple key pieces are on the IL, and Bryce Elder has reverted to the Bryce Elder of old. It’s left them desperately searching for answers leading up to the trade deadline, but it’s overwhelmingly evident Waldrep isn’t one of them right now. Giving him some time in Gwinnett to iron things out is absolutely the correct course of action.

Braves beat reporter Mark Bowman adds that JR Ritchie will start in Waldrep’s place on Sunday in St. Louis.

Ritchie will now start in place of Waldrep on Sunday. It’s been obvious Waldrep wasn’t ready to compete at the big league level. Might be able to shake the rust after a start or two at Triple-A https://t.co/BLDSONA7iN

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) July 10, 2026

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(Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

Best Match For The Braves — Freddy Peralta

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: the Mets have underachieved this season. Despite limitless funds thanks to the backing of Steve Cohen, David Stearns hasn’t been able to find the right formula to build a sustainable winner, and they will almost certainly be selling at this year’s trade deadline — with a Freddy Peralta trade being among the most likely moves, given he’ll be a free agent at season’s end.

This was Peralta’s first season in Queens after starring in Milwaukee, and it hasn’t exactly gone to plan. His numbers are down across the board: a 4.68 ERA, 4.29 FIP, and 8.8 strikeouts per nine innings. That comes after a season in which he led baseball in wins, posted a 2.70 ERA with 10.4 strikeouts per nine, and finished fifth in the NL Cy Young race.

That kind of upside will attract plenty of suitors, especially desperate ones like the Braves, who should have interest in just about every starting pitcher available at the trade deadline.

“And even if certainty isn’t exactly what Freddy Peralta has provided for the Mets this season, there’s enough history there for Atlanta to treat him as the upgrade he would be,” Passan wrote. “Maybe it’s Peralta, and maybe it’s Michael Wacha, and maybe it’s one of a dozen other starting pitchers available. Whatever the Braves choose, their needs happen to align with the market’s clear strength, and there are fewer sure bets at this deadline than Atlanta getting a starting pitcher.”

There’s one small issue that can’t be overlooked, however: Freddy Peralta plays for the New York Mets. I know we live in a softer society these days, but rivalries do still exist — and the Mets and Braves are near the top of the list. If I were the general manager in New York, there’s not a prayer’s chance in hell I’d do anything to help the Braves. That would be a PR nightmare, and I can’t imagine Steve Cohen and company feel much differently.

Dream Match For The Braves — CJ Abrams

Shortstop has been a need in Atlanta for a half-decade, and this season has somehow magnified it even more — even after the club invested $20 million into the position by signing Ha-Seong Kim.

A Georgia product, Abrams has developed into one of the premier shortstops in the game, on pace for nearly 40 home runs and 120 RBIs this season. If the Nationals made him available, you’d imagine the Braves would be among the teams calling. There are three things, though, that make this trade hypothetical nothing more than fantasy.

The Nationals are an exciting young team that probably isn’t going to have much interest in moving their star shortstop, especially not to a division rival. And the asking price the Braves would have to meet would be absurd.

But let’s ignore that for a second and pretend the Nationals would be willing to deal Abrams. He’s still not the type of shortstop I see the Braves breaking the bank for. As outstanding as he is offensively, he’s atrocious defensively and would probably benefit from a position change down the line, especially as he ages. It’s a fun thought, but there’s no scenario where CJ Abrams is wearing a Braves uniform come August.

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(Photo by Chris Arjoon/Icon Sportswire)

Maetsro, the music:

This is Free Form Friday, the closest we can come to a weekend tailgate thread in the absence of any college sporting events whatsoever. It’s the place to talk about anything or nothing at all, though as usual I have a little conversation starter to get you going if you choose. And it’s this: who is the greatest Georgia Bulldog quarterback of the 21st century?

It’s actually a mind-bogglingly difficult question depending on your criteria. Stetson Bennett is the only signal caller in program history to win two national titles. David Greene long held the college football record for victories as a starter. Aaron Murray remains the SEC’s most prolific passer. Matt Stafford was a top overall draft pick and is a surefire Pro Football Hall of Famer. Heck, Jake Fromm played for a national title as a true freshman, played in the NFL, and would be the best QB in history at many programs, and he’s probably no higher than 4th on his own alma mater’s list in the last 25 years.

Feel free to make the case for your Bulldog of choice. I’ll chime in with my own answer shortly.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

College football season will be here before you know it. And once again this season we’re counting down the Georgia Bulldogs whose performance will make the biggest impact on the season’s success. Only this time I couldn’t pick twelve, so we’re examining eighteen key contributorsWe start with a veteran wide receiver who’s no stranger to clutch performances.

London Humphreys comes into 2026 as the most experienced returning wide receiver for a Georgia program that lost the bulk of its pass-catching production from a season ago. After transferring in from Vanderbilt, the Nashville native has spent two seasons building a resume defined more by timely plays than bulk production. But 2026 looks like the year he is finally handed a full-time role.

The statistical case for a breakout starts with what came before. In 2024, Humphreys caught 15 passes for 244 yards and 2 touchdowns, averaging 27.1 receiving yards per game, flashing big play ability even in a limited role behind established veterans. In 2025, his numbers weren’t much more impressive, with 18 receptions for 276 yards and three touchdowns on just 14 games played, making only one start. Humphreys’ per catch average sat at 15.3 yards, and his usage stayed inconsistent throughout the year, with stretches of just one or two catches a game mixed in with occasional explosive plays, like that 59 yard connection against Tennessee that set up a game tying score in overtime, and a touchdown grab against Texas. 

What changes the equation for 2026 is roster attrition, not . Georgia’s receiver corps was gutted this offseason. Zachariah Branch, who set a program record with an SEC leading 81 receptions, declared for the NFL Draft, and Georgia also lost key contributors Noah Thomas, Colbie Young and Dillon Bell to eligibility exhaustion. That exodus means Humphreys is the only returning player from last year’s receiving corps with more than 8 receptions to his credit. Georgia Tech transfer Isaiah Camino is certainly a big edition, but make no mistake, Humphreys will likely be leaned on pretty hard to produce.

By my count Georgia returns just one wide receiver who saw more than 100 snaps on offense last year in Humphreys, and he should step up as an every snap starter thanks to his run blocking and underrated speed. As a guy who can both stretch the field vertically and make contested catches underneath, he should have opportunities to shine.

That combination of opportunity and trust from the coaching staff suggests a real chance at a career year. Quarterback Gunner Stockton returns for his second full season as starter, and the two seem to have grown more comfortable with each other, something Humphreys himself pointed to this spring when discussing Georgia’s push for more explosive plays downfield. If that chemistry translates to game reps, a receiver who has shown flashes of big play production, a 40 yard touchdown as a Georgia debut, a game tying score against Tennessee, a long touchdown against Texas, could see those flashes become a weekly expectation rather than an occasional spark.

What would a successful year look like for Humphreys? I think a realistic projection lands somewhere in the range of 30 to 40 catches, 430 to 600 yards, and five to seven touchdowns, a substantial jump from his 2025 total but not an unreasonable one given the sheer volume of targets now available with Branch, Thomas, Young and Bell gone.

The competition around him, including Talyn Taylor, Sacovie White-Helton, Landon Roldan and Canion, means the target share is not guaranteed to funnel his way. But among that group, Humphreys carries the most game experience and the most trust built with his quarterback, which historically matters in Kirby Smart’s offense. Barring injury, 2026 could well be the first season where London Humphreys is Georgia’s primary outside threat rather than a complementary piece.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

We continue our tour through the eighteen Georgia Bulldogs whose efforts will define the 2026 season with a linebacking Dawg who is no longer a pup.

Chris Cole enters his third season in Athens carrying more responsibility than ever before. The 6’3, 235-pound linebacker from Salem, Virginia arrived as a five star recruit, and now the Bulldogs need him to translate that pedigree into a breakout year.

Cole’s numbers tell a story of steady growth. As a true freshman he notched 16 tackles and two fumble recoveries, earning a spot on the SEC All-Freshman Team. Last season he took a real step forward, playing in all 14 games and finishing with 59 tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss, and a team-leading 4.5 sacks. That sack total actually led a Georgia defense that managed just 20 sacks all year, a number that tied for 107th nationally and ranked dead last in the SEC. It’s a stat that says as much about the unit’s needs as it does about Cole’s individual promise.

With CJ Allen off to the NFL Cole steps into a larger leadership role at linebacker, working alongside fellow returning veterans Raylen Wilson and Justin Williams. Kirby Smart has praised his growth this spring, noting how much Cole has improved as a pass rusher, even while conceding that improving the pass rush will require a group effort rather than a one man job.

It’s been obvious since he stepped on campus that Cole possesses a rare blend of length, speed, and coverage instincts, traits that trace back to his days as a high school safety. He shows real range in space, closes on ball carriers with excellent speed, and reads plays quickly and instinctively. Those instincts let him step into extended run when Georgia needed a coverage linebacker in 2024, and that versatility remains his calling card.

Cole still needs to add strength and functional mass to consistently shed blocks against physical SEC run games. His tackles for loss and sack totals, while promising, need to climb significantly if he’s going to match the ceiling scouts once projected. Consistency, translating those athletic flashes into weekly production, is the real question mark entering fall camp.

Off the field, Cole faced scrutiny after a February reckless driving arrest, though Smart has stood by his character. On the field, the path forward is simple. Georgia needs its pass rush fixed, and Cole is square in the middle of that equation. For a program with national championship aspirations, his development from promising contributor to proven difference maker may decide how far the defense can carry them.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

We’ve all been there. You feel like you’re sitting on top of the world. Everything’s going your way. Then, all of a sudden the skies go from clear to dark and foreboding and the whole world begins kicking you in the shins. Or, you know, somewhere else painful.

Such was the experience of the Clemson Tigers on August 30, 2014. The Country Gentlemen were on the road opening the season against Georgia and had staked themselves to a 21-14 lead in the second quarter. Then, they kicked it to Todd Gurley. It was a bad idea. A very, very bad idea.

The only thing more terrifying than trying to tackle #3 in the hole was trying to corral him in open space, and letting him take a running start at your kickofff team was second only to getting involved in a land war in Asia among classic blunders.

Gurley crossed the goal line to score the first six of thirty-one unanswered points that day, as #12 Georgia cruised to a 45-21 victory over #16 Clemson. Gurley added 198 yards and three touchdowns rushing to install himself as the early leader for the 2014 Heisman Trophy, which he would have won in a just world. Not that we’re still bitter. Because in fact we’re still volcanically, permanently bitter.

But we’ll always have Clemson’s kickoff team looking like a peewee team trying to tackle a fully grown wildebeest. And that’s a great way to start the week. Until later…

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

It’s July 4th, the day we celebrate one of history’s earliest and most impactful conference realignments. The decision by our founding fathers that the British Empire’s revenue sharing model just wasn’t for them, and became the Notre Dame of the Western Hemisphere, geopolitically speaking.

Their fateful decision saved us from a number of indignities, such as taxation without representation, and having to pretend to care about cricket. It also secured your right to bark at Georgia Tech fans in your own home, and the freedom to point out that Tennessee hasn’t won anything in football since before any of their current players were born, or in some cases before their current players’ parents had graduated from junior high.

And while it may be true that King Charles attends University of Georgia games on those rare occasions when he attends college football games, you’re allowed to be a fan of a different college football team. Because in this country we protect the freedom to be a blooming idiot, or even a Florida Gator fan.
So today, enjoy a burger and a brew, knowing that we at Dawg Sports are thankful for the freedom of the (digital) press, and that we’re glad you exercise your right to congregate peacefully in this space.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

Punters get almost no respect. They don’t score any points. They’re not even on the field when things are going really well. And if they do much as miss by a millimeter and shank a punt they become enemy #1 of every drunken fan in the fifty-third row.

It takes a special person to undertake that job and do it at the highest level. Brett Thorson, I’m sure I don’t need to remind you, is a pretty special guy in that way. The Thunder from Down Under had many big, beautiful kicks during his time in the Classic City. But perhaps none rivaled his punt against Tennessee during the 2022 #1 vs. #2 matchup in Athens.

As the late, great Larry Munson would have said, ““get the picture.” Tennessee came to town undefeated and with more swagger than they’d had in years. Hendon Hooker was a Heisman candidate at the helm of Josh Heupel’s high-powered offense. This, the Creamsicle Contingent thought, would be the year they finally taught Georgia a lesson.

And in the early going things looked promising. The Bulldogs fumbled away the first possession of the game, but the defense held the Vols to a field goal. Then the Bulldogs slowly began to assert themselves. Georgia took a 7-3 lead, but was forced to punt from deep in its own territory. Giving the Big Urnge a short field could put them behind the eight ball. In stepped Thorson. Then Thorson stepped into it.

His 75 yard punt decisively flipped the field, and was in many ways the turning point of the game. Tennessee would go three-and-out and be forced to punt from their own endzone.

In contrast to Thorson’s heroic boot, Tennessee’s Paxton Brooks managed to only dribble the ball out to the Vol 36 yard line, where Ladd McConkey fair caught it to give the ‘‘Dawgs excellent field position. Madd Ladd then blew through the Tennessee secondary on the Red and Black’s first offensive snap, taking a Stetson Bennett pass to the house and staking Georgia to a 14-3 lead it would not relinquish.

Never, ever let anyone tell you the kicking game doesn’t matter. Like vegemite and listening to Men At Work, it’s good for what ails you.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

This is one of those needlessly confusing magical weeks in professional golf where there are two PGA Tour events occuring concurrently. You have options for your golf viewing pleasure, and while the events are fairly disparate, they’re contested in areas famous for good spirits.

After the PGA Tour bailed out the (European) DP World Tour with a cash infusion, they also propped it up by cross-pollinating some of the Tours and players in a few select instances. This is one of those instances.

The Scottish Open has long been a staple of European Tour golf, and normally a tune-up for the British Open. It offers similar weather, similar time zones, and somewhat similar golf courses. The PGA Tour used its purse power to squeeze onto the Scottish Open dias, co-sanctioned the event by upping the prize money and offering FedEx Cup points, and leveraged that to bring some of the big US stars over to Europe for a couple of weeks. All this bolsters ratings and the somewhat scant bank accounts of the DP World Tour.

The Scottish has decidedly found a home at the Rennaissance Club – even if they haven’t decided how to pronounce it. It is both linksy and parkland in nature – it has 3 holes along the Scottish coast but was orignally carved out of a pine forest. After a spring and summer of big golf events jammed too close to each other causing some big names to skip a week here and there, all the big names will be on property this week. And because it is technically a DP World Tour event, some LIV golfers are able to play like Jon Rahm.

Back in the States, the PGA Tour is holding an “alternate field event” in Louisville, KY at the Hurstbourne Country Club. The field of the ISCO Championship is less familiar that the Scottish field, unless you’re a week-in week-out golf junkie like myself. You have your Luke Lists, your Christiaan Bezuidenhouts, Tom Hoges and Denny McCarthys, and you have your Jackson Koivuns and J.B. Holmes to boot.

Dawgs in the Genesis Scottish Open field: Chris Kirk, Harris English, Brian Harman, Sepp Straka

‘Dawgs in the ISCO Championship field: Davis Thompson, Brendon Todd.

The purses will probably tell you most of the story. In Scotland, they’re handing out $9 million in total and $1.575 million to the winner. In Louisville, its cut to $4 million in total and a paltry $720,000 to the victor.

Because of the time zones, the Scottish will be on Golf Channel Thursday and Friday from 11am-2pm ET, Golf Channel Friday and Saturday 10am-noon and then noon-3pm on CBS. The ISCO will be exclusively on Golf Channel 4-7 pm all four days.

So different tournaments, different continents, different time zones, different fields, and different distilling. But they both have former Bulldogs. Enjoy your break from soccer, and as always…

GO ‘DAWGS!!!

‘

Atlanta recently decided to decline their $24.3 million option on Kuminga, making him a free agent. It was a decision that came down to the wire as the Hawks searched the landscape for potential trade options, but they ultimately got the vibe that the market for a near $25 million bench piece wasn’t exactly scorching hot. However, they appear open to bringing him back at a lesser figure.

“The Hawks remain open to re-signing Kuminga, sources say, and there’s been interest from Milwaukee and Cleveland along with the Lakers,” Marc Stein and Jake Fischer report for The Stein Line.

“A sign-and-trade would need to be worked out to get Kuminga to Cleveland and reunite him with former Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson. The Bucks are expected to have various trade exception routes to take in Kuminga via sign-and-trade after officially completing the Antetokounmpo blockbuster.”

Kuminga was acquired by the Hawks at the trade deadline in exchange for Kristaps Porzingis. He played a pivotal role in the team’s second half turnaround, averaging 12.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 16 games off the bench during the regular season — and he was by far the team’s most reliable option in the second unit in the Hawks’ first round matchup with the Knicks.

Bringing him back at the right price makes a lot of sense, but Atlanta also has their eyes on a much bigger trade target.

“Teams that are in the mix for Murphy to varying degrees now are the Celtics, Pistons, Warriors, Clippers, and Hawks, league sources told HoopsHype,” Michael Scotto reports.

“Atlanta has always monitored the trade market on Murphy and other available players,” he continues. “The Hawks have several future first-round picks and tradeable contracts to dangle.”

“After Brown and Leonard fetched two first-round picks in trades, some NBA executives believe that should be the ceiling for a Murphy trade. Others argue his valuable contract with three years and $87 million remaining of team control could help New Orleans net a third first-round pick.”

Murphy might not have the pedigree of an NBA Finals MVP like Jaylen Brown, but he’s still an All-Star caliber player that is four years younger and comes with a much more palatable contract — owed just $87 million over the next three seasons. That’s given the Pelicans reason to believe they might be able to fetch even more for Murphy than the Celtics got for Brown.

The Hawks certainly have the allotment of draft picks and contracts to make a trade work, but the decision will ultimately come down to whether they believe Murphy is the kind of talent that could help put them over the top in the Eastern Conference.

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(Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire)

The only player they traded was Rafael Montero, which really wasn’t much of a trade at all. Had he been retained, he almost certainly was heading towards a DFA. The fact the Braves were able to acquire anything for him was a shock, and the player they got in return was none other than shortstop Jim Jarvis.

At the time, nobody really batted an eye. Jarvis was far from a highly touted prospect — a 24-year-old that was struggling to hit at the Double-A level. However, he began to show signs of improvement after joining the Braves organization, and things really took a turn for the better this season, as he’s hit .313 with an on-base percentage over .400 and an .868 OPS over 76 games for the Gwinnett Stripers.

All of that has led to Jarvis’ most recent promotion. We saw him earlier in the year when he made his MLB debut, but that always felt like a means to an end until the team got to full strength. This time, the promotion feels a lot different. The Braves are relying on him to be their starting shortstop, at the very least, until Ronald Acuña Jr. returns from injury and Mauricio Dubon can slide back to the infield.

That’s not something anybody — inside or outside of the organization — expected to be saying just 11 months after acquiring him for a reliever that posted a 5.50 ERA over 36 appearances for the Braves last season.

Will it work? We’re about to find out, but it’s not as if Jim Jarvis has very big shoes to fill. The Braves shortstop situation has been a complete and total nightmare. Ha-Seong Kim is currently robbing the organization of $20 million, recording just five hits in 73 at-bats. With a hit last night, Jarvis now has as many hits at the major-league level as Kim since May 22nd, and it’s not as if Jorge Mateo has been much better, hitting just .121 with a .323 OPS since the start of June.

Jarvis essentially has to show up to the park alive and breathing to provide as much as the duo of Mateo and Kim, but the Braves are hoping for much more, at least until reinforcements arrive in the coming weeks.

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Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire

Jordan Walker put Atlanta in an early hole with a three-run homer before Hurston Waldrep could even record an out in the first inning. It looked like another nightmare for a Braves starting pitcher — this time from one of the guys the club was banking on to help turn things around.

The offense, however, would respond in a big way, sending 10 batters to the plate in the bottom half of the inning on their way to five runs, a very encouraging sign from a group that has been dead last offensively since June began. Unfortunately, that first inning wasn’t exactly indicative of what was to come.

The Braves failed to muster another run the rest of the game. They didn’t even really threaten much, recording just three hits over the final eight frames.

Waldrep, on the other hand, really settled in and put together a more than respectable first start of his season, finishing 5.1 innings with just the three runs and five strikeouts. He would leave the game with the Braves on top, but this time, it was Atlanta’s ultra-reliable relief corps that faltered in a horrific seventh inning that saw the Cardinals score seven times, essentially putting the game to bed over the span of 30 minutes.

It leaves the Braves with another bad taste in their mouth as they continue to leak oil in the summer months and lose their grasp on their lead in the NL East. However, if we are looking for any positives from this series, there are at least a couple of glimmers of hope for the rotation.

Reynaldo Lopez got the start on Saturday and turned in the best start we’ve seen from him since 2024, going five innings on 69 pitches with six strikeouts and allowing just one run. His fastball was sitting consistently in the mid-90s and even touched 97 at times. That’s the version that made him an All-Star a couple of years ago with a sub-2.00 ERA, and it’s certainly better than what the Braves have been getting out of the likes of Bryce Elder, Grant Holmes, and JR Ritchie.

Waldrep’s performance was also a breath of fresh air following a rocky start. It would have been very easy for things to get away from him, but going 5.1 innings in an efficient manner while flashing numerous plus-offerings should only be looked at as a positive. Like always, it’s always about control with Waldrep, and the fact that he only walked one batter last night is a very encouraging sign.

The current Braves roster is littered with flaws. The offense desperately needs to add another bat or two, and the same could be said about the rotation. Hell, even their stellar bullpen could use some touching up at the trade deadline. However, while the Braves are expected to be aggressive over the next month in their search for help, a lot of the improvement must happen internally.

Starting pitching is incredibly expensive to acquire mid-season. That’s why the Braves haven’t traded for one since they swung a deal for Kevin Gausman back in 2018. Expecting them to acquire one impact arm this time around is reasonable, but multiple is probably wishful thinking. Guys like Lopez and Waldrep need to step up, and these performances suggest that they could potentially play a significant factor in the second half of the season.

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(Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

Braves sign Andrew McCutchen to minors deal

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 3, 2026

McCutchen is far from the player he was when he won the MVP a staggering 13 years ago. He hit just .192 with a .537 OPS in 37 games this season for the Texas Rangers, but he did post a respectable .700 OPS over 135 games with the Pirates last season and owns a .733 OPS since the start of the 2020 season.

The odds of him making a significant impact in Atlanta this season might not be very high, but there’s no denying the Braves are getting a little desperate for some offensive firepower with the trade deadline still a month away. The team has boasted an OPS below .600 since June began, and there really haven’t been many encouraging signs that point to this rut ending anytime soon.

Left field and the DH spots have been especially discouraging. Eli White has no business starting games, Mike Yastrzemski has a .644 OPS on the season, and Dominic Smith has come back to earth in a big way since he began the season on a tear.

There’s no guarantee McCutchen ever sees the light of day in Atlanta, but taking a flier on him to see if he has anything left in the tank comes with absolutely no risk. At the very least, perhaps his presence alone could help bring some much-needed positive vibes to the clubhouse.

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Photo: Terence Lewis/Icon Sportswire

Before the game, however, they announced several critical roster moves. JR Ritchie was scratched from his start in Gwinnett and rejoined the major-league club. He’ll pitch out of the bullpen for the time being and even made an appearance yesterday, tossing three scoreless innings to end the game which actually resulted in his first career save.

The Braves also placed Ha-Seong Kim on the 10-day IL with right middle finger inflammation. In a corresponding move, Kyle Farmer was reinstated from the Injured List.

The #Braves today recalled RHP JR Ritchie to Atlanta and placed INF Ha-Seong Kim on the 10-day injured list, backdated to July 1, with right middle finger inflammation. Atlanta also returned INF Kyle Farmer from his rehabilitation assignment and reinstated him from the injured…

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 4, 2026

This is what we like to call the ole’ phantom IL stint. Because Ha-Seong Kim is out of options, the Braves can’t just send him to Gwinnett to work on things and then bring him back to Atlanta whenever they feel he’s ready. For that to happen, there has to be an injury.

Now, I’m not saying there isn’t some discomfort with Kim’s middle finger. It would actually make a lot more sense if there was given his play. But with this move, he gets a couple of weeks to reset and then can go on a rehab assignment to try and work things out at the Triple-A level.

For all the issues the Braves have, shortstop is the one that has been around the longest. They haven’t been able to find consistent production at the position in a half-decade since Dansby Swanson was around. The $20 million the Braves handed Ha-Seong Kim in the offseason was a strong vote of confidence that he would break that spell, but his performance has been the worst of the bunch.

In 27 games, Kim has just five hits — good for a .068 batting average and .239 OPS. He’s on a 162-game pace for a -6.0 WAR season, a number that shouldn’t even be possible.

Hopefully, this move will do him some good. Because if it doesn’t, there’s no guarantee he ever rejoins the major-league club. He either shows some improvement in Gwinnett or the Braves will designate him for assignment.

Until then, Jim Jarvis and Jorge Mateo will hold down the fort, with Mauricio Dubon likely to take over when Ronald Acuña Jr. returns after the All-Star break.

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Photo: Chris Arjoon/Icon Sportswire

Braves All-Stars

• Chris Sale
• Raisel Iglesias
• Matt Olson (Reserve)
• Drake Baldwin (Starter)
• Ozzie Albies (Starter)

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For Chris Sale this will be his tenth All-Star appearance and third in a row with the Braves. His revival in Atlanta has been nothing short of remarkable, pitching arguably the best baseball of his career as he approaches 40. He’ll once again be in the NL Cy Young conversation at season’s end, although it won’t be an easy award to take home with all the ridiculous arms in the National League.

Raisel Iglesias and Drake Baldwin are the club’s two first-time All-Stars. That makes sense for Baldwin, who is in his first season as the Braves’ full-time starting catcher, but it’s a bit surprising for Iglesias. He’s been among the league’s top closers for a decade now, boasting a 2.85 career ERA with 270 saves. A testament to how difficult it is for relievers to get the nod, but Iglesias is beyond deserving this season, recording a 1.53 ERA over 28 appearances with 17 saves.

Matt Olson and Ozzie Albies are two more All-Star veterans at this point. It will be the fourth All-Star appearance for each of them, with Albies starting at second base and Olson a reserve at first base. Those should probably be switched, but the fan vote isn’t always a glowing representation of on-field performance.

That said, what a resurgent season it has been for Ozzie Albies. A couple of significant injuries really made it difficult for him to find a rhythm over the last couple of seasons. Some were even questioning whether the Braves would pick up his extremely team-friendly $7 million club option during the offseason, and while the organization never felt that way, there were legitimate concerns. Concerns that have all but been put to bed after a first half that saw him hit .272 with 14 home runs and a .770 OPS.

Braves All-Star Snubs

Five All-Stars is a damn good result for any team, but there are three very clear snubs that hopefully find their way onto the roster due to injuries and guys opting out.

Michael Harris II is an All-Star. Period. There should be no debating it; they have to find a way to get him on the roster. He’s one of the few players in the league hitting .300, is on pace for 30 home runs, and plays elite defense in centerfield. There’s a lot of competition in the outfield, but Major League Baseball needs to do the right thing and make room for another guy who’s amid a resurgent 2026 campaign.

The other two snubs are a little more understandable given only a few relievers make the All-Star Game each season, but Dylan Lee and Robert Suarez have been two of the best bullpen arms in all of baseball. Lee has made a remarkable 41 appearances already, posting a 1.60 ERA with a 1.33 FIP, 0.661 WHIP and 11.2 K/9 — absolutely absurd numbers for a reliever that’s been asked to pitch in just about every situation imaginable.

Suarez is currently on the IL, so it’s not like he would have actually participated in the game, but it would still be nice for him to get the recognition he deserves. There’s an argument he’s been the single most valuable reliever in all of baseball this season, boasting an eye-popping 0.56 ERA over 31 appearances.

I really don’t know why in the year of 2026 that Major League Baseball has not adjusted the roster limit to include more relief pitchers. It’s not a real game guys; it’s okay to share the love. I would like it on record that I am protesting the injustice against relievers in the All-Star Game. We must make this right!

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(Photo by Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire)

Grant Holmes turned in a solid outing last night, tossing five innings of one run ball — a reminder that while he may never be a frontline guy, he’s actually been fairly reliable at the back of the rotation. But the more notable outcomes were the performances of Reynaldo Lopez and Hurston Waldrep.

Lopez had his best start since 2024, also going five innings and allowing just one run with six strikeouts. The life on his heater improved and he was getting some whiffs, much more like the guy who was an All-Star and posted a sub-2.00 ERA not long ago.

Waldrep was equally impressive in his first start since returning from elbow surgery. He did allow three runs, but they all came before he even recorded an out. After that, he settled in and threw an efficient 5.1 scoreless innings on fewer than 80 pitches.

It’s only one start for each of them, so referring to either as back feels quite premature, but hope exists, especially as we continue to receive positive updates on AJ Smith-Shawver and Spencer Schwellenbach. Smith-Shawver began his rehab assignment this week, and Schwellenbach doesn’t appear to be far behind, potentially set to return around late August.

Not all of these guys need to be part of an imaginary dream rotation following the trade deadline, but the Braves need at least a couple of them to step up. It’s hard enough to acquire one high quality starting pitcher mid-season; getting two is nearly impossible without completely depleting the farm system — something I do not see the Braves doing.

Braves Dream Rotation Post-Trade Deadline

1. Chris Sale
2. Tarik Skubal
3. Spencer Schwellenbach
4. Hurston Waldrep
5. AJ Smith-Shawver/Reynaldo Lopez

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We’re talking dreams here, so I’m not going to aim low. There are a plethora of reports floating around that the Braves are legitimate contenders in the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes, and there isn’t a better option to fill in next to Chris Sale atop the rotation. Having those two guys pitching multiple times in a potential playoff series would make any team nearly impossible to beat, and it’s not as if this is an unattainable vision. The Braves have more than enough prospect capital to pull off a trade for Skubal and still be in good shape regarding the future.

Behind them is Spencer Schwellenbach, which might be the most unrealistic aspect of this dream rotation. There are still concerns about him even returning this season — one setback and the Braves will shut him down until 2027. And even if he does return, who knows what the stuff is going to look like coming off not one but two major elbow injuries. However, the thought of a healthy Spencer Schwellenbach filling in behind Sale and Skubal is what dreams are all about.

Waldrep and then some combination of Smith-Shawver and Reynaldo Lopez round out the rotation. It’s too early to tell what each of them can provide, but Waldrep’s the one I have the most confidence in. Smith-Shawver and Lopez also have the type of stuff that can succeed out of the bullpen — and come October, there’s no need for five starters, assuming the Braves can make it that far.

—

I wanted to highlight this conversation for one primary purpose — Atlanta doesn’t need to be in the market for multiple starting pitchers at the trade deadline. I didn’t even mention the likes of Martin Perez, Grant Holmes, or Bryce Elder — all of whom are capable of rounding out the rotation. They should be in the market for one true frontline guy to pair with Chris Sale; that alone will make life a living hell for opponents come the postseason. What happens behind those two will sort itself out.

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(Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

The good news? ESPN’s Buster Olney is confident that — even with fewer teams looking to sell — starting pitching is the one area where we could see a lot of movement over the next month.

“They’ll both get starting pitchers, I’m pretty convinced of that,” Olney said of the Braves and Phillies, who currently sit atop the narrowly contested NL East.

“This is good news for the Braves and for the Phillies,” he continued. “I think among all the positions in baseball, the one that is going to have the highest volume of available talent is going to be starting pitcher. Right now, teams are starved for right-handed hitters. But with starting pitching — besides Skubal — there actually could be a number of names. Joe Ryan, Robbie Ray is going to be out there, there could be 8-12 guys who are out there.”

Tarik Skubal is undoubtedly the crowned jewel of this year’s trade deadline if the Tigers decide to trade him, and the Braves have already been linked to him by several insiders. This could be the time we finally see Alex Anthopoulos take that big swing, even if history suggests he’s more likely to pivot in another direction.

Like most general managers, Alex Anthopoulos places a high value on his prospects. He’s not going to be eager to part ways with multiple of the organization’s best young players for a rental, but it will be very intriguing to see what the price tags on some of these starting pitchers will be with so many more quality options available than we’ve seen in recent years.

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(Photo by Joseph Weiser/Icon Sportswire)

Most notably, Ronald Acuña Jr. is expected to rejoin the team once the second half begins. He’s been out with a hamstring injury for about a month — the same hamstring he injured earlier in the season, which is why the Braves are taking no chances by rushing him back. However, it does look like he could return today if they really needed him, as he was seen taking batting practice ahead of Saturday night’s game at Truist Park.

Ronald Acuna Jr. preparing to begin a rehab assignment. He should back in the Braves’ lineup after the All-Star break pic.twitter.com/AysvSszVvN

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) July 4, 2026

Acuña has not had his typical all-world campaign, recording a .793 OPS with just seven home runs over 53 games. But the impact he has on this team, whether he’s playing at his absolute peak or not, cannot be overstated. Since the beginning of his career, the Braves are 521-349 with him in the lineup. Without him, they’re barely an above .500 club over a more than 400 game sample size.

The mere presence Acuña brings forces pitchers to pitch differently. It creates more chaos for his teammates, the energy he brings to the clubhouse is contagious, and it also allows Mauricio Dubon to slide back to shortstop. Not to mention, Acuña is more than capable of playing like the best offensive player on the planet. That version of him still exists.

Braves beat reporter Grant McAuley also provided an update on a name some Braves fans might have forgotten, reliever Joe Jimenez, who hasn’t pitched since 2024 after undergoing multiple knee surgeries. He’s been working out at the club’s complex in Florida, but manager Walt Weiss said that he’s still a long way from a potential return.

#Braves MGR Walt Weiss said the most recent knee surgery gave Joe Jiménez hope that he'll be able to pitch again. He's made some good progress in Florida and is back with the team in Atlanta, but still quite a ways away from discussing a return or any timetable for that. https://t.co/OGYZcUTmrJ

— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) July 4, 2026

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(Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

JR Ritchie is heading back to Gwinnett after tossing three scoreless innings in Saturday night’s win, with Carlos Carrasco taking his place on the active roster.

The #Braves today selected RHP Carlos Carrasco to the major league roster after optioning RHP JR Ritchie to Triple-A Gwinnett following last night's game.

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 5, 2026

Carrasco has been designated for assignment about 50 times at this point, but nobody ever claims him and he keeps making his way back. In seven appearances for the Braves this season, he’s recorded a respectable 3.68 ERA.

The move gives the club another fresh arm as they are in the middle of a stretch of 12 games in 12 days heading into the All-Star break. It also allows JR Ritchie to continue working as a starting pitcher down in Gwinnett, which is what’s best for his long-term development. The Braves will likely need him again in the second half of the season.

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(Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire)

Ted Scott likes Connecticut. As the caddie for former Bulldog Bubba Watson, Scott saw his golfer capture 3 Travelers Championships at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, CT. But the last was in 2018, as Watson’s mercurial nature bled into his golf game producing inconsistent play and falling farther down leaderboards.

After discussions with Watson, and apparently an interview process that Ted insisted upon with a prospective player, Scott left for a up and comer out of Texas. Fast forward a couple of years, and Ted Scott is on the bag for the most dominant player in golf since Tiger Woods.

With the PGA Tour back in the northeast this week, we find Ted Scott in a familiar place, with his player Scottie Schefler at the top of the leaderboard. The bad news is that Scheffler had company at the top, with Viktor Hovland tying him at 21 under par. And a rain delay forced a playoff until Monday morning, where Hovland dispatched Scottie after 1 hole in sudden death.

That’s all well and good, but let’s take a look at where former Bulldogs finished up:

Sepp Straka seemed uninspired, and shot every round over par en route to a last place finish for the 72 man, no cut field. He still cashes a check though.

Harris English never shot over par, but you have to go low when everyone around you is making birdies in bunches. He finishes T38 at 10 under par.

Brian Harman was in the same boat as English, but a Saturday 63 jumped him around 30 places, and he eventually settles at 12 under par and T25.

Keith Mitchell did the same thing, shot 63 in the 3rd round and eventually got to 13 under par, good for T22.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Russell Henley plugs along early, but has a great weekend to backdoor a high finish. At only 4 under par, a 65-64 weekend pushes Russell all the way to T12.

The Tour now heads to Illinois for the John Deere Classic – a tournament won by a couple of former ‘Dawgs listed above. Enjoy your week, and as always…

GO ‘DAWGS!!!

Doing something once can be framed by your detractors as a flash. But when it happens multiple times in a short span? It becomes a standard of expectation.

That standard was stomped into the ground at Neyland Stadium early in the 2003 Georgia football season when Georgia made it three wins in a row against Tennessee in what ended up being a 41-14 walkover win.

That win was the Bulldogs’ fourth in a row against the Vols, a realization of what was asked upon Mark Richt when he was hired as Georgia’s head coach in December, 2000.

The mandate for the Richt regime was simple – regularly beat Georgia’s rivals – something that cost his predecessor, Jim Donnan his job.

Of course, the ‘blowing the roof off the lid’ moment for Richt came in 2001 with the “Hobnail Boot” game. But believe it or not, there was a time when as Georgia you wondered if UGA could ever beat Tennessee regularly. Before the 2000 field-storming win, one in which UTK’s quarterback situation was in flux, Georgia had lost nine in a row in this series.

But in October 2003, Georgia showed without a doubt that it had ownership of the rivalry against Tennessee. Going into that game itself, you knew this Bulldogs team could be good, but not quite how good. Sure, there was a shutout on the road against Clemson and a physical manhandling of Alabama, but there was also a road loss to LSU to left a sour taste in many minds of the Bulldog nation. Tennessee was also I na similar boat, a 4-1 record after a win against Florida but loss to Auburn.

Oh, and there was plenty of fodder thanks to Casey Clausen, the Tennessee quarterback who lamented the year before that the win by UGA in Athens was impacted by quarterback injuries.

So yes, this rivalry had plenty of juice when it kicked off on Saturday night in prime time.

By the time this game ended, it Georgia had won 41-14, handing Tennessee its worst home loss since 1994 against Florida.

The result may have been one-sided, but not before a close game was absolutely turned on its lid just before halftime. The Bulldogs crept out to 10-o lead, but a 90-yard scoring strike trimmed that advantage to 10-7. And the Vols were on the doorstep of going up 14-10 until….

It wasn’t Larry Munson’s greatest call of all time, but it’s for sure a top ten. For fans who lamented Jamal Lewis heading to Tennessee and taking a “Peach Bowl” cheap shot at Georgia, its still satisifying to hear Munson exclaim, “Jabari fumbled!”

Plus, you know its a great Munson call when he implores someone to, “Run!!”

Without question, Sean Jones’ return, which according to one press-box observer caused loud shouts of frustration from the Tennessee coaches box, snatched the soul out of Neyland Stadium. Tennessee was demoralized, and it showed by how the Dawgs rolled on to a lopsided win. The Neyland crowd? It was also a non-factor – shown by how listless the reaction was when Rocky Top was played to end halftime.

It’s rare that a single play can change a game’s dynamic into blowout. Sean Jones’ scoop and score was one of them.

Go Dawgs!

The Georgia Bulldogs enter 2026 with a defensive line that is at once experienced and still coming into its own. But the potential is certainly there for the trench ‘Dawgs to become an anchor for the defense. The unit lost All-SEC performer Christen Miller to the 2026 NFL Draft, where he was taken in the second round by the New Orleans Saints, but the group that remains is deep with blue chippers and bursting with developmental upside.

Senior Jordan Hall is the most experienced veteran in the group. Hall played and started in eight games in 2025, finishing the season with 12 tackles, three solo, and 2.0 tackles for loss. The Jacksonville native however spent much of his first two seasons dealing with leg injuries that limited his development, and missed spring practice with another injury suffered against the Florida Gators.

But a healthy Hall could be a first day NFL selection, ticking all the boxes scouts look for. At 6’4 and 320 pounds, Hall has an ideal frame and has taken on a leadership role on the team. With Miller gone, Hall enters 2026 as the most experienced returning presence on the interior and the anchor the unit needs. The question surrounding him is not talent but durability, and if he can stay on the field for a full season this unit’s floor goes up considerably.

Sophomore Elijah Griffin played in all 14 games during the 2025 season, earning spots on the On3 Freshman All-America Team, the Athletic Freshman All-America First Team, PFF All-Freshman Team, and the Freshman All-SEC Team. He recorded 22 tackles, 14 solo stops, 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack for seven yards, and one pass breakup.

Griffin arrived at Georgia as the consensus top defensive line prospect in the 2025 recruiting cycle and justified the hype immediately. And after a serious offseason of conditioning he could be even better. Griffin was noticeably bigger and more muscular at G Day, which should allow him to take even more snaps on the interior.

He has already established himself as one of the stronger players on the roster physically, and Georgia ranked 4th nationally in run defense in 2025 with Griffin playing a key role. His pass-rush production was modest as a freshman, but my expectation entering 2026 is that Griffin takes a significant leap as a disruptive force. He may well be the most talented player on Georgia’s entire defense, and I can’t wait to see the havoc he can create.

Senior Xzavier McLeod also played in all 14 games in 2025 and made six starts, finishing with 17 tackles (8 solo), six quarterback pressures, and two pass breakups. The Charlotte product transferred to Georgia from South Carolina and has steadily worked his way into meaningful snaps. At 6’4 and 315 pounds, McLeod has the size to handle interior work and the experience in this system and in the SEC game to mentor younger players. I see him as a steady presence who gives reliable snaps whether starting or rotating in, adding real value to the rotation. His six starts in 2025 suggest he is in the mix for a larger role in 2026, likely his final season in Athens.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one, but Joseph Jonah-Ajonye also played in all 14 games in 2025 and made one start, finishing with 9 tackles, 5 solo, and 11 quarterback hurries. That pressure number stands out. Sure , some of that came as a late game sub once Miller and Hall were out of the rotation and teams were forced to throw a little more. Eleven quarterback hurries however in a rotational role is a strong indicator of a player who can affect the game without always showing up in the box score.

The former five star recruit out of Oak Ridge High School in Texas dealt with a foot injury early in his Georgia career but has progressively grown in the program. At 6’ 4 and 275 pounds, he plays with a lighter frame than Georgia’s primary interior tackles, giving the defense a quicker, more movement-oriented option off the bench. In 2026 his value could come from his ability to move and chase plays rather than simply take on blocks, making him a complementary piece who changes what the defense can do on passing downs.

Redshirt sophomore Nnamdi Ogboko appeared in 12 games last season as a reserve defensive lineman, recording 10 tackles, 5 solo stops, 1 tackle for loss, and a sack. At 6’4 and and 340 pounds, Ogboko is one of the heaviest players on the roster and brings a physical presence that is difficult to replicate. You can’t coach size, and most Kirby Smart defenses have been at their best with a huge, two-gap space eater in the middle. Could Ogboko be that guy in 2026?

I’m not saying he’s Jordan Davis just yet, but there’s potential there. The North Carolina product is still learning the game at this level, but the raw tools on display. His sack against Kentucky was a glimpse of what he can do when he wins his initial battle. Georgia’s two-gap defensive scheme benefits enormously from players Ogboko’s size, and he will be expected to eat blocks and free up space for the linebackers behind him.

Sophomore JJ Hanne remains an intriguing player as well. Hanne appeared in all 14 games during 2025 as a reserve, recording one tackle against Austin Peay and another against Florida in Jacksonville. His story is one of the more unique in college football. Originally from Berlin, Germany, Hanne only began playing American football in high school and arrived at Georgia still learning the fundamentals of the game. At 6-foot-4 and 290 pounds, his physical upside is considerable, and coaches have praised both his motor and his development throughout his time in the program. With a full year of seasoning now behind him, 2026 represents an important step in determining whether Hanne can grow into a reliable rotation piece.

The Bottom Line

The 2026 Georgia defensive line will look different from recent years, lacking the veteran continuity that came with someone like Miller anchoring the middle through multiple seasons. But the depth is there, and the level of experience is almost sneakily high. With major returning contributors and frequent starters like McLeod, Hall, and Griffin giving Tray Scott a solid base to work with. The unit also welcomes new additions in freshmen Preston Carey, Carter Luckie, AJ Lonon Jr., and Valdin Sone to provide additional bodies and competition. At least a couple of those freshmen could also work into the rotation by season’s end. If Hall stays healthy and Griffin takes the leap everyone expects, this group can still rank among the SEC’s better front fours. The ceiling is high; the floor is secure.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

Admittedly in this space we’ve been pretty harsh about the creeping commercialism of college football.

We get it, somebody has to pay those NIL deals, and the palatial stadiums don’t build themselves. But still it often feels like conference and school officials have uniformly undergone a very precise lobotomy that removed the part of their brains that says “I like money and all, but that just seems a little crass even to me.”

However, in the interest of equal time and fairness, I want to recognize a major college athletic department for doing something right. Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you Wisconsin Badger football, sponsored by Culver’s delicious creamy custards.

Of all the things a college football team can do to raise some cash, a tasteful (tasty?) uniform patch seems like the least of all available evils. Plus Culver’s, with their famous fried cheese curds and butter burgers are about as Wisconsin as you can get. If you’re going to sell out, sell out to your own home folks. If the Georgia Bulldogs came out sporting patches advertising Pepsi cola, I might riot. I wouldn’t start the riot, but I would almost certainly take an enthusiastic part in it.

Conversely, if the Red and Black were to take some green in exchange for a small patch advertising Coca Cola Classic, a Peach State institution on par with Ty Cobb, boiled peanuts, and the Yatesville Chitlin Hoedown, I would say not word in protest. Bulldog football and Coca Cola are perhaps my two favorite things on earth that I haven’t bought a diamond ring for. Combining them often and in liberal doses is fine by me.

So good on you, Badger Nation. You’ve managed to sell out in the best way possible, and I salute you for it. Now if you need me I’ll be down the street ordering onion rings and a Butterfinger custard.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

Not to overstate things, but June 29, 2026 may end up being the most consequential day when it comes to the current state of the Georgia baseball program.

If you just took Monday night’s news that Dan Jackson won the Golden Spikes Award, the honor given to the top player in college baseball, that would have been monumental on its own. In Jackson, the Diamond Dawgs have now had a player take that prize in two of the past three seasons. That stretch, of course, coincides with Wes Johnson being the Bulldogs’ head coach.

The message is clear. If you want to be college baseball’s best, the confines of Foley Field are a pretty good place to spend your time.

Certainly, it would have been nice for Jackson to get a send-off last week as a national champion in Omaha, but Georgia was one of the last four teams standing in college baseball’s mecca.

Jackson’s Monday coronation proves what this program has been able to do.

Earlier in the day, however, hammered home what Georgia plans to do – seeing to it that this year was not a one-and-done trip to the College World Series.

Or to call back to Kirby Smart’s famous post-game quote after the 2018 National Title Game – “we’re not going anywhere.”

Dislike the transfer portal or embrace it, the reality is that those who utilize it well help themselves the most. Those who don’t in the current landscape…well, just check in on Dabo Swinney when you get a chance.

Guys like Kolby Branch and Dan Jackson are not easy to replace, that’s for sure. But the Diamond Dawgs being able to cook with gas in the transfer portal on Monday helps, without a doubt.

Among the incoming transfers will be Oregon DH Naulivou Lauaki Jr., having hit .321 with 14 dingers last year.

More offensive firepower will be on the way through Utah outfielder Jet Gilliam, who hit .362 last year as well as Indiana first baseman Jake Hanley, who hit .338 this past spring and ripped 14 homers the last two years.

The arrival of infielder Casey McCoy from Louisiana Tech and previous add of FSU catcher Hunter Carnes should bolster things even more.

And yes, pitching help is also incoming via Matthew Cuccias from Wichita State, who in 15 starts had a 3.53 ERA with 76 strikeouts.

For Georgia, the message on Monday was clear – that it does not want its current window to close anytime soon.

Go Dawgs!

You ever think it just might not be your day? You and South Carolina quarterback Corey Jenkins have that in common, or at least you would as you pointlessly asked the back judge what happened after David Pollack ruined your afternoon.

Georgia and South Carolina were locked in a sloppy, low scoring early season matchup in 2002, with the Bulldogs defense pitching a 3-0 shutout. Backed up on their own goal line the Gamecock offense managed to give up one more touchdown than the Garnet and Black defense would give up all day.

Pollack’s 0 yard interception return staked the Bulldogs to a 10-0 lead, and was the only touchdown the Bulldogs would score all day. But that and a pair of Billy Bennett field goals were enough to deliver a 13-7 victory. That Bulldog team would go on to win Georgia’s first SEC title in twenty years. Pollack’s improbable play was perhaps the first hint that the 2002 Bulldogs just wouldn’t be denied. Until later…

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

The first of these touchdowns was Week 2 against the Steve Spurrier South Carolina Gamecocks. Up 34-30 in the fourth, Aaron Murray connected with a streaking JSW down the sidelines for an 85-yard touchdown, sealing the victory.

The other came a few weeks later against LSU which was the game of the season in 2013. Trailing with under 2:00 to play, Aaron Murray again finds a streaking JSW, this time down the right sideline for a 25-yard game-winning touchdown.

Though injuries derailed his career, JSW will never be forgotten for those two epic touchdowns in 2013. JSW: DGD forever.

Elbow injuries and pitchers are an uneasy combination, but Walt Weiss did say that there is no structural damage. The Braves just felt it was best to give him a couple of weeks off in the middle of the season to keep him fresh — a no-brainer considering how valuable Suarez has been in his first season with the club.

On the field, the Braves squeaked out a much-needed win over the Giants in a game that Reynaldo Lopez started for the first time since late April. Lopez isn’t fully stretched out, so he only went three innings, allowing one run on four hits with a lone strikeout.

It’s better than what the Braves have been getting out of most of their rotation lately, but to say Lopez’s performance was very inspiring would be a lie. The stuff just isn’t popping off the screen like it used to, with his fastball sitting around 93-94 and inducing very few whiffs.

A similar thing can be said about Hurston Waldrep — although, for a very different reason. Waldrep did hold the Giants scoreless, and the stuff is there for him to be a legitimate frontline starter if everything clicks, but his control is a major issue, something that was apparent throughout his rehab assignment. You aren’t going to walk four guys and get away with it very many times at this level, and he needed 55 pitches to complete two innings.

Following the game, Weiss made it clear the intention is to keep using Hurston Waldrep as a starter, whether that’s at the major-league level or in Gwinnett moving forward remains to be seen. He could probably use a little more time on the farm to fine-tune things.

The Braves will send Bryce Elder to the mound Saturday night, who is looking to weather the storm after his last five starts in which he’s posted an 8.31 ERA.

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(Photo by Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire)

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“The Hawks are in active trade pursuit of a big man, The Stein Line has learned.

It was not immediately known how broad Atlanta’s list of potential targets is …but they certainly are looking.

For past perspective: New Orleans’ Yves Missi, Orlando’s Goga Bitadze and Dallas’ Daniel Gaffordare all centers that the Hawks have pursued previously and who are generally regarded as available.

Sources said that the Hawks, coming out of the draft, had some designs on trying to test Oklahoma City’s resolve when it came to Isaiah Hartenstein’s availability as part of their push to upgrade the center rotation. They always understood that it would be an extreme longshot, but there was initially some hope that the combination of the Thunder’s decision to draft Michigan’s Aday Mara with the 12th overall pick and second apron concerns might make Hartenstein unexpectedly available. Atlanta, remember, selected Houston guard Kingston Flemings with the eighth overall pick in Tuesday night’s draft, contributing to Mara’s availability at No. 12.”

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Jake Fischer has now added that Monday could be the day that trade comes to fruition.

Two trades that we’re monitoring today…

The Clippers and Raptors’continuing conversations on Kawhi Leonard, plus the Hawks working on a big addition.

We know Atlanta isn’t going after Goga Bitadze, Hawks fans, as the Magic aren’t talking trade for their reserve center,… https://t.co/W0ftlWsezz

— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 29, 2026

The center position is really the final piece the Hawks must address before the end of the offseason. Onyeka Okongwu has developed into a real nice stretch big for Atlanta, but his lack of size on the interior was on full display as the Knicks punished the Hawks during their first round meeting in the playoffs. It’s not something Onsi Saleh can overlook if he plans on this team being seriously competitive in the Eastern Conference next season.

Additionally, Buddy Hield’s nearly $10 million salary for next season became guaranteed last night, but Fischer adds the Hawks are actively in the trade market looking to move that contract.

Definitely hearing the Hawks are involved in several trade scenarios that could end up utilizing Buddy Hield’s salary for 2026-27. https://t.co/MZFpVub1vi

— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 29, 2026

Hield was acquired by the Hawks at last year’s trade deadline but rarely saw the floor. Given Atlanta’s only gotten deeper in the backcourt with the additions of first-round pick Kingston Flemings and Aaron Wiggins, it’s hard to imagine there’s a role for him in Atlanta, but his expiring contract and veteran leadership could make him an attractive piece for a rebuilding organization.

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(Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire)

Among those injured players hopefully rejoining the club is the hard-throwing right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver. The 23-year-old looked as if he was going to be in NL Rookie of the Year conversations last year before Tommy John surgery abruptly ended his season, but he’s back on the mound and has begun his rehab assignment, with his first start scheduled for this week in Augusta.

“Smith-Shawver was throwing the ball unbelievably last year before he got hurt,” Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos said ahead of Sunday’s game with the Giants. “His first rehab start is scheduled for Augusta on Tuesday, so that’s certainly exciting. He was throwing the ball really well in Florida. He looked good… Obviously, it’s a max 30-day rehab assignment. We don’t necessarily normally go all that way, but we’ll see how he looks.”

Assuming there are no setbacks, Smith-Shawver could rejoin the Braves at some point in July. That’s another positive development with some upside for the rotation, though banking on both him and Hurston Waldrep to return from major injuries and immediately perform is fairly wishful thinking. Even without the injury aspect, they are relatively unproven commodities at the major-league level.

But they are options, and when it comes to the options the Braves currently have at their disposal, they offer a level of upside the others cannot match.

“It’s one of those things where we are going to take the five best guys, the guys that are hot,” Anthopoulos continued on the Braves’ plan for their rotation.

Atlanta has never been an organization that’s shy about placing trust in their young arms. Whoever performs is going to get the opportunities, and right now, just about anything is better than what the Braves are trotting out whenever Chris Sale is off. This team needs an influx of talent when it comes to starting pitching, and while some of that can come at the trade deadline, most of the answers will have to come internally.

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(Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire)

That’s probably the most shocking aspect of Atlanta’s recent rough patch. The starting pitching was always expected to experience some level of regression, even if it’s probably been worse than many would have expected. The lineup experiencing this level of dropoff, however, is not something anybody could have predicted.

For the first two months, the Braves were at or near the top of every significant offensive statistic, and they did it while almost never being at full strength. The absence of Ronald Acuña Jr. and the oblique injury to Drake Baldwin — an issue that still appears to be lingering even if he has returned — have certainly played a factor, but it’s really difficult to pinpoint why this team has become by far the worst offensive performers in June.

As a whole, the Braves have posted an absurdly horrendous 65 wRC+. That’s 35% below league average and good for last place by an astounding 18 points. It’s a large enough sample size at such a low level that some uncomfortable conversations must be had about where this group is heading, even if first-year manager Walt Weiss isn’t concerned about the club’s rapidly shrinking lead in the NL East over the currently scorching hot Phillies.

“Yeah, I don’t care what (the division) lead is. I could care less,” Weiss said, via Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal Constitution. “It’s early. We knew we had a big lead early and there was several months to go. I’m not worried about anybody else but ourselves right now.”

Weiss’ comments are those of someone who knows how quickly things can change over the course of a 162-game season. Just like his predecessor, he’s understanding of how important it is to never overreact when things are going well and to do the same when things are going poorly as well.

That said, nobody can be feeling too confident about where things stand as the All-Star break approaches. The Braves’ rotation is in shambles, featuring not a single reliable arm outside of Chris Sale. And the offense — which is supposed to be the backbone of the team — is looking awfully similar to the version we saw throughout the 2025 campaign.

There is some light at the end of the tunnel in the form of potential additions at the trade deadline and the eventual return of Ronald Acuña Jr. — but neither of those is coming to save the Braves anytime soon.

Acuña likely isn’t going to return until after the All-Star break. The Braves are rightfully taking things extremely cautiously with him given it’s his second injury to the same hamstring, and legitimate trade conversations haven’t really even started yet. It’ll be at least a few more weeks before Alex Anthopoulos gets to work in that area.

But even with those additions, the NL East no longer feels like it’s the Braves to lose, and a spot in the playoffs no longer seems a foregone conclusion. Quite the falloff for a team where it seemed nothing could go wrong just 30 days ago.

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(Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire)

Atlanta then re-signed one of their own free agents in CJ McCollum — who was a huge piece of their second half turnaround after the Hawks acquired him in the Trae Young trade with the Wizards — and they also traded for Aaron Wiggins to add to what was a thin bench last season.

The draft then saw the Hawks bring in three new faces — Kingston Flemings, Zuby Ejiofor, and Henri Veesaar.

Flemings has the type of potential to come in and start from day one at point guard, which was one of their glaring holes a season ago. Although, the Hawks might choose to ease him into things as he gets mentored by a seasoned veteran like CJ McCollum.

Ejofor also has the makeup of an immediate contributor, offering relentless energy on the defensive end with a unique skill set offensively for a big man.

Atlanta’s roster is already in a much better spot than it was when they lined up against the New York Knicks a couple of months ago, but there remains one massive hole left to fill. The Hawks have to add some more size at the center position, and according to Jack Fischer, they are attempting to do that via trade.

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“The Hawks are in active trade pursuit of a big man, The Stein Line has learned.

It was not immediately known how broad Atlanta’s list of potential targets is …but they certainly are looking.

For past perspective: New Orleans’ Yves Missi, Orlando’s Goga Bitadze and Dallas’ Daniel Gafford are all centers that the Hawks have pursued previously and who are generally regarded as available.

Sources said that the Hawks, coming out of the draft, had some designs on trying to test Oklahoma City’s resolve when it came to Isaiah Hartenstein’s availability as part of their push to upgrade the center rotation. They always understood that it would be an extreme longshot, but there was initially some hope that the combination of the Thunder’s decision to draft Michigan’s Aday Mara with the 12th overall pick and second apron concerns might make Hartenstein unexpectedly available. Atlanta, remember, selected Houston guard Kingston Flemings with the eighth overall pick in Tuesday night’s draft, contributing to Mara’s availability at No. 12.”

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Hartenstein is no longer an option after inking a contract extension with the Thunder, but it does reveal the Hawks intentions. They know they have a serious issue on the interior, and they aren’t simply looking to fill it with a backup caliber player that is going to have minimal impact.

This is a rumor with some legs. It would be shocking if Atlanta comes out of the offseason without pouring a significant amount of resources into the center position.

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(Photo by Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire)

The Sacramento Kings are trading guard Devin Carter and a future second-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks, sources tell ESPN.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 29, 2026

Carter was the 13th overall pick in the draft just a couple of years ago and is still just 24 years old. The fact that the Kings are willing to attach a future pick to get rid of him just to dump his salary isn’t a promising sign, but the Hawks needed depth at the point guard position and there’s at least some hope a change of scenery could do him a great deal of good.

The Kings have been a dumpster fire for decades at this point, and this past season was a perfect example, pulling starters on a nightly basis just to tank in the standings. No young player is going to have a lot of success in that type of situation, and Atlanta has been among the best organizations when it comes to player development — with Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker being two of the best examples, the last two winners of the league’s Most Improved Player award.

Carter appeared in 38 games this past season, averaging 8.9 points and 2.7 assists in 18.4 minutes per game. We’ll see if he can carve out a role for himself in Atlanta, but the Hawks have done a wonderful job improving their depth in the backcourt this offseason, which was a problem area for the team a season ago.

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(Photo by Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire)

The Atlanta Hawks are declining Jonathan Kuminga's $24.3 million team option, making him a free agent, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/Zu57MTTp3g

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 29, 2026

This doesn’t necessarily mean the Hawks are totally out on Kuminga. They are still free to sign him as a free agent if his market turns out to be much cooler than expected, but it’s evident there wasn’t much of a market for him at all at a $24.3 million price point, even if it was only a one-year deal.

Atlanta acquired Kuminga at this year’s trade deadline, sending Kristaps Porzingis to the Golden State Warriors. He played a pivotal role down the stretch and was easily their best option off the bench in the playoffs, even if his play was a little erratic at times. In 16 games for the Hawks, Kuminga averaged 12.3 points on 47.6% shooting from the field and 34.6% from beyond the arc to go along with 5.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists.

The decision gives the Hawks a bit more financial flexibility to work with as free agency begins, but it also leaves them with another gaping hole on the wing that must be filled. That now becomes a top priority, along with adding some more size in the frontcourt, which they reportedly are attempting to accomplish via trade.

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(Photo by Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire)

The decision, however, has quickly turned into a disasterclass. Kim missed the first six weeks of the season after a freak incident in his home country of Korea, where he slipped on ice and it resulted in a torn tendon in his finger.

Even more discouraging, Kim’s return to the lineup has actually been worse than when he wasn’t playing at all. He’s appeared in 26 games for the Braves this season and has just five hits in 73 at-bats. That’s a .068 batting average and .239 OPS. It’ll be July in a couple of days, and Kim has not contributed a single extra-base hit.

It’s not as if things are getting better, either. Kim is hitless in his last 27 at-bats, and his WAR for the season is down to -0.9. Considering how little he’s really played, that’s a remarkable figure, putting him on pace for a -6.0 WAR campaign over 162 games.

With each passing day, it’s becoming more and more likely Kim doesn’t even make it through the entire season. When Acuña returns, Dubon will slide back into the role of everyday shortstop. At that point, a decision will likely be made between Kim and Jorge Mateo — which, judging by what we’ve seen, shouldn’t be much of a decision at all.

When talking about one-year deals, it’s hard to make an argument that any of them could possibly be the worst contract handed out in franchise history, but Kim’s performance is certainly making a strong case against that line of thinking. He has straight up robbed the Atlanta Braves, and when combined with the Jurickson Profar ordeal, Alex Anthopoulos should probably reconsider any future deals with former members of the San Diego Padres.

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(Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire)

The rotation must be upgraded. It’s non-negotiable if Atlanta is serious about winning the division and competing for the World Series. However, the offense can no longer be overlooked as well. The Braves finished with the worst wRC+ in baseball during June — 35% below league average and a full 18 points behind second-to-last place.

Ronald Acuña Jr.‘s eventual return will help, but there are also a couple of spots in the lineup that must be addressed — namely DH and left field.

With the expanded playoffs, the number of clubs selling at the trade deadline has shrunk considerably, but a picture of the teams that should be willing to engage in trade conversations with the Braves in a few weeks is becoming much more clear.

Braves Most Likely Trade Partners

Colorado Rockies

The Rockies may not have the sexiest pieces to sell, but sitting in last place in the NL West, they’ll be open for business at this year’s trade deadline. Over the past several seasons, the Braves have swung a couple of net positive trades with Colorado, acquiring relievers Pierce Johnson and Tyler Kinley.

San Francisco Giants

The Giants may have just handed the Braves another series loss, but they are surely heading towards selling at the trade deadline. Unlike the Rockies, they have a lot of really intriguing pieces they could make available — highlighted by starting pitchers Robbie Ray and Logan Webb.

Cincinnati Reds

After a nice start to the season, the Reds have fallen to 39-43 and are 11 games out of first place in the NL Central. They shouldn’t be considered for-sure sellers at this point, but a major turnaround is needed over the next month to avoid waving the white flag.

Los Angeles Angels

The Angels have always been an unpredictable organization, and the recent firing of their GM only adds to the unknown. They should absolutely be looking to sell at the trade deadline, but somehow they are only 6.5 games out of first place in the AL West despite sporting a 36-49 record.

Detroit Tigers

The Tigers are a team everyone will be watching over the next month because of Tarik Skubal. The two-time AL Cy Young award winner is in the final year of his contract and most expect him to be moved; however, Detroit is still hanging around in the AL Central, currently trailing the White Sox and Guardians by 9.0 games. With a strong performance in July, the league’s most prominent trade target could end up staying with the Tigers through the end of the season.

Kansas City Royals

The Royals are in a similar spot as the Tigers. They’ve massively underachieved with a 35-50 record, which should result in a fire sale of sorts. Yet they are only one winning streak away from believing they have a chance at the postseason.

Boston Red Sox

Aside from the Tigers, the Red Sox are a team all Braves fans should have a close eye on leading up to the trade deadline because of what they have to offer. Jarren Duran could fix Atlanta’s problems in left field. Sonny Gray is an intriguing rotation option, and Boston also has several relievers that will interest the entire league. If they end up selling, they’d be a perfect match with the Braves.

Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles star-studded group of prospects hasn’t panned out the way anybody imagined, as they’ve quickly become bottom feeders in the AL East again. This could be the type of trade deadline where they send out a ton of names who were originally expected to become pillars of the franchise.

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(Photo by Trinity Machan/Icon Sportswire)

Hurston Waldrep made his season debut last week after undergoing surgery to remove loose bodies in his elbow at the beginning of Spring Training. AJ Smith-Shawver has begun his rehab assignment and will make his first rehab start on Tuesday for the Augusta Green Jackets, and behind them is Spencer Schwellenbach.

There was at least some level of concern that Schwellenbach would not return this season, but he’s continued to check boxes — and according to Braves beat reporter Mark Bowman, could head to Florida in the next couple of weeks to start ramping up activities and get ready for his rehab assignment.

Schwellenbach will likely head to Florida within the next week or two. If you look at that like it’s the start of Spring Training, he could become a candidate to start in late August or early September https://t.co/s0JaVp4fXg

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) June 29, 2026

Schwellenbach returning this season still remains up in the air. With even the slightest setback, he’ll be shut down until 2027. However, things are looking much more optimistic with each passing week. He could rejoin the club and do so with enough time to prove he can be an asset for a potential postseason push.

When healthy, Spencer Schwellenbach is the best arm in the organization not named Chris Sale. He’s a legitimate frontline starter that was even viewed as a dark horse candidate for the Cy Young award before undergoing surgery on his elbow at the start of Spring Training.

That said, expectations for all these young arms returning from significant elbow injuries must be tempered. Schwellenbach has been sidelined for exactly one year, experiencing two different injuries to his throwing elbow over that time. The Braves shouldn’t be counting on him to be the guy he was in May of 2025, but it would be a scary late-season addition if he looked anything like that version.

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(Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire)

Welcome to the Morning Memory, in which we look back fondly on a treasured moment from the Bulldog past.

This morning’s installment comes to you all the way from September 22, 2007. That’s when Mark Richt and #22 Georgia went to Tuscaloosa to take on #16 Alabama and second year head coach Nick Saban. The Red and Black, keyed by Knowshon Moreno, Thomas Brown, and a high octane rushing attack jumped out to a 10-0 lead and led the Tide 20-10 with 12:15 to go in the fourth quarter.

Then things got unnecessarily and inconveniently interesting for fans of the Classic City Canines. The Crimson Tide drove down for a field goal to pull within a touchdown, and the Red and Black responded by going three and out and punting back to the Sabanites (they’re in the Bible between the Ammonites and the Hittites, look it up). The Tide then took the air out of the ball on a grinding drive that ended with quarterback John Sarah Jessica Parker Wilson of all people running it in from 6 yards out. An extra point tied it up, and a Brandon Coutu missed 47 yard field goal as time expired sent the game to overtime, and the Tuscaloosa crowd into a frenzy.

Georgia won the toss and gave Bama the ball first in the extra stanza with the Red Elephants settling for a field goal.

The Tide led 23-20. The entire crowd into Tuscaloosa and a prime time television audience of millions sat perched on the edge of their seats.The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. What would ESPN analysts Mike Patrick and Todd Blackledge have to say in this electric moment? Patrick obviously asked the question on everyone’s mind.

Poor Todd Blackledge, not the most elusive guy during his quarterbacking days, was perhaps even less so in the booth as a broadcaster. Fortunately, Matt Stafford and Mikey Henderson bailed him out before he had to provide Patrick with a definitive answer:

The Dawgs walked off the Tide 26-23. It was a singular moment in a season that contained a lot of highlights. That Georgia team would go on to dance in the endzone on the way to victory I. Jacksonville, to black out Auburn in Sanford Stadium, and to beat Hawaii so senseless in a lopsided Sugar Bowl that Thom Brenamen would worry aloud that they were hitting the Rainbow Warriors too hard.

I maintain that the 2007 Georgia Bulldogs would have won a national title if only they’d gotten the chance to play for one. No team finished the year hotter than Mark Richt’s. That would be Richt’s last victory over Saban in his tenure in Athens. But oh what a sweet one it was. Until later…

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

To say that it has been a transformational time in Athens since the hiring of Kirby Smart in December of 2015 is one of the biggest understatements that can be made.

The standard of what can be has come to Georgia football, and the Bulldogs have become college football’s standard bearer through being relentless, unyielding and aggressive. That result, of course, peaked with two back-to-back titles in a row.

That energy has, of course followed the manta of a team’s mentality been set, of course, by Kirby Smart. And part of that has come through Smart’s sound bites. Some have been public, others ‘leaked,’ from the inner sanctum. Many of them, of course, are not safe for work or a small Bulldog child’s ears.

Here’s a rating of the top ten Kirby Sound Bites. Is one of your favorites missing or ranked too low? Comment below!

The Florida Speech

Did this audio jar the conscience when it found its way online? Yes. Did it also make Bulldog fans want to run through a wall and also reinforce that Kirby Smart dislikes Georgia’s rivals as much as its fans? Also yes. And while it can never be confirmed, its hard not to consider that this speech…just before embarrassing Florida…helped encourage UF to ask Dan Mullen to seek employment elsewhere.

How Bout Them F’ing Dawgs?!

Did Kirby Smart likely have some ‘splaining to do for this press conference remark? Yes. Did it instill how much the Auburn game matters to him as a former player? Absolutely.

Post-TCU Audio

While its never been confirmed which game this came from during 2022, the audio that found its way online after the TCU domination reinforced who Georgia football was, and how driven Kirby Smart was – and the reason why the Bulldogs had just gone back-to-back as national champs.

South Carolina in 2022

This game’s first half was highly frustrating, but this halftime speech was every bit of a called shot. It summed up how confident Kirby Smart is in his team, and how that belief drives Georgia’s players.

All I Wanna Do Is Eat!

In case you wondered why Kirby Smart was successful early at Georgia, this showed why. It’s also a fun Thanksgiving reference when food is not quite ready yet.

Calling Out The Detractors After Texas Win

Georgia was counted out and had to overcome bad officiating to beat Texas two years ago. Smart tapped into that sentiment in a big way. There was no PC comment here, there was no fear to go after the TV or SEC partners. It was very much a ‘we’re not taking this’ moment.

Mizzou Hot Mic

A hard lesson this day to SEC officials – don’t stand too close to Kirby Smart with a microphone on.

National Title Post Game

In short, this ripped the cover off when it came to what a national title meant. To quote Lewis Grizzard, “it meant that much.”

Overheard…

If you have afternoon classes near South campus, odds are good you may hear some high-quality gems..

“I believe in you.”

Nothing quite says being driven like “I believe in you” before a second-half domination

Go Dawgs!

It was an Okie St. Cowboy-turned-Oregon Duck that hoisted the trophy Sunday evening, but we still had Bulldog representation sprinkled across the Long Island leaderboard.

Yes, Wyndham Clark held onto the lead and held off LSU Tiger Sam Burns to claim the third major of 2026. It was really an opening 64 in blustery conditions that won him the title, but it was validated by great recovery shots, sick scrambling, and a pretty hot putter to complete the wire-to-wire win.

In tough but fair conditions, only 6 players finished at even par or better. Many big names didn’t make the cut including Bryson Dechambeau, Viktor Hovland, Adam Scott, Brooks Koepka, and defending champ JJ Spaun. Unfortunately that claimed the weekends of former Bulldogs. With the cut line of +4 (144), Harris English missed it by one; Sepp Straka by 3; Chris Kirk by 5, and Davis Thompson by 6. It also quenched young dreams of amateurs and future Bulldogs Mason Howell (+8) and Hamilton Coleman (+11).

Somehow I missed Coleman’s Open qualification, but he won the 2025 US Junior Amateur last summer which gained him an invitation. Coleman is an Augusta native, playing for Lakeside-Evans and capturing the State 6A title in 2024 as a sophomore. His golf game and Sigma Nu pledge class worthy name will serve him well in Athens.

Now for the former ‘Dawgs who were in the top 72 and did play the weekend at the 126th US Open at Shinnecock.

Russell Henley was top 20 after an opening even par 70, and started the weekend at +3 with a chance to make a move. A third round 80 derailed that, and a closing 71 gave him a T65 finish.

Brian Harman was first page of the leaderboard Friday morning and borderline Friday night. But weekend rounds of 73-73 never let him gain ground and he ties for 32nd.

But Keith Mitchell gave us a Cashmere Keith Experience for the ages.

That was Mitchell’s Thursday opening round. Even par 70? That’s not the interesting part. He doubled his first hole of the tournament en route to a 41 for 9 holes. +6 after 9 probably shoots you out of contention. But Keith is a ‘Dawg, so he comes back and shoots 29 for his inward nine and a total of 70 that makes you look meme-worthy. He is the first player in US Open history to shoot a 9 hole score in the 40’s and a 9 hole score in the 20’s in a single round. History made.

It was obvious he didn’t have his “A” game, but it was also obvious he could golf his ball around and get it in the hole. The final 3 rounds he proceeds to shoot 70-70-70 for a total of 280. Even par for the tournament, and even par in every single round. Also the first player to accomplish that in a US Open. It was good for a tie for 4th place, $920,882 dollars, and invite to the 2027 Masters and US Open.

It might not go down as one of the most exciting US Opens, but it was played in a truly great venue, it constantly humbled the best players in the world, and we had plenty of Red and Black to keep an eye on. I hope you had as good of a Father’s Day as I did, and as always…

GO ‘DAWGS!!!

I’m a simple man. I like to start my day with a good cup of coffee. Maybe a nice stack of pancakes. And a video of the Florida Gators getting beaten like a set of bongos.

1997 came squarely in the middle of a long stretch of utter torment for Bulldog fans in Jacksonville.It’s difficult to explain if you weren’t there for it, but the best summation I can give is that the Georgia/Florida game was the most important contest of the season for a fanbase that had no illusions of their chances of playing for a national title. A

And we lost it every year. Sometimes by a little, often by a lot. But when the Bulldogs arrived in Jacksonville on November 1, 1997 they had dropped seven in a row to the Gators. The Gators had won 52-14, 52-17 and 47-7 in the previous three meetings. While the Dawgs entered ranked #14 in the country under second year head coach Jim Donnan, there was little reason to expect they’d offer much resistance to the defending national champion Gators.

But that’s why they actually play the games:

Robert Edwards ground out 124 yards on the ground and tied a school record with four rushing touchdowns. Junior safety Kirby Smart picked off two passes as the Florida offense looked out of sorts most of the day. Steve Spurrier, always quick with the hook for his quarterbacks, tried three of them on the afternoon. But neither starter Doug Johnson nor backups Noah Brindise or Jessie Palmer could do much of anything to crack the Red and Black D.

The result was a 37-17 victory that would go down as arguably the high point of the Donnan era in Athens. It was also Steve Spurrier’s only loss to the Athenians during his twelve seasons as the coach at his alma mater. I wish the ‘Dawgs could have beaten that smug so-and-so a few more times. But I do take some joy from remembering how sad he was on that day in 1997. Again, it’s the simple things in life.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

Maestro, the music:

Welcome to Free Form Friday, a laissez faire lounge for your college football-free weekends from here to the start of the season. It’s the place for you to talk with your fellow readers about anything or nothing at all, though I usually try to offer at least one potential topic. Sometimes it’s college sports related. Sometimes it’s not. Today’s isn’t even college sports adjacent.

My question for you is this: tell us about your first car. Mine was a 1982 Chevy pickup I inherited from my grandfather. It was painted a very demure metal fleck silver, and had an eight foot bed suitable for hauling camping gear, lumber, and eventually helping friends move in exchange for pizza and beer. It had a top speed of about 58 miles per hour, at which point the front end and the back end would lose communication entirely like two old spinsters who had a falling out over a spice cake recipe and haven’t spoken to each other since the Carter administration.

Its two moments of crowning glory were:

• The time a brahma bull charged it, lifting the driver side wheels off the ground but otherwise leaving the occupants unhurt.
• The time an Atlantan in a hurry to pick up his fiancé from the airport rearended it outside Macon. Again, no one inside the Chevy was injured, but the boyfriend’s Honda Accord, deployed airbags and all, was borderline unrecognizable. When last I saw its owner he was on the way to the I-16 Huddle House in Bleckley County with the tow truck driver, hoping to salvage his relationship if not his car. This earned the truck the nickname “The Tank.”

We’d love to hear about your first set of wheels, whether super cool or grossly unreliable (or both). Or feel free to talk amongst yourselves about any other subject that tunes your Stratocaster. Until later…

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

We begin our rundown of every position group on the 2026 Georgia Bulldogs roster with a group that returns both a ton of production and yet a few questions as well.

There are plenty of position groups to get excited about for the Georgia Bulldogs heading into the 2026 college football season.  Offensively, one of the rooms most loaded with talent is the running backs room.  Featuring a nice blend of veterans, transfers, and young newcomers, the running game will once again be heavily relied upon on offense.

Let’s take a look at the cast of RBs that will be performing for Georgia on Saturdays this fall.

Nate Frazier

The alpha of the running backs room, Nate Frazier returns to Athens having flirted with the transfer portal this offseason.  During his time at Georgia, Frazier has amassed 1618 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground.  Most notably, having dealt with fumbling issues as a freshman and the beginning of the 2025 season, Frazier looks to have moved past those issues, carrying the football more securely and taking a leap in the second half of the 2025 season.

An ankle injury limited Frazier to just one carry on G-Day, though he should be ready to start for the Dawgs in the opening game.

Chauncey Bowens

Having played sparingly as a freshman, Chauncey Bowens showed that he is a very capable 1B to Frazier’s 1A.  Bowens ran for 526 yards on 103 carries in 2025, starting some games over Frazier when Frazier was dealing with his ball security issues.

Bowens looked sharp at G-Day, running for 42 yards on 9 carries as he carves out a substantial role in the running game for the Dawgs in 2026.

Dwight Phillips Jr.

Phillips Jr. is a burner on the ground, and he adds a nice change of pace to the RB room and can easily take an end around to the house.

Phillips will look to build off of his 210 yard season from 2025, and he should also be a threat catching the ball out of the backfield.

Bo Walker

Walker burst onto the scene late during his freshman season, highlighted by his three touchdown day against Charlotte.

The powerful back will look to carve out an even bigger role in 2026, albeit likely still in a reserve role.

Jae Lamar

Lamar arrives to Athens as a four star prospect and the #16 RB recruit in the 2026 class.  He got his first action in the G-Day game, carrying the ball six times for 26 yards.

Kirby Smart is not afraid to give playing time to talented freshmen, and it’ll be fascinating to see what Lamar’s playing time looks like in 2026.

Dante Dowdell

Georgia is the fourth stop for Dowdell during his college football career, having previously attended Kentucky, Nebraska, and Oregon.

Dowdell ran for 560 yards at Kentucky as a junior and 614 as a sophomore at Nebraska.  The senior provides needed experience and depth to the RB, filling the void the departing Josh McCray left.

The draft fell the way most predicted months ago. The big four of AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, and Caleb Wilson went with the top four picks — and then the four star freshman point guards followed. The Hawks simply took the one that fell to them, but they got a guy who should be able to step in from day one and start at a position that plagued them following the mid-season trade of Trae Young.

Flemings might not be an elite level passer like Young was coming out of college, but he is a true floor general that stays within himself and limits his turnovers.

Where fans will notice a significant improvement is on the other side of the ball. You don’t start for Kelvin Sampson’s Houston Cougars without being a willing defender. Flemings’ defense is his biggest strength coming out of college. His measurements were a little shorter than expected at the NBA Combine — standing a hair under 6-foot-3 with a similar wingspan — but his college tape doesn’t show that. Flemings was a menace on that end of the floor, helped by his strong frame and athleticism.

When discussing weaknesses, one will immediately notice his shooting stroke. It’s not as smooth as some of the other point guards that will be selected in the lottery, but it didn’t seem to matter in college, as he shot nearly 39% from three and 85% from the free throw line.

That shooting stroke and his ability to continue to develop his overall game offensively will ultimately determine Flemings’ ceiling. He doesn’t necessarily look like he’s going to translate into an All-Star caliber guard at the next level, but some of that also can be attributed to the system Sampson likes to run at Houston.

But of all the point guards selected after the fourth pick, Flemings might have the highest floor. He’s the definition of a coachable and winning player — the type of selfless point guard that Hawks fans will become fond of very quickly.

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The #Falcons and star TE Kyle Pitts have agreed to terms on a 3-year, $54M contract.

Pitts will not play on the $15M franchise tag and instead receives $36M fully guaranteed over the next two seasons. The deal was negotiated by David Mulugheta of @AthletesFirst and Andre Odom. pic.twitter.com/s6Yf7siLX4

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 23, 2026

The deal comes with $36 million guaranteed, which essentially makes this more like a two-year deal with a reasonable out if Pitts doesn’t live up to expectations, something that was a common occurrence throughout his rookie contract.

However, Pitts is coming off by far his best campaign since his first year, setting career-highs in catches with 88 and touchdowns with five, finishing just shy of the 1,000 yard mark while appearing in all 17 games.

By AAV, this makes Kyle Pitts the third-highest paid tight end in the league, behind only George Kittle and Trey McBride — a resounding signal of confidence from the organization that they do not believe last season was a fluke. Moreover, the Falcons are essentially saying his struggles from 2022-2024 were more the result of poor quarterback play and a lingering knee injury that he finally looked to have recovered from this past season.

In three straight offseasons, the Falcons had top 10 picks that they spent on three straight skill position players — Kyle Pitts, Drake London, and Bijan Robinson. They have not yet returned to the playoffs since, but while it may have been a different regime that picked them, the new regime seems to have plenty of confidence in the trio.

Drake London already received a massive contract extension earlier this offseason. Kyle Pitts now joins him as one of the highest paid players at his position, and next up is undoubtedly Bijan Robinson, who will eventually reset the market at running back.

That’s a lot of money to spend on skill players. Much like it was a lot of draft capital a few years ago. We’ll see if it pans out better this time around.

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So, it should come as no surprise that when former GM Jim Bowden asked all 30 front offices their club’s biggest need leading up to the deadline, the Braves responded with another starting pitcher and bat.

“The recent Spencer Strider injury news has pushed the Braves’ need for starting pitching to the front of the line, with another hitter being a secondary need,” Bowden wrote for The Athletic. “In terms of a bat, left field or shortstop are likely their two target areas.”

I would argue the biggest problem area for the Braves is by far the rotation. Bryce Elder and Grant Holmes have really fallen off as the season has waned, Spencer Strider is likely done for the year after suffering yet another elbow injury, and JR Ritchie is a rookie that hasn’t quite proven he’s ready to be a permanent member of the rotation. The Braves’ rotation is essentially Chris Sale and pray. Although, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the wonderful resurgent campaign Martin Perez is putting together.

There is some hope for improvement with Hurston Waldrep and potentially others returning, but that’s still not enough. Adding another legitimate frontline arm feels non-negotiable at this point.

Another bat is certainly a need, but it’s not nearly as pressing as the rotation. Ronald Acuña Jr. returning will essentially kill two birds with one stone. He’ll massively improve the offensive production the Braves are currently getting in right field, and Mauricio Dubon kicking back to shortstop will do the same there.

That said, it still leaves two positions where Atlanta can upgrade — left field and DH. Mike Yastrzemski has just not been consistent enough. He’s fine as a depth piece, but he cannot be an everyday starter. The DH spot has also become a black hole with Dominic Smith, who’s really struggled since his magnificent start to the season. A strong case could be made he should be removed from the lineup completely if the Braves are serious about winning the World Series.

The good news is finding a slugging DH/outfielder generally isn’t that difficult. The Braves found four of them during the 2021 deadline, and they didn’t have to give up a single worthwhile prospect to do so.

Alex Anthopoulos should prepare to dole out top prospects for a frontline starting pitcher. The other issue can likely be fixed with a couple of under the radar additions that come with high upside.

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JR Ritchie is heading back to Gwinnett after another rough start, allowing five runs over five innings. In his place, reliever Tyler Kinley has been activated from the IL. Additionally, Carlos Carrasco has been designated for assignment for about the millionth time, with Ian Hamilton joining the active roster.

The #Braves today reinstated RHP Tyler Kinley from the injured list after optioning RHP JR Ritchie to Triple-A Gwinnett. The club also selected RHP Ian Hamilton to the major league roster and designated RHP Carlos Carrasco for assignment.

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 24, 2026

Ritchie is eventually going to be a staple of the Braves rotation, but that day is not today. He’s really struggled with walks this season, not just in Atlanta but with Gwinnett as well. No pitcher, especially one without premier strikeout stuff, is going to have much success at the major-league level when giving up that many free passes.

Getting Tyler Kinley back is certainly a breath of fresh air for a bullpen that seems to be running out of gas. Walt Weiss said yesterday that more than half of the club’s relief arms were unavailable, including Robert Suarez, who is dealing with forearm soreness.

As far as Carrasco, you know the drill. He pitches, gets designated for assignment, clears waivers, then rejoins the active roster until he has to make his next appearance. Rinse and repeat. I don’t expect anything different this time around.

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“The Braves’ right-handed pitcher is scheduled to begin his rehab assignment Thursday at the team’s spring training facility,” Bishop wrote. “Smith-Shawver will pitch two innings of a simulated game and throw between 35 to 40 pitches.”

This news really could not come at a better time. The Braves rotation, while they wholly overachieved over the first two months, has completely unraveled in June. Bryce Elder and Grant Holmes have severely regressed. Spencer Strider is likely out for the season after suffering yet another elbow injury, and JR Ritchie doesn’t look quite ready for the majors yet. This team desperately needs an influx of talent when it comes to their starting pitchers, and the hope is that Hurston Waldrep along with Smith-Shawver can alleviate at least some of the concerns.

Waldrep is already up to 71 pitches. His next time out he’ll likely aim for 80-85 pitches. At that point, the Braves might decide to call him up. Hell, they could do it right now if they think Waldrep could effectively get guys out with the way the rest of the rotation has performed.

Smith-Shawver is a few weeks behind Waldrep, and I would expect him to take a similar route as he works his way back. He’ll throw around 40 pitches this week, then work his way up to around 50 next week, followed by 60-70 and so on. Within the next month, it’s possible the Braves rotation features both Waldrep and Smith-Shawver.

That’s exciting given their upside, but it’s important to temper expectations. These are still young, relatively unproven arms that are working their way back from major injuries. Anything they can provide the club should be viewed as a bonus, even if the Braves desperately need at least one of them to step up and become an impact starter.

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But like most chatter leading up to the draft, it was all smoke. The Hawks stood pat and took Houston PG Kingston Flemings with the 8th pick and then selected St. Johns PF/C Zuby Ejiofor in the back half of the first round — both guys that could find themselves contributing immediately on a team with aspirations of seriously competing in the Eastern Conference.

Barring another significant acquisition, Flemings will almost certainly step in and become the Hawks’ starting point guard. Atlanta really doesn’t have another option on the roster, and even if they did, it’s unlikely he’d come with as much talent and upside as the former Houston Cougar.

Flemings’ calling cards are his defense and quickness. He compares himself to the likes of De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Maxey, while others believe he’s reminiscent of former NBA MVP Derrick Rose. His first step to the rim is almost impossible to guard one-on-one and his strength and athleticism give him the ability to finish in a multitude of ways around the rim.

However, what might be most impressive about his offensive game is his patience. Flemings was a freshman playing in the ultra-competitive Big 12 Conference, but you’d be hard-pressed to find many moments where he was out of control. He’s a true floor general that lets the game come to him, turning the ball over less than two times per game.

Defensively, Flemings and Dyson Daniels have the opportunity to become one of the most menacing duos in the NBA. You don’t start under Kelvin Sampson as a freshman unless you’re prepared to give max effort on the defensive end for the full 40 minutes. Flemings has the will, quickness, and strength to immediately become a nightmare for opposing guards from the moment he steps on an NBA floor.

Ejiofor — though in a different body type, standing 6-foot-8 and weighing 240 pounds — is cut from the same cloth. There might not be a player across college basketball that played harder than he did when he was on the floor, featuring active hands on the defensive end that paired with a terrific ability to defend the rim.

It’s hard for me to avoid Draymond Green comparisons when watching Ejiofor — both undersized from a height perspective but can defend much bigger because of their weight, strength, and overall relentless pressure. But the comparisons don’t stop on the defensive end. Ejiofor is an unbelievable passer for a player his size, averaging 3.5 assists per game this past season in just 30 minutes, and like Green, he doesn’t quite have a reliable jump shot… yet.

That’s something I’m sure the Hawks will get straight to work with him on once he enters the building. Ejiofor shot just over 30% from beyond the arc as a senior on 1.6 attempts per game. He doesn’t ever have to be a sniper from deep, but if he can at least keep defenses honest, it will take his game to the next level. I don’t think it’s a secret why the Hawks might have been higher on him than most, given Onsi Saleh spent a lot of time with Golden State watching the impact Draymond Green had on the Warriors.

The Hawks’ first-round picks share some similar traits, but the one that pops off the page is their effort — a willingness to do whatever it takes to win. These are culture-building selections that also have the talent to immediately contribute to what the Hawks are building.

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Suarez will play catch today to see how he’s feeling, but the alarm bells are understandably ringing loudly for a fan base that has watched star player after star player land on the Injured List.

Robert Suarez is dealing with right forearm soreness. He was unavailable tonight. He will play catch tomorrow to get a feel for when he might be available again

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) June 24, 2026

An argument could be made that Robert Suarez has been among the top five most valuable Braves this season — pretty rare for a reliever that is not the primary closer. In 31 appearances, he’s surrendered just two runs — good for a 0.56 ERA. Nearly every time he’s toed the rubber, the Braves have gone on to win the game.

Losing him for any amount of time would be detrimental for a club that’s already in a massive downswing. The Braves have lost three in a row and nine of their last twelve. Their once double-digit lead in the NL East is down to just 5.5 games with more than three months to play, and even more concerning, holes on the roster are beginning to show everywhere.

The one place that’s been consistently fantastic has been the bullpen, but that might not be the case for too much longer. It’s very apparent that first-year manager Walt Weiss overworked these guys early in the season. Seemingly on a nightly basis, several guys are unavailable. That’s not how it’s supposed to be in June, and it’s another significant concern moving forward.

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Rowdy Tellez got the club on the board with a two-run single in the second inning. Michael Harris II added on with a double — one of his three hits on the night — and Matt Olson brought in a fourth run with a walk before the Padres finally found their way to the dugout.

But it didn’t take long for that lead to evaporate with rookie JR Ritchie on the mound, who continues to prove he might not quite be ready for a permanent role in a major-league rotation. The reasoning for that, like so many young pitchers before him, is control.

Ritchie can’t throw strikes, even with a four-run lead. Two one-out walks got the Padres feeling like they could get back in the game, and in the blink of an eye, they found themselves with the lead following four straight hits.

The promising aspect of Ritchie’s outing is that he settled down, making it through five innings without allowing a single run. There’s never been much concern about the mental side of the game for the 22-year-old, but it seems there’s always one inning where everything unravels.

In the process, the Braves retook the lead, courtesy of a home run from Mauricio Dubon. Unfortunately, they couldn’t hold it.

For whatever reason, Walt Weiss turned to Carlos Carrasco for multiple innings in a one-run game. The first frame was fine, as Carrasco set the Padres down in order. But Weiss should have learned not to push his luck the last time he tried this, as Fernando Tatis Jr. led off the seventh inning with a solo home run.

Eventually, the game worked its way to extras, where the dismal bottom of the Braves lineup couldn’t muster anything — a primary storyline of this recent rough stretch. In the bottom half, Manny Machado walked it off with a single to center on the first pitch, sending the Braves home losers for a third consecutive night and the ninth time in their last twelve games.

Atlanta’s NL East lead is now down to 5.5 games, and after a first two months where it seemed nothing could go wrong, the script has completely flipped in June — marked most notably by a rotation that has completely imploded. JR Ritchie is being asked to do something he shouldn’t have to this early in his career. Hopefully, Hurston Waldrep‘s return can allow him to continue working on his craft in the minors.

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Pitts was arguably the second best tight end in the sport in 2025. He stayed healthy, playing in all 17 games, catching a career-high 88 balls with five touchdowns and finishing just shy of 1,000 yards receiving on his way to second-team All-Pro honors. It might have been the best season of his entire career, even above his rookie campaign when he eclipsed 1,000 yards and set the Falcons franchise rookie record for receiving.

But we can’t base things solely off one season. For the most part, Kyle Pitts has been a massive disappointment. He was touted as a unicorn prospect in a loaded draft class that saw a plethora of perennial All-Pros drafted right behind him. Pitts was supposed to be chasing tight end receiving records, not happy about finishing a campaign with 928 yards, most of which came without Drake London on the field.

From 2022-2024, Pitts never caught for more than 667 yards in a season and eclipsed 50 catches just once. He was an average tight end at best, but some context has to be added.

Pitts suffered a knee injury during the 2022 campaign, and it was something that clearly hampered him in the seasons that followed. Last year was the first time he looked fully healthy since his rookie year. Additionally, the quarterback play in Atlanta has been abysmal. It’s hard to have much success as a second option when the organization has been playing musical chairs under center from the moment he was drafted.

With this deal, the Falcons are saying they believe Kyle Pitts can be a true #2 receiving threat, and that the circumstances prior to last season were more responsible for his struggles than his talent itself.

That’s probably a more than fair assessment, but not something the Falcons should be taking a $50+ million gamble on.

But that’s the thing… they aren’t.

NFL contracts are all about how they are structured, and this extension is essentially for one year. Only $36 million of the deal is guaranteed, and the Falcons were already on the hook for about $16 million this season if Pitts played under the franchise tag. Atlanta was going to pay that regardless, and they are now essentially guaranteeing one extra year with an easy out in the third year if Pitts doesn’t live up to expectations.

When put that way, it is a lot more palatable. And it’s important to remember — Kyle Pitts was among the youngest players in his draft class. Despite the fact he’s played five NFL seasons, he’ll only be 26 years old next season. A strong argument could be made that Pitts’ best football is in front of him. That’s what the Falcons are banking on with this vote of confidence.

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Farmer has caught 19 games in his career, most of which came in 2019. Not exactly a savant behind the plate, but an option nonetheless in emergency situations.

Bowman added an update on Sean Murphy. Walt Weiss said that he is still more than a month away from returning from the broken middle finger he suffered a little over a month ago.

Walt Weiss said Sean Murphy is likely more than a month from returning. Getting Kyle Farmer reacquainted with the catching position will provide the luxury of having a third catcher in case there’s a late-inning need to hit for Joey Bart or run for Drake Baldwin.

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) June 24, 2026

The Braves have tried out a number of catchers in the wake of injuries to Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy. Chadwick Tromp and Sandy Leon provided absolutely nothing offensively, which led to the acquisition of Joey Bart. Bart is at least competent enough to handle the backup duties over the next month or so, but the Braves could really use their catching tandem at full strength coming down the stretch.

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The special and amazing ride ended for the Diamond Dawgs in the College World Series on Wednesday night in Omaha, Neb., as Georgia’s fortunes ran out of gas in an 11-4 loss to Oklahoma. The Sooners now advance to face North Carolina in the CWS Championship Series.

Thus ends a magical season for Georgia, one in which records were set for wins and homers as Foley Field became an even more special place that it is by default given that it exists within Athens, Ga. during the springtime.

For the first time since 2008, Georgia found itself in college baseball’s holy land. In perhaps a cruel twist of irony, the Bulldogs, who had a 53-win season, were done in on Wednesday by the very thing that helped define them this season. Georgia may have won the SEC regular-season and tournament title. But the Sooners, who lost multiple SEC weekend series and lasted one game in the SEC Tournament, kept up a postseason hot streak at Georgia’s expense, smacking five homers against Georgia pitching on Wednesday.

Such is the cruel mistress of the College World Series. Sometimes, the team that steamrolls in comes up short to a team that catches fire at the right time – a truth Georgia knows well on both sides from its CWS history.

Speaking of homers – the long ball, something that powered Georgia all season long, apparently got lost somewhere over the flyover states on the way to Omaha, as the Dawgs had to scrape and scrounge for runs in Omaha, something that makes the fact of getting two wins there over Texas impressive. A load of credit, obviously goes to Georgia’s pitchers.