Mike Bobo makes it clear where the UGA offense can get even better | DawgNation at Large

The Cold Open hey everybody it's uh director Cody usually I'm in the control room but I'm in the studio today because it's a special thing I've done all this decorating because it is a special day on dog Nation at large it is Kaylee manel's birthday and we have everything set for a surprise party for her in the studio at dog Nation headquarters I cannot wait to see how she reacts when she walks in and sees what we have done with the place Cody I uh I have some really bad news for you um you did a great job setting up the set but Kaylee uh is not coming into work today uh I guess you know it's a genz thing where you take your PTO on your birthday so that you don't have to work you know be an adult grow up things like that nature and I guess you know she just didn't want to be around us uh and film another wonderful episode of dog Nation at large on her birthday after all this Kaylee Manel I see how you did me Kaylee and I will not forget this so I guess Connor I will have to host here on dog Nation at large let's get it started it's the show for the new breed of Georgia Bulldog fan this is dog Nation at large with dog Nation insiders Connor Riley and Kaylee Manel and as you heard Kaye Manel apparently not coming in to celebrate celebrate her birthday with us today we will keep the decorations up in her honor anyway Cody Chaffin filling in for her will'll be joined by Connor Riley in just a minute and we still have a great show planned for you a lot happening as Georgia and Clemson nears for us we had some big news today let's take a look at the rundown for today Mike Bobo spoke to the media in a rare occurrence and we will have Bobo's breakdown of the offense and a little bit of news that he shared today we will have that for you on the show coming up later on in our dog by segment Connor Riley will share what he's seen he's been out at Georgia football practice he'll tell you what he's seen and which players are turning head so you don't want to miss that and at the end of the show we'll do a little Capture the Flag we'll explain all that as we get closer on but as we bring in our co-host Connor Riley Connor you got a big day today you got to sit in and listen to Mike Bobo how special was that yeah you know uh next time we see Mike uh all my friends will have come home for Christmas uh maybe get the chance to see him at the bull site there it's always a big day when you get to hear from the Georgia offensive coordinator sort of outlining what this season's going to look like obviously a lot of talk about quarterback Carson Beck we'll get into that here but a little bit of news off the top here uh Jared Wilson we mentioned this in our practice report on Tuesday dealing with a little bit of an injury here Cody This Guy's super important to what Georgia wants to do Jared Wilson injured they're not as deep at this Center position without him and it's a guy that Georgia has to have out there if this offense this year is going to reach its ceiling when you talk about Jared Wilson I mean obviously he's filling in for Cedric vanran who did such a great job last year but what is the drop off between going from Jared Wilson to Drew Bobo is it is it a big fear here or do we think this is something he'll be back for I think that this is a minor injury and something he is still expected to play in the season opener but for a guy who only played I think 113 total snaps last season and as you mentioned has to step in for Cedric van and Granger at that Center position every rep matters uh and not having the chance to be the leader to be the guy in the center of the offensive line uh is something to monitor going forward and behind him look that's a major concern that depth at the center position where you know a year ago yes you have Cedric but even they felt really good about what they had in a backup there in Jared Wilson Drew bbo is the second team Center but I think if they're playing Clemson tomorrow you'd see a lot of tapate legit Center there he's never played center in a game before he it's something he's working to add to his repertoire but the fact that they're willing to move potentially an All-American guard down to Center I think speaks to how shallow that position is in terms of depth and how important Jared W hate R snapping is something we saw in the spring I had a great shot of him on gday snapping balls and it just looks so strange to see him do that and he said it's much harder than it looks the playing Center is not an easy position it's it's not as easy just to slide or even if you know what he's doing you got to make calls there's a lot to it as a former Center myself and look we we'll try to keep the high school offensive line talk to a minimum it's really difficult to learn how to play that Center position and then also adjust to the speed of it all when you've never done it before you mentioned the making the calls making sure you get the snap right making sure you get off to your box communicating with not just the guys playing next to you but the entire offensive line iding the mic it's a lot of responsibility and with Jared Wilson they been grooming him and having him prep for that for the last three seasons Tate this was something that they walked in with him in in the spring and now with Jared Wilson battling a little bit of an injury they're going to have to rely a lot more on Tate as they sort of scrimmage and continue to push themselves to fall camp center death now becomes I think a much bigger talking point moving forward because of this Jared Wilson injury while Miner and not expected to impact his availability for the Clemson game it is something to watch as we enter the season here yeah something to talk about that is probably the headline coming out of Mike bobos but I thought this could have been a headline listen to what I think if you wanted to be clickbait this was the headline you know right now in my mind and those players Minds we got a lot to work on every day there's nothing we do well Georgia offensive coordinator says Mike Bobo provides update on offense there's nothing his team does well it's dooming Gloom Connor I hate to burst your bubble again or pop your balloon rather uh they're always like this this time of year uh I I think a big thing and Mike talked about this they have not yet figured out what their identity is and they're not going to at this point you know it's it's day seven day eight of fall Camp there they've got a lot of work still to be done even before you start getting into the Clemson game and so a lot of this in terms of figuring out what this offense does like yeah it's great to have ideas and Georgia does have a ton of them and they do have a good idea I think of what talent they bring back with Carson backck with the guys they have in the outside with that Talent on the offensive line but there's no Brock Bowers there's no lad makoni going to ask Carson Beck I think to do a little bit more this season and so with that this offense is going to look different it looks different year to year I think that's why so many people love the college game and the change and the turnover that exists with it and so for Mike Boba right now as you hear him outline there yeah they've got some challenges that they've got to work through and and figure out okay what is it that we do best and sure going against the Georgia defense is going to help them come to season but that's not making it any easier to find what their real identity is and what of the things that they do want to add to this offense building off what they were able to do a season ago all right so if that's my fake news headline let's get to the real stuff now Carson Beck what does he look like how has he changed Mike Bobo was asked about that let's hear what he had to say I think he has great composure uh but also he you know the his position uh and his job is enhance the play of others you know he's going in his second year you know last year was a first year starter we're trying to get him off uh on solid ground you know as the season went on and gained confidence confidence confidence and he has he has confidence there's things he's got to work on but he's a confident young man he's out and steal that confidence in the players that are around him uh you know and it could be about you know it could be a word to them it could be put their arm around them uh you know just you know knowing the impact that he has old guys because you know these young guys that are coming in are first guy that walks on that field for the first time they're looking at a guy car Beck that has done it uh done it in SEC games done it on a big stage and they're going to look for him to how to act and how to respond and he what he says and what he does uh goes a long way and Bill belief in our football team yeah it was the phrase that I wrote down after watching this press conference enhance the play of others and that really to me is what year one to year two can be for Carson Beck and how it can be different it's hard to con conceptualize all this but this time a year ago we didn't know that Carson Beck was officially going to be the starting quarterback we had a good idea and knew that he was ahead on the depth chart but it was not a slam dunk that he was going to go out there and be the guy and so for him to go through the season that he had last year and show just a basic level of Competency I I think does so much for what this Georgia offense can at least try to do going into this season yes they have some key pieces to replace but having a quarterback like Carson B come back raises your floor in terms of what you're going to be able to do and obviously makes it easier to reach your final ceiling I think one of the things that they really touched on and one of the things they've really stressed look Carson does a great job of attacking the intermediate parts of the field this Georgia offense they do a great job of moving guys around and creating mismatches underneath but they know that this offense to be the best version of itself they have to hit on more explosive plays Alabama really did a great job of taking that away from them last year and that's the big reason why I think that part of the reason why at least they lost that game at the end of the season and so if they're able to create more explosive plays and more specifically take more deep shots down the field two guys like Aran Smith two guys like Dylan Bell those are the types of plays and players that I think Carson Beck is going to be able to elevate and thus raise the rest of the Georgia offense with him and the other big question around Carson Beck this off season was what can he do better well he can do better leadership wise and everything we heard from Mike Bobo talking about the leadership whether it's him standing up in a meeting if you want to watch the entire Mike Bobo press conference by the way check it out on our dog Nation YouTube page but one some of the other things talked about it taking command of the room and telling the guys you know be ready to play against Clemson I didn't do this when I was a backup but you need to be ready to be the starter all of those leadership qualities seem to be coming through and everything I heard from Mike Bobo today and kind of went into detail a lot of times those guys just kind of gloss over he had very specific examples which I appreciate and it it sounds like Carson Beck's doing all the things behind closed doors that he's supposed to be doing right you hear him talk about how Carson is standing up and writing things down at the Whiteboard at the front of the room in practice when he completes a deep ball he's looking over either to Mike Bobo or offensive analyst mon gy van Gord looking for reassurance that hey like that's what I'm supposed to be doing and it's supposed to look like that where I am taking a few more chances and pushing the football down the field there you know again well yes Carson this is year five for him at the University of Georgia he's still a young quarterback at least in terms of maturation and even in terms of games played with only 14 career starts it's important to recognize for as great as expectations are for Carson Beck he still got room to get better and I think that's why potentially being a Heisman Trophy favorite being a guy could potentially lead Georgia to a national championship that's all on the plate because in coaching so often you hear about the improvements made from game one to game two that's when players make their biggest leaps I wonder what it looks like when you have a full offseason is the starter what that leap looks like where okay I know what I can do at a base level let's see how much I can really push myself and push this Georgia offense I think back to 21 to 22 with ston Bennett in a year going you know it's 21 he he's always looking over his shoulder 22 you know Kirby Smart comes out he's our quarterback there's competition to every spot but he's our quarterback it's the same kind of way for Carson Beck and ston Bennett going into 22 he came out with a St quavius you know he just had a different Swagger he always had confidence but he had a different Swagger and was able to kind of like you said lift other guys up because he was he's not afraid to jump down somebody's throat even if that guy's been starting for three years right Stetson I think was an emotional player where you know he rides the highs and the lows whereas I think one of the things about Carson that he has consistently earned praise for is his ability to be even Keel to be level when something goes well he's not all that thrilled about it when something goes poorly he's not all that down about it I think it makes it easier to be consistent on a Down by down basis when you do have that kind of attitude and yes it is easy to get down over the course of the games just like it's okay to celebrate when you make a big play but I think his composure is one of his biggest and most important traits in a story I wrote for dog nation.com Mike bubo knows that from a composure standpoint when the bullets are firing when the weather is hot Carson Beck's gonna be able to stand in there and make the throws and I think lead this team in the way that it needs to be led they're going to ask him I think to be the best overall player on the team this year and as you mentioned heavy is the head that wears the crown or at least helmet that wears the crown uh Carson Beck is going to be the guy that is doing that for this Georgia team and it's a big responsibility but I think Mike Bobo feels this way I know Kirby Smart feels this way they feel confident that he can do that and Lead this team in the direction it needs to one of the things I always think is really interesting in these press conferences when somebody can ask an open-ended question and then you see where the coach wants to go right not asking him specifically hey tell me about this how about just where Carson can get better on the field and Mike Bobo for the second time picked something out let's listen to Mike Bobo and then we can kind of talk about that right after one area you know that we address in the spring and at the beginning of fall Camp is you know the Deep ball you know and not necessarily the Deep ball doesn't NE necessar always need to be perfectly to the ball when you hit the guy at Stride sometimes we what be that way as a quarterback uh but it's a lot just giving the guy a chance you know not throwing the ball so far we don't have a chance or throwing it out back give the guy a chance to make a play uh and he's done a better job of that and you know every every time we completed deep ball it's you know he's looking at me or looking at coach Gumby cuz he knows that's what he's focused on giving those guys a chance so this morning on dog Nation daily we played a sound bite from the Orange Bowl where Mike Boba the last time we got to hear from Mike Boba and somebody asked him you know second year Carson Beck I think it it was you actually Conor who asked him second your Carson Beck what do you want to see better and he brought it up on his own Mike Bobo talking about the Deep ball same thing today what can Carson Beck do better on the field no it wasn't nobody asked him about the Deep ball he brought it up so it is definitely on Mike Bobo's mind it's definitely something they are working on it was really interesting to hear you know it's okay to just kind of let a guy make a play and I think that's something that comes with second-year confidence as well being able to just lay it up there right I think back to that game against Alabama where okay so one score games in Mercedes-Benz Stadium each of the last two seasons for Georgia the Bulldogs win against Ohio State 4241 in that Ohio State game uh ston Bennett hits a big touchdown pass to Aran Smith Aran Smith was wide open but ston put it there where he just had to go make the play and walk in in that game against Alabama Carson did hit Aran Smith on a big touchdown or on a long pass there but that didn't go for a touchdown and that drive I believe didn't end up resulting in a touchdown there Georgia had to settle for a field goal and it was a game that they lost by three points so those four points could have been huge and I think that's maybe the thing that Mike Bobo is trying to illustrate there when talking about the Deep ball and deep passing like it doesn't have to be perfect and I I think so much of this is maybe destigmatizing some of the fear of throwing it out deep because you might get intercepted Georgia has great wide receivers and they're going to be able to go out there and make plays whether it be Arian Smith Dylan Bell Kobe young is a monster that I think a lot of people are going to be really excited about this season and and so those guys have the ability to make plays I think Carson has to trust that they're going to make those plays and we talked earlier about him leading this team and having it on his shoulders he simult city has to know he doesn't have to be perfect on every single play for Georgia to get to where it wants to he has to be good enough and put his teammates in a position where they can succeed and I think this is Mike Bobo acknowledging that and saying that Carson Beck seems to understand this point as well yeah got to trust those guys a little bit can't wait to I it seems like one of those things because it's so front of mind for Mike Bobo that against Clemson they're going to take some shots and and whether they hit them or not we'll see and we'll see what they've been working on but it's something they want to get out and prove that they can do it not only for Carson Beck's confidence but for Aran Smith's confidence right and part of this to like it's just easier to score when you're hitting on explosive plays you just take up more yards and I think you saw in that Alabama game which still plays I think such an Illuminating Light on maybe what Georgia wants to do even though they do so many things well on offense the importance of explosive plays like as you saw against Alabama it's hard to score on drives of of 10 11 12 Place consistently cuz you just need so many things to go right over the course of a drive if you're just hitting on 30 and 40 yard plays it it gives you a much wider margin of error in terms of finding points and I think that's one thing look they've always expressed expressed this idea that uh explosive play margin explosive play differential is something in modern college football that this team really stresses and if you're on the offensive side of the ball you have to create your fair share of those all right Conor has had a busy week he's been at Georgia practice a couple of times now we're going to get some of his Revelations that he is seen on the practice field we'll do that in just a moment but before we do want to remind you to like And subscribe to our dog Nation YouTube Channel please do that for us you're on our YouTube channel already you can like we said on there you can watch all of our other content including our ug Q&A as we get you ready for the season so hop on to our YouTube page like And subscribe if you have not already to that dog Nation page that way you can get every time Mike Bobo talks and there's a press conference put up or Kirby Smart's press conference you can watch all those in their entirety you don't have to just trust us with what they said you can hear it all for yourself so do that on our dog Nation YouTube channel all right it is time now for dog [Music] bites and our dog bites segment is DawgBites: Players shining in camp brought To Us by zagoria law zagoria law are your Atlanta dog bite injury lawyers they're helping people recover after serious and traumatic injuries the only law firm in the state that's specializ is in representing people bitten by dogs dog bite cases have their own set of laws there's unique steps you have to go through to prove a case and David zagoria and his team they've been practicing law for over 20 years so the team at zagoria Law Firm they deliver highquality representation with a personal touch to make you and your family well taken care of as you go through this difficult time in your life they are your Atlanta dog bite and injury lawyers visit zagoria law.com or you can give them a call at 40 4 65323 to schedule a free confidential consultation again that's zagoria law.com all right as we get into dog bites we're going to kind of go through some of the players that Connor has caught caught your eye as you've been out at practice these last couple weeks let's start with ring Dylan Bell little bit of running back a little bit of wide receiver all wide receiver this year as he did that last year let's hear Mike Bobo talk about Dylan Bell Dylan is is you know nearly Almost 100% been working at the receiver position uh it you know coach Coy has has really done a nice job teaching him the sign points of Route running and execution and you know there a little thanks play with Pano working working your releases off press and just becoming a complete receiver uh Dyan did a great job from us last year making contest and catches um which is awesome but we're now working on trying to create more space and how to create more space cuz he's a lot of times he is our our our ex receiver and he's in the boundary if you're the boundary uh in this league you're not going to get any off C you're going to get press and how up press how be press uh really working on the fire points up winning 10one battles so last year Dylan Bell kind of a jack of all trades master of none well he's getting the master class right now and becoming a wide receiver yeah this is a guy where I think you hear Mike Bobo talk about it there the fact that he identified Dylan Bell as the team's starting xwide receiver I think matters I think it's something where if you're Georgia with the dismissal of raah RA Thomas with the fact that you have Dylan Bell back there more this is a guy that is clearly going to play an important part in this offense this year uh you know Aran Smith is the Speedster Dominic love it I think he's going to do a lot of things that lad makoni does but you saw at times last year when Carson needs to make a throw into tight coverage he feels very confident in that Dylan Bell is going to be able to come down with it obviously as you heard Mike bubo say there they're going to have to find ways to scheme Dylan Bell open a little bit more but but the fact that he already has such strong hands feels comfortable playing through contact and is able to win consistently in terms of high pointing the football I think he's going to be a major piece of this Georgia offense this year and you wouldn't have maybe said this before the start of last season certainly when he was bouncing back and forth between running back and wide receiver it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if this is a guy that emerged as georg's number one receiver Target I know there's been a lot of comparisons to dbo Samuel we'll see if that ends up continuing to be the case here with Mike Bobo calling plays now but I think Dylan Bell is a guy who they clearly know needs to take another step and they're doing the best to get that out of them I loved hearing from Mike B specifically what that next step is and you know he found out last year he's that dog if you throw the ball up like you said but actually very detailed about now we need him to find space and get off you're going to be the boundary receiver he's saying you're going to get stuffed in the SEC you got to be strong and make your own room right yeah and part of this is George is going to scheme him open they are very good at doing that you heard jais Robinson on our dog Nation YouTube page earlier in this week talk about how Georgia uses pre- snap motion to get Guys open I think with Dylan as well is he gets more of the nuances of playing wide receiver of making right cuts of running perfect and crisp routes I do think that this is going to be something where Georgia has it figured out and they know how to get Dylan Bell to football in advantageous positions where yes he's not just winning a a at high points and coming down and playing through contact but you're getting him the ball in space and he's able to use that physicality to run through Defenders and really pick up ahead of steam all right Mike boo not the only one talking to the media today in a rare press conference got to hear from tight ends coach Todd Hartley here's what heartley had to say about one of his tight ends who's turning heads I I think Lawson okay it is a competitive uh you know he he get high competitive character similar to Brock lik that you know wson wants me to always give him more he's always asking for more roles for more plays he's asking for more tape he he he has that you know that nature about him where he he wants to be the best and then obviously you want all your kids that to be that way and somewh more outwardly You Know spoken about wanting to be that way and so I think it was just you know it it motivated him even more to be that best light in that road so we feeling lucky this year yeah I think that this is a guy and we touched on this on dog Nation daily this morning there's been a lot of chatter around Benjamin osic that is how you pronounce his name we that was the other big breaking news the day that should have been the headline we've been saying it wrong in kudos to Danny on our dog nation.com chat this morning on dognation daily who told us we were saying corrected us it is a Polish last name so we thank Todd Harley there for giving us the correct pronunciation there uh but I think with urasa coming in there was like expectation oh he's going to take a lot of those move tight end snaps doe I think what Brock Bowers did a season ago in terms of receiving and acting as a conduit in a passing game do not sleep on lesson lucky here this is a guy that has an experience Edge in the system for Georgia compared to eurassic there and is a guy who as you hear Todd Harley there I don't think that he throws out that comparison to Brock Bowers lightly I think he understands the gravity with which that statement is made and so with for lawon to earn that kind of respect I think shows that he's going to play a role for Georgia this season there was a humorous moment during that press conference earlier where they were talking about Oscar delp's availability and how he's always been healthy and you hear Todd Harley banging on the podium multiple times as if he's knocking on wood there uh they've got three guys they feel comfortable in in this tight end room between lawon lucky Benjamin yasik and Oscar Delp and heartley said it himself they're going to need all three of those guys this year to make plays for this Georgia offense yeah hurtley has told us that lucky lost a little confidence when he got injured last year so it took a while to kind of build that back up but if he can be the player we saw at Norcross High School some of the stuff that Jeff SEL had some of those highlight videos boy he could be really special and it bulldog uniform right grette County Bulldog I I think a guy who maybe a good bit better than his recruiting ranking Alabama pushed for him very hard during the late stages of that recruiting process and this is a guy that Georgia feels very very comfortable with in this offense this year all right also got to hear from TR Rob Travaris Robinson for the first time as a Georgia assistant co-defensive coordinator at this point and he picked out one of those players in the Georgia secondary to talk about I had a previous relationship with jonil so always knew they would is very explosive um know he got great coverage ability and different things like that so getting a chance to come here and watch him develop um and learn the system and learn how we do things and why we do things been very good I thought he did a really good job in Spring and he's possessing and possessing proess processing through through camp and I think he's doing a amazing job of learning how we do things and trying to do what we're asked him to do but he's a talented guy um we're in a competition battle all across the board Janel one of those players Conor who early this off season you had circled saying he needs to have a breakout year sounds like so far so good in Fall camp for him yeah this is a guy who I I think is going to be Georgia's starting star uh yes they have some things to figure out at safety and he could certainly help out there but I think Janelle is a guy who fits what that Javon Bullard type role does uh you know tyi Smith did it so well for Georgia last year leading the Bulldogs in tackles tackles for loss and interceptions from that star position remains to be seen if Janelle is going to be able to be the playmaker that ta was or even that Javon Bor was in late stages of that 2022 season but they know that in this secondary yes Malachi Starks is back there and they really like what they've seen out of Dal and Everett so far this year but Janelle's a guy that they're going to need to make some plays for them and he's going to need to be able to do so immediately and so the physicality I think the athleticism that he brings I think that that is superior to what Javon Bullard and ta Smith had but both of those guys were great mental players at the position I think it remains to be seen yet if Janelle is going to be that that quickly but you hear traverus Robinson talk about him you hear Glenn Schuman talk about him they're pretty clearly counting on Janelle to pick things up to be an attacking player and really make plays from that star position in this Georgia defense so many unproven entities in the Georgia secondary because guys like taii and Javon and Kamari L are all gone does it worry at all that those guys might be all looking over their shoulder when they actually do get on the field and you can't get beat one time time because I may lose my job and do you think Georgia will kind of try and Zone in on one guy as they start the season or you think they'll kind of let a few guys in there and see who who shakes out I think that they're going to rotate at some of these positions but maybe not give them the same type of leash to to experiment and try things in previous Seasons because of the schedule being what it was you know in the past I felt like for there were stretches of the Year where joria really didn't have to show its hand because of who they were playing because they had such a talent Advantage when you open with Clemson when you go to Alabama at the end of September when you go to Texas in October those are games that you're going to need to be playing with your best and have your best players on the field as much as possible so there might be some experimenting there that you see especially when it's early in the season and trying to find the right matchups but early on in the 2024 season they're going to have to decide on who their best players are and who they feel comfortable playing out there in big spots all right so maybe one of those players who could be taking over one of those big big big big spots with Glen Schuman talked about him it is freshman Ellis Robinson I think that he's attacked his personal conditioning and everything else to be able to maximize his ability and I don't mean that to say that he wasn't but with a lot of Demands on that position to be able to be at your best every snap and I think the way that he's approached that has given him an opportunity to compete in Camp and he has to continue to do that so there's been so much talk about KJ Balton at of SEC media days kiry smarts talking about how great that five-star freshman is in the secondary but oh by the way Ellis Robinson was one of the highest rated players in the country and he could be definitely making an impact as a corner yeah this is a guy I know we talk a lot about KJ Bal and we're going to continue talking a lot about KJ B and in terms of what he can do as a freshman in terms of his ability to come in and play in the secondary right away but Alice Robinson was SE is the better recruit I don't I don't recall maybe Derek Stingley in 2019 was the last time I think a cornerback of this caliber came into college football and we saw what he did in year one for this for those LSU Tigers I think Georg is in a better spot defensively than that LSU team was in 2019 and so that's maybe why Robinson may not get in right away in terms of starting but from everything we've heard from Glen Schuman from everything we've heard from travarus Robinson he's doing all the right things in terms of putting himself in a position to play We Know injuries happen it happened last year to Julio Humphrey I know they really like Daniel Harris Dal ever I think is someone who who has quietly put on some real strides this off season but Alice Robinson with the athleticism he made an incredible interception on Sunday uh at one of the practices for Georgia this is a guy who's going to keep putting himself in the right position and if those veterans even slip up just a little bit he's going to be right there to pounce he's too good of a player to let those guys off the hook easily yeah and he may be one of those players Kirby Smart has always talked about who's going to be the best player week eight week nine in instead of maybe who's the best player right now as he gets his reps I I think he's going to find his feet and he'll be in that starting lineup by the end of the year great stuff there from Connor he'll continue to have all of his practice reports up on dog nation.com coming up in just a minute Connor and I in honor of the new Olympics flag football coming in 2028 we'll pick our alltime ug flag football team we'll have that in a moment but first we'll take a little break you're watching dog Nation at large here at dog Nation we know there is nothing better than georg's first game especially when it's an opponent like Clemson but as someone who's lived in Atlanta for the last 6 years I know that getting to Atlanta could be a hassle whether it's Hotel parking or traffic it's a pain and that's the last thing we want you to worry about for the opener so dog nation is here to help along with our partners at Discover dwy if you've got tickets to the game discover dwy will take care of everything else their VIP package includes one night at the high at Place perimeter luxury roundtrip transportation to the dog Nation tailgate and a one-of-a kind swag bag that includes an exclusive dog Nation Invasion t-shirt so let discover Dum Woody get you to the big game and back in style for a stressfree weekend you can register at ATL sports.com again that's ATL sports.com we knew the birthday girl couldn't take the entire show off good to hear from Kaylee Manel as it is her birthday and we have decorated but alas she knows show who would want to hang with me and Connor on your birthday I can't really blame her well the Olympics has announced that in 2028 they're going to bling bring flag football in in La as the Olympics come back to America and make kind of make sense come to the US and we'll try a different sport kind of like they're they're trying out breaking this year at the Paris Olympics so in honor of that Connor and I decided if we had to pick an all-time ug flag football team who would we pick and some of the differences in flag football obviously no tackling you don't really need the huge strong guys you only have a center there's no guards or tackles out there Who would make the ultimate UGA flag football team so it's a little you know kind of seven on seven which is what we see you know in Pas Skelly or some of the other things that we see out there with high school teams the other thing that the field though is only 25 yards wide and 70 yards long so a little bit different so that may have affected how Connor and I picked our teams Connor you sent me your team I will let you take me through your alltime ug seven-man flag football team yeah so I'd like to uh start this by admitting that I made a mistake uh I am on record as saying Brock Bowers is the best football player to ever play at the University of Georgia and despite his lack of an appearance on My flag football team uh I still believe that look I think Brock's physicality is what made him in part such a great football player Georgia his ability to run through tackles you can't really do that in flag football and so if they're just able to get a hand on him I think they're going to be okay in reality I just completely slipped my mind here to go with a tight end to to help someone out uh on this flag football team but uh without further Ado I actually did pick a quarterback I could see why you might not necessarily want one I want a guy who's a good athlete and I want a guy that that has won and brought home the hardware before so give me quarterback Stetson Bennett on my alltime ug flag football team moving on there DeAndre Swift I think his ability to start and stop is key he's a pass catcher someone that feels comfortable working out of that running back position out wide AJ Green is obvious he's the most talented wide receiver to ever play for the University of Georgia as another receiver I think you could have gone in a number of different directions here I thought about George Pickins I wanted a little bit more speed a little bit more cuts and so because of that the ability to get open quickly I went with lad makoni on that team on the defensive side of the ball you could have gone Lorenzo Carter here because of his length in his ability to do things there but I WR roquan Smith he's the best linebacker to ever play for Georgia a heat seeking missile back there and can close space quickly Champ Bailey maybe the greatest cover corner of all time uh certainly at the University of Georgia but even on an NFL level there and what he did at Georgia and played both ways in his time for the dog so he has plenty of ability catching the football and then Malachi Starks look Chris Smith is a more accomplished safety Kirby Smart you could have thrown him out there Malachi Starks has won a national title at Georgia he is an unreal athlete and is's going to be able to close quickly and break on balls in the air and so that is my alltime ug flag football team I'll tell you what I like about your list and I I had written down some very similar guys I kind of let you pick first but Champ Bailey Malachi Starks you talk about two-way players and we're kind of picking because these guys will have to play two ways Malachi Starks was incredible on offense at Jefferson High School I when he committed I was there that day and we kind of talked about you think Kirby will let you play offense like champ and every player that we ever talk to says yeah I think he might let me and then it never happens right but that's all right and I do so I like that I like AJ Green because again a 25 yard field somebody's gonna have to get up and come down with that football and saw him do that time after time STS and Bennett moving around I I like a lot of that lad makoni I had a very similar thought so I will show you my all time and I kind of I decided to go back a little bit we'll have a little fun with it so we'll start with Francis Tarkington out of Athens Georgia nicknamed the Scrambler so why not have a guy called the Scrambler if you want somebody to be moving around a little bit let's try France Harington running around and throwing the ball so I kind of went the same he's maybe an older is he older than ston benett I'm not sure but anyway an older ston benett then I went with the hybrid quarterback so a lot of times in flag football having watched girls flag football which is now a GHSA sport in the state of Georgia a lot of double passes going on there's a lot of funky stuff that you can do and I like everything that you can do with Hines Ward obviously played quarterback at Georgia played wide receiver so you could see Tarkington throwing it out to Ward who all of a sudden double passes and finds somebody like no Shan Marino I love him as a running back he can catch the football obviously the central Michigan hurdle play which is still one of the my favorite plays that I've ever shot on the sidelines I was there for that one that day the hurdle play from noan Marino you talk about guys who you can't tackle inside a phone booth micle Hardman comes to mind another guy who's played both ways he even did it at George it's been I think a whole spring playing DB when they were low on those so obviously can play wide receiver and defense kick returner really impressive another guy strong on defense kick returner Scott Warner Warner Warner out of Jonesboro he's a guy picked off a pass against Notre Dame in the national championship game he's quick I would love to see him in modern day flag football and obviously we'd have to get these guys practicing together and Fran Tarkin is not going to run the same offense he ran back then but you know you got to you got to play with what you got and I like some of these guys kind of playing all together and then talk about a short field you need somebody to go up and grab a ball how about 64 Fred Gibson a basketball player at Georgia as well so I need some a big wide receiver who can go up and get the ball that's Fred Gibson we'll throw it up to him and then you got to have somebody to kind of snap it for you and rush the passer on defense Nolan Smith will be that guy for me I love how he can drop back into coverage if he needs to but he can also get after the passer yeah I really like Cody's team I think a lot of the same notes he just had to go second and pick some of the guys I'm sure if we actually just blind showed you we might honestly have close to the same team love that Fran tarkon pick and I'll say this about Nolan Smith I love having ran Smith rwan Smith if there is a linebacker at the 2028 Olympic Games I'd like to think it would probably be him uh Nolan Smith is a great athlete and I think someone who has at least the athleticism to play a little bit of that off ball linebacker and so that's a guy who I think can do a lot of different things and ultimately help Georgia bring home the gold medal as we know he was a key piece on both of those national championship teams in his time at ug I've seen some highlights of flag football it's it's becoming more International and we've seen like the Mexico team beat the US which cannot happen when it becomes an Olympic sport but some of these folks they'll get down and almost kind of duck walk just to say so low that you can't grab the flag so there's some things like that I think some of these really athletic guys could make it really fun and I it's it's a whole different skill set I hope they don't think they can just grab somebody off the you know an NFL roster a week before and say hey go play flag football because it's kind of kind of like the three Onre basketball that we saw it's a whole different thing it's a different sport it's a different training regimen and you know I mean the US isn't going to win gold and either the men's or the women's three on three even though I think at least as we're recording this right now I think we'd be pretty shocked if the men's basketball team or the women's national basketball team didn't bring home the gold all right so usually it's me back in the control room making the call on who wins but we got producer Jay back there today so Jay give us your thoughts well as the executive producer of this operation I choose who appears on camera and who doesn't I will not allow myself to appear on camera but so we look at the comparison here and I really think the only thing that stands out for Connor and he did have HomeField advantage to pick first is the wide receivers AJ Green lad makoni probably a slight Edge over me cold and Fred but I'm intrigued by the double quarterback strategy here with Hines and Fran tarington but I do want to point out the people that were not on this list and that are available for the third team Brock Bowers obviously major flag on the play there for Conor Conor's going to have to go after this yeah yeah not on here either Hershel to me Hershel is the power again and I kind of like Brock Bowers I think a herel running over people as mths since said you don't really do that and and he's also got track speed obviously and can hurdle people and all the things but also also missing if we're playing flag football we may need two-way players Charlie trippy Frank s Charlie trippy was on one of my list a 60-minute man yeah in the in the secondary Terry hog I love Terry hog yeah Thomas Davis I Thomas Davis another one to me that's it's it's like he's going to come up and smash people he's one of my favorite dogs of all time I just can't see him coming up and smashing somebody and uh Nick chub to round out my seven-man team I'm going to I'm just going to take Nick chub because he wins uh and my coach is Robert Edwards flag football reference there with Robert Evers uh pour some pour some out for uh Robert ever he he should get like an honorary gold medal should he he absolutely should and I I did think about kiry smart you like Ball Hawk you know you want to guy who pick off passes and hopefully Kirby doesn't get after you at the next press conference that this going to be it for your uh practice viewing opportunities Conor Kirby will have hold a grudge you didn't pick him for that's right yeah he's the next time I he sees me he's like I'm not good enough for your flag football team and uh look we got a lot of talented players out there and we're going to try and play everyone but uh it's a privilege to play at Georgia and it's not for everyone all right so everybody at home get in the comments let us know who we forgot and who you would put on there maybe there's some other guys that we're not thinking of you know maybe J Jackson he you talk about basketball I want somebody that can just reach up and grab a football so tell us who we forgot there who we left out who should be on our list we appreciate that all right so Kaye always likes to end the show Connor telling us what we've learned I'll let you tell me what you learned today I learned that Kaye Manzel does not like to work on her birthday uh you know birthdays birthday some people you know are not big birthday people I think Kaylee Manel pretty clearly is a big birthday person so if you see her out there if you see her this weekend make sure to go up and wish a big happy birthday day to her yeah I think we should all flood her on social media just so she gets really annoyed because she's the kind of person who would be why are all these people this is too much leave me alone uh so everybody find Kaylee on Twitter or X and uh wish her a happy birthday we appreciate that that the one thing I learned I'm not doing all this again that's for sure I'm not going to decorate for a birthday party when somebody is too cool for school and doesn't want to show up but I appreciate Kaylee let me fill in her chair this week and Connor being with me it was fun to talk on dog Nation daily with Connor and now on dog Nation at large we will be right back here on dog Nation at large every week 7:00 on Thursday so be sure to join us we'll see you next time [Music]