2 factors will determine whether UGA has a freshman phenom in 2024 | DawgNation Daily

KJ Bolden impressing at UGA practice? good morning dog Nation I'm Brandon Adams and this is dog Nation daily the daily podcast for Georgia Bulldogs fans we're presented today by P Indo Andor of Georgia and as you can see we are a little bit different location than normal I'm dressed differently than normal this is one of those times we get a little dressed up we get excited about the start of the football season obviously dog Nation loves Georgia football and college football but we're proud here to be uh Partners as well with high school football when it comes to our friends from score Atlanta and the Corky Kell Dave Hunter classic which you can watch on the P3 Sports network streaming with our friends at Atlanta news first and this is the event each and every year where we say hello to the coaches and some of the players who be involved in this and also some of the other top players in the state of Georgia kind of one of the events that I look forward to because it's always the thing that signals that football is here so we're here for that today but the show as you've known it going to be very very similar to what you're used to is being we're going to talk obviously to John stinchcomb here coming up in a little bit John today going to give us a strong reaction to the commitment that Georgia added to its 2025 class on Friday night with the giant offensive tackle Juan Gaston what does Juan bring to the table for Georgia John's going to tell us about that and speaking of Gaston we'll actually get a chance to hear from him there today as well kind of a funny exchange regarding how it was that he knew he wanted to go to the University of Georgia we'll get that but to begin things here today told you this I believe it was on Friday one of my favorite things about fall camp and the buildup to the start of the Season we hear this in Whispers and rumors and Rumblings and grumblings we'll have more of those today too by the way after some of you got a chance to see the practice on Sunday if you're a member of the classic City Collective but with all of this kind of rumor and inuendo one of the things that sort of builds at least narratively in our minds is a fun battle for playing time folks fighting to perhaps become starters folks fighting in some cases to hold on to those starting spots this year's fall camp for Georgia no different in fact one of the guys who seems to be spicing things up right now in a big way is one of the big five-star incoming freshman to ug how close could he be to really breaking out this season and what are the factors that will determine whether or not that happens we're to begin the show by talking about that today of course I'm referencing KJ Balden all of that and more to come up so it is dog Nation daily the daily podcast for Georgia Bulldogs fans presented by pendo indor of Georgia and it begins right now today's episode of dog Nation daily is brought to you by Pella Window and Door of Georgia viewed to be the best presented by dog nation.com this is dognation daily the daily podcast for Georgia Bulldogs fans here's your host Brandon [Music] Adams all right coming up in a couple of minutes we've got something really fun that we're going to do I've got actually another what I think is really fun announcement to make today about something we're going to invite all of you to participate in and a chance to hang out and have a good time with the folks around dog Nation myself included we'll do that with you here coming up in just a few minutes also some of you got a chance to see Georgia practice on Sunday and you came away as typically happens with some uh some rumors and some suggestions about what was on display uh yesterday with our friends of the classic City Collective we'll give you a little bit on that here coming up in just a little bit there as well prior to that though you I mentioned this on Friday and by the way if you're uh tuning in on video you see us we're live here at the Corky kale Dave Hunter classic kickoff lunch and uh prior to the start of the high school football season for us a couple of weekends from now this is the event that begins all of that we're happy to be here and we'll tell you more about that as we roll through our time here today what I want to talk about right now though is as I mentioned to you on I think it was Friday I love position battles at Georgia I love a deep roster with a bunch of guys vying for their chance to be out there earn a starting spot earn playing time and make make the M themselves into a factor here uh For an upcoming season and that's especially true when you kind of start mentioning some of the big freshman in the mix and all of that and I don't know that there's any freshman on the Georgia roster right now perhaps earning more Buzz than the incoming safety KJ balen is here right now now listen we also kind of know that it's pretty common for Georgia players to be hyped to a very high degree when they first come into ug that's happened for years and this year will be no different on that we also know this that as the Georgia roster has gotten deeper and better I don't care even if you are an elite incoming freshman I don't care if that is the case it's seemingly becoming harder to kind of find your spot on the field because it's not like it was in 2016 2017 when smart was first getting going here where there was plenty of playing time to be had and perhaps Georgia was selling that as a uh major point to some of the recruits that was bringing in now it's getting a little tougher we even perhaps perceive a bit that sometimes this type of thing gets used against Georgia just a bit that for a big-time player considering going to ug perhaps there's a whisper and a a brush of negative recruiting where so and so coach from so and so program says are you sure you want to go to ug are you sure you want to be in that pressure cooker and in that deep battle for playing time because look at so and so he didn't play as a freshman look at so and so he didn't play as a freshman that it's the kind of thing that sometimes gets used against Georgia in some respects but there's also the belief sometimes that if a player is as Kirby Smart has said before if he's good enough he's also old enough and it's possible to skip to the front of the line when it comes to your chance to be out there on the field uh just simply because of the fact that if your talent level wins out then George is going to acknowledge you with that opportunity one of the guys that may be getting a chance to experience that here this year is the five-star incoming freshman KJ Balon a guy who media got a chance to see last week reporting good things about plenty of Whispers what we heard from him back during the Spring we saw some of this on display during gday that if Georgia really does have that five-star Phenom who emerges this year Balden may very well be the guy that does that but what does it take to actually have that happen what does it take to actually emerge that way well last week had a chance to talk to someone who knows a little something about playing at Georgia and playing significant uh contributions as a freshman that's the former quarterback Jake PR who obviously joins us each and every week for our Kroger fresh take and I asked Jake about the possibility that someone like Balin could step up and play in a big way for Georgia here this year Jake told us last week that for any player like this to emerge it kind of comes down to a couple of things in order to be able to make that happen this is what Jake from said about k J Balden or any other freshman's chances of really breaking out and becoming the kind of Phenom player that we all enjoy this is what Jake said it takes to make sure that happens so from my experience and knowing Kirby you know pretty pretty well I'd say it comes down to two things one can you play and then two can I trust you yeah um a big a big thing for him is being able hey like you you may be a great player you may be the best player on the team but you but you have to earn those reps and you have to earn that trust from your coaches to be in the the right place at the right time doing the right thing and that is a huge thing with Kirby and throughout the coaching staff is can I trust you to do your job and you just you can't forget about that and these these freshmen they have to earn that and it takes time to do that and uh you may be the best player of your position uh but if you can't showcase day in and day out that you know your job and you know your assignment and it's going to be very tough to put you on the field I think that's such an important thing that Jake fr's talking about there that obviously there's an athletic requirement to being the player that steps up and earns playing time as a freshman but the truth is is most of these players wouldn't be at Georgia if they didn't meet the athletic threshold required here what Jake FR says though in addition to that it's not just athletically being capable you have also got to make sure that you understand everything this position requires and for Georgia especially in the defensive secondary for T by KJ Balden that becomes especially important your ability to know your assignment to understand what's required of not just you but the defensive secondary that you're working in concert with and how you contribute to all of that becomes such an important part of that now we've also heard from Kirby Smart going back to SEC media days then when it comes to these kinds of things that perhaps KJ Balton the guy we're discussing here right now might be ahead of even where another former terrific freshman Malachi Starks was at Georgia at this point in his progression that that Balden might actually be ahead of starks and we understand what High Praise that is given the fact that Malachi Starks had the big interception against Oregon in Mercedes-Benz stadium in his first college game ironically the same place that Bolton will play his first college game coming up in a few weeks and since then Malachi has gone on to be one of the top players in college football regardless of position it certainly means something when Kirby Smart says that that that both might be ahead of where Starks was and he said that back during SEC media days but how well is KJ doing in terms of meeting the two important pieces of criteria that Jake Fran brings up there handling his business athletically we can know we know he can do that also handling his business cerebrally understanding everything that's required of him how well is KJ Balden doing when it comes to all of that well last week when Kirby Smart met with the media to kick off Georgia fall Camp he talked about that and so much more the progression that he's seeing from KJ Balden here right now yeah I don't think there's any pressure in terms of hype as a recruit I mean he may put that on himself but we don't because we don't there's no we don't pick kids and say well this guy's got pressure this guy doesn't I think we got to prepare him dayto day with uh intensity and each day is an opportunity for him to grow and get better and sometimes freshman they can't rise to the occasion that number of times and they have these off days because they've never had this intensity he he's going to be able to handle that well number one because of where he came from the program he played in um but he's also a conscientious kid so we're going to push him and uh we're going to challenge him and we're going to test him because he'll certainly get tested in the schedule we have I think that's so interesting to hear that from Kirby Smart and I think it's really interesting how well that lines up with what Jake FR was also saying there a moment ago that athletically he wouldn't be here if he didn't you know have those credentials but in terms of being put to take it to the next level to to understand the assignments and and and really earn the trust of these Georgia coaches day in day out during Georgia practice that's really what it's all about and perhaps as I said a moment ago demonstrating to other programs other coaches and even other recruits that that Georgia is the kind of place that if you earn this opportunity Georgia is the kind of place that if you that that if you win over the coaches with you perform during fall Camp you will be then rewarded with your chance to enjoy plenty of playing time in your first year and perhaps silencing some of that negative recruiting that might exist from those who say that that doesn't happen at a place like Georgia in fact that's something that Jake from talked more about uh last week on the program the idea that Georgia can demonstrate this is the place where that kind of thing can happen as long as the recruits themselves can demonstrate they are worthy of that opportunity here's more from Jake from on that you know you gotta kind of think from the coaches perspective like the the the people that I'm putting on the field is an extension of myself is it's my name and my face on it and I want to put a good product out there one for myself for the university for the State uh you know for for dog Nation throughout and I I have to make sure that these guys are doing exactly what I want them to do uh because if they don't it comes back and it looks bad on me so really good stuff from Jake from there by the way if you missed anything from Jake when he was on with this it was last Thursday all this came from go back to dog Nation YouTube page you can go back and see this or any of the other episodes of Dog Nation daily in recent days as we're getting you ready for the 2024 season now let me shift gear something else here briefly just for a moment uh as I mentioned to kick things off here today A lot of you got a chance to see some of the Georgia practice yesterday I think this is a really cool and creative thing that Georgia has done in fact we've talked about this before NIL boosters observe UGA practice giving the members of the classic City Collective those who are paying I believe it's $21 a month their chance to get a little reward for their support of UG and got a chance to see that and of course you know people who are there and watching Georgia practice there's going to be plenty of opportunity for them to say what they've seen I've had a chance to hear from a few folks who had a chance to see there uh and be there yesterday uh and I'm sure you've seen some of this yourself so what is it we've heard here this far I heard there was a fight uh which is pretty common for this time of year uh you know very very hot uh temperes kind of flare up pretty quickly in a situation like that I guess it was I think we uh from what I was told I guess it was Jamal Jarrett doing battles some of the Georgia offensive lineman listen if youve ever gone to like an NFL training camp which I've been to a lot or you know sometimes the occasional Georgia practice there as well there's nothing too weird at all about seeing uh hot play you know hot players with the sun beating down on them getting a little aggravated with each other pretty quickly as they're you know also out there competing and so kind of a fun thing for some fans to get their chance to see what was also kind of cool based on what I've heard from the event here thus far is going back something we talked about on Friday the performance of Branson Robinson you know in light of the fact that earlier this week we talked a lot about this on Friday's show in light of the fact that uh Kirby Smart said that Branson Robins will be kind of a full go for fall camp and you know on a little bit of I guess a pitch count in terms of how he gets back to football but um but really being you know trusted to get out there and kind of be sort of a full go during uh Camp uh it sounds like those who got a chance to see Branson during practice on Sunday at least what I've heard sounds like they were pretty impressed with what they saw and the same way we kind of sort of wrapped up the early portion of Friday show by saying this Georgia running back room might end up being a very interesting thing well uh based on what some folks got a chance to see there on Sunday it sounds like that is indeed the case and it sounds like that Branson Robinson could be a much bigger part of this right now than I originally thought pretty good stuff to consider when it comes to ug on all of that I'm sure many of you had your own experience based on who you heard heard or what you heard and if you were there maybe pop some your thoughts there in the comment section and we'll let some folks uh get a chance to to gain their own knowledge but the sights and sounds of a really fun Georgia practice on Sunday and a pretty creative way for Georgia to make some nil dollars and incentivize some nil giving by giving those fans those fans a chance to be a part of a Georgia practice my name is Brandon Adams and this is dog Nation daily the daily podcast for Georgia Bulldogs fans presented today by pel Indo and Georgia we're happy to have you with us as I to try to stay out of the Shadow here where we are live here today fun day for us it's the start of the season with our Corky kale Dave Hunter classic kickoff lunch and a chance to preview a lot of the games we'll have for you coming up a couple of weekends from now uh on the peach3 sports network and of course streaming with our friends at Atlanta uh news first great collection of games and obviously the coaches and some of the players involved in those games are here here today and also a special collection of some of the top recruits in Georgia also on hand for all of this here too so stay close to dog Nation we'll give you plenty of reaction to all of that uh jeffon going to be here today to interview some of the folks were on hand and I'll give you my own perspective on some of that there as well also want to say a thanks to our friends at Pella Window IND door of Georgia making all this possible you know as I stand here and do the show as way of kind of giving us some more light I stand in front of a bunch of Windows here now let me tell you this I don't know that these windows obviously this is fine hotel but I don't know that these windows are quite as energy efficient as the ones that pal Window and Door of Georgia is is famous for because I've got the sun beating through these windows I'm essentially standing in a sauna here right now uh but we want to be able be able to try to present something that looks okay on camera so I'm willing to do that but I'm just sort of thankful though that for those of you that have the Pella Windows uh installed in your home that you're dealing with a lot more Energy Efficiency this time of year when it's so hot outside you're keeping the air conditioning on the inside where it's supposed to be keeping you cool and comfortable all summer long and of course it also looks great on the outside there as well the best way to take care of what's probably the most important thing in your life the home that you live in the best way to take the best care of all of that are with our friends at Pella Window and Door so if it's time to upgrade your door if it's time to improve your windows it's time to have a cons consultation with one of those Pella experts about how you are able to get that done you can go to pel of.com doation to find out more about this and let one of those pel experts come out and visit you you can go see them at their experience Center in duth and really learn why if you want to perhaps save money on your energy bills or perhaps eventually improve your curb appeal which could improve your resale value why installing Pella Windows and Doors is the uh right thing for you to do that's the uh great opportunity to do that here right now they can also tell you about great savings there as well uh Pella Window and Door of Georgia is truly viewed to be the best and uh for a long time here around dog Nation that's been the case so please find them online Pella of ga.com doog if you're watching a video you also see the phone number on your screen you can give them a call today and and learn everything that pelo andorf Georgia has got for you pel window andorf Georgia viewed to be the best of course great to have them as a part of dog Nation daily here today also a couple of other things here just for a moment we're going to get John stinch Gom here in a little bit good stuff with John on a big commitment that Georgia added on Friday and so much more but prior to that though and before we get into our round the doghouse here in a moment too let me tell you about something really fun that's about to take place here at dog Nation I think you're going to really enjoy this and we're going to invite everybody to sort of be a part of this we're doing a really fun thing with the uh with our friends at the Finish long room we're calling this our dog Nation finish long drink Sip and swing it's a great golf outing with me and some of the uh maybe at least another personality here from around dog nation and of course plenty of beverages from the Finish long drink there as well and we want you to register for your chance uh to win this great experience we're going to be really creative how we do this whether it's on the xplatform formerly known as Twitter or on Instagram we're simp going to ask you to post a photo of yourself enjoying some finished long drink the truth is is many of you share this with me all the time uh whether it be out at a golf course which many of you do around the pool or at the beach we've seen plenty of that here this summer there as well you're enjoying all kinds of varieties of the Finish long drink the traditional the blue can the the the the the peach flavored version you've got the pineapple flavored version that's out there now we've seen so many of you enjoying all of that and so you're already sharing these photos on a regular basis with me anyway but but now for doing that you're going to get a chance to be a winner here too when you share that photo by tagging dog Nation tagging the long drink and using the hashtag Sip and swing that's Sip Sip and swing hash Sip and swing you're going to be registered for your chance to win a tremendous golf outing with uh me a dog Nation personality coming up on September 25th we're going to be at the Iron Horse Golf Club that day for a wonderful golf outing with plenty of fun and listen you'll be guaranteed to win because I'm not very good at golf but I do love playing especially when the finished long drink is flowing and on this particular day that's exactly what's going to happen so the registration period is open now and will remain open between now and August 30th so go to Instagram go to the xplatform uh use the hash Sip and swing tag dog Nation tag the long drink show us a photo of yourself uh enjoying some finished long drink and that'll be your entry to uh be a part of a great dog out I should say golf outing with dog nation and the finished long drink so we'll be telling you more about this but jump on board uh register for your chance to win and maybe we'll get a chance to play golf with each other coming up uh next month should be a great experience of course this is only uh to Legal residents in the United States of America 18 years of age and older there on that so uh good stuff when it comes to the uh finish long drink and our Sip and Swing Golf Outing taking place here coming up in the month of September all right before I get John stinch I also want to get ready to go around the doghouse here for a moment it's poured today by our friends Dr Pepper and as I Juan Gaston commits to UGA mentioned Georgia got some really good recruiting news on Friday as the fourstar offens tackle Juan Gaston announced his pledge to ug he was very creative and how he did that I know jeffon tell's got some great stuff for you at Dog nation in terms of the changing of the shirts and the kind of the swerve that he did we've said before we have a very high tolerance for um for You Know Drama when it comes to recruiting decisions we think any recruit that sort of brings in the theatrics on that is a okay for us in fact you're seeing some of that on your screen here right now that to me is really fun but after Gaston put all this on display at the ceremony there at his high school West L High School Juan also joined us on dog Nation Friday evening there as well talking about how it was that he knew he was going to go to Georgia and the Very I guess modern circumstances with which that decision became obvious to him you can see this full interview for yourself on the dog Nation YouTube page going back to Friday night but how about a little bit here of Juan Gaston on the decision to choose Georgia and exactly what was it that led him to make that decision let's hear from Juan Gaston on that right now what did this decision come down to man what was the reason why after a bunch of shirts and a bunch of Warr changes you were a dog just came down to who I was closer with what I have with the players on the team s their pites when did you know I heard this was a tough week for you trying to figure this out knew last night around 2:00 in the morning when I was on the game you were playing the game yeah you were playing NCA I was who were you playing with tell me about that man uh I was playing NCA with my teammate donon SE Peters and Right Guard Anthony B who was his only game to it it up I just talking to my head Cho of school a lot of Georgia fans have been waiting for a long time for the return of the EA Sports college football video game we've all had our own you know excitement about that and many of you you've seen as we showed you on camera the other day the really fun uh experience I had when Xbox sent me the specially designed ug console and I've had a great time with that our family's loving that here right now but I think the other thing that makes Georgia fans really excited about the EA Sports college football video game is the fact that all of a sudden now it's becoming fodder for Georgia to win more recruiting battles as Gaston plays that game with some of his high school teammates and they're as he says sort of chopping up there at 2: a.m. the decision about where to go to college becomes obvious and by the way Gaston wasn't playing with George I believe he told Jeff Cel he was playing with Penn State which is kind of ironic because Penn State could use some offensive lineman the Cali of juon Gaston but nonetheless it's playing that game talking with friends Gaston becomes obvious that Georg is the place that he wants to be and so for Georgia fans who already like the EA Sports college football video game now they even have even more reasons to like that as the uh George Bulldogs get some good news in recruiting there on that front and we'll make that around the dogghouse poured today by our friends at Dr Pepper now listen I tell you what we are entering into what I sort of think of as sort of the Dr Pepper time of year uh we're kind of moving into that moment when you start seeing a lot more of those fansville commercials on TV you start seeing the Dr prepper sponsorships and some of the big college football games that take place including so many of the postseason games at the end of the season and I love that from our friends at Dr Pepper but there is still some more time to enjoy summer with Dr Pepper as well before fansville season uh fully gets here in fact many you're doing that when it comes to the Dr Pepper creamy coconut Dr Pepper creamy coconut zero sugar we heard from some folks in our comment section there on Friday that uh we heard from some folks there on Friday that uh they've been trying it they've been loving it they've been enjoying it and that is one of the great things that I love to see obviously around here we you know we give our pitch for various products and things like that obviously that's how we you know keep the lights on and feed our families and things like that but when some of you then tell me how much you enjoy it and uh how true it turned out to be that it was a good experience for you I'm always really really happy about all of that and so I'm very happy to see so many of enjoying the Dr Pepper creamy coconut the Dr Pepper creamy coconut zero sugar here right now so if you have not tried that yet or if you just want to get stocked up on your favorite version of Dr Pepper ahead of the upcoming college football season uh you can go to wherever you're doing your grocery shopping uh your local Kroger or wherever else pick up some of that Dr Pepper creamy coconut Dr pepp pepper creamy coconut zero sugar and have a great time with all of that ahead of the upcoming college football season and it's so great to have drct pepper pouring around the dogghouse for us here today all right I'm going to tap dance here a little bit we're going to get John stinchcomb here coming up in just a moment in fact John is here so we're to do something a little bit different for our cool down a little bit later on Kaye Manzel going to step in for me so I can step into the ballroom to be ready for the Corky kale Dave Hunter classic lunch we'll talk more about that here in just a little bit so if you're watching live on video you'll get the same exper you always get you'll just get it led by Kaylee and not me but for now on the big commitment of Juan Gaston I do mean big when you look at his size and everything else going on around Georgia football let's get ready to talk to John stinchcomb here today on dog Nation daily presented by Pella Window and Door of Georgia from Athens and across the SEC or wherever the recruiting Trail may lead here's a dog.com Insider say hello to John stinchcomb Jon Stinchcomb on 4-star OL Juan Gaston Jr. committing to UGA here right now always happy to have John's expertise especially in a day in which Georgia gets a big offensive line commit and John in the case of Gaston I do mean big this is a giant of a man and it kind of keeps that Legacy going of Georgia adding players of kind of this size dimensions I mean it's really pretty remarkable obviously I'm sure you'll tell us that to be that big makes it very very tough to have you edge rusher you know you just get absorbed so easily by the block like how much does Gaston size help him kind of become the kind of player that Georgia wants him to be once he arrives here on campus well it certainly helps it helps guys that are able to utilize their size and you watch Juan play and he knows how to use uh that mask that he carries he he you know watching him uh and some of his highlights and some of his film he reminds me of Xavier trust a guy who uses his frame to bully undersized players but also is able to stand in front and mirror those that are a little more athletic so uh I think it's it's a testament to the recruiting for Coach smart you know a lot has been made of of national recruiting but with uh Cortez and now Juan two guys in the Atlanta and curban Atlanta area uh that are highly sought after Across the Nation he's able to keep it home and for Juan big man very big jumps out immediately uh but is a able to to move around and utilize that frame a lot of guys think that oh all I need to do is just be big and what they miss out on is the ability to move and when you're able to combine those that's what uh separates you from the rest it's you know a lot of guys can either move but they don't have the size or vice versa they're huge but not very mobile and uh there's only a few guys that can move and utilize the frame the way Juan does I've also said this in the after math of Georgia getting onean gasted on that we've seen Georgia win so many recruiting battles and so many aspects of this program are obviously you know running at a very efficient level that's going to be the natural case when you're winning national championships which George obviously has but John I think you can make a case that the thing that Georgia consistently perhaps does better than anything else is the way that it always makes sure it's got enough offensive line depth one of the things we talked about in the show in recent days is is the notion that by the time this fall Camp comes to an end Georgia may have at at least eight offensive line that it would feel okay about playing and perhaps maybe even eventually more than that but I think at least eight is not a small number when you think about the natural attrition that occurs during a season you don't get that kind of offensive line depth by taking a year off when it comes to offensive line recruiting and a year ago we had that stretch in July last year where Georgia just knocked off you know commit after commit after commit and because of what Georgia signed when it comes to its offensive line a year ago would have perhaps been easy to assume that maybe coming back and doing something like that again the following year would be a little bit more difficult but Georgia just doesn't seem to accept that now listen they may not get everybody they seems right now may not get the five star David Sanders but they're going to get plenty you mentioned uh you know the young man from Parkview a moment ago Cortez uh they're going to get plenty of guys that can come in and be a part of those you know contributions for depth in future years and when you look at a Georgia program that does so much so well the way in which it goes out and gets more off offensive lineman each and every year that may be the thing it does best of all sure and we we live in an era of the transfer portal right where you can find players to to add to your roster let me tell you what you can't find you can't find a high-end offensive lineman that's available and ready in the transfer portal youve got developmental guys you've got guys that may not have um lived up to their potential in some of the bigger programs or guys that have exceeded their Potential from a smaller program but those are few and far between so what Georgia has prioritized is we need to find these guys coming out of high school both you know large but also athletic and be able to develop them that's offensive line is different than most positions I defensive line is close but offensive line is unique in that uh it takes time very few guys can come right off the bus out of high school and be ready to play at an SEC caliber level and what Georgia wants is to be able to compete for national championships on an annual basis and that means bringing in a healthy crop of offensive linemen year after year after year and and coach sel's and uh coach Smart's entire staff had prioritized it and it's it's evident in the way that Georgia continues to a put out great talent into the NFL from the offensive line and B replace them with equally or potentially as equally talented uh players that have been cultivated and grown in the Georgia program you mentioned this a moment ago I don't know if we've had a chance to talk about this as a former Parkview Panther yourself how happy were you to see a guy like Cortez Smith uh sign up to be a part of this Georgia 2025 class at least making a pledge to this Georgia 2025 Class A few days ago kind of keeping that Park viw Legacy at ug alive yeah well Parkview orange is the only orange that I love because every other orange is pretty putrid in my assessment so I'm always uh happy to see one par alums going to the University of Georgia and two especially when they're offensive lineman I think Cortez is probably uh the most recent offensive lineman uh since maybe ZB McKenzie coming out of Park View and and that's been almost two decades so we were overdue to uh get some some of the panther Pride being represented in in Georgia I also say this on Cortez one more thing before we Chang the subject John the other thing I really like about him is and I'm not sure even how much you may have realized this but you know he was starting as a center as a freshman for a Parkview going back a couple of years ago and to me for a program like that playing as tough as schedule you can play obviously a you know a Heritage team in the state of Georgia in the Atlanta area for sure to be able to lean on a freshman and have that Eric Godfrey who was coach at the time is here today as the northwet coach and he certainly has talked plenty about the the fact that they felt great about putting him out there as what 14 years old however old a you know a freshman would be if you want a really good idea about how a guy might be able to translate to the college level not a guarantee of course but a pretty good idea of how it possibly could translate the fact that he was already playing at at the time with 7A football in Georgia when he was a freshman in high school that's a pretty remarkable accomplishment absolutely is and I think it was that year or maybe the year after where parku puts out uh double digit numbers close to 15 guys go to D1 programs across the country not all SEC caliber but if you just look at that roster and it was not deplete of talent so for him to come in early and contribute I think is a testament to his uh his ability and obviously has grown since that freshman year but uh a guy that you circled early on to say you know there's a lot of potential here um and excited to see it because uh Parkview they're program has has really established itself as uh one of the threats each year and uh put put together a lot of talent that produces at the next level so John yesterday uh some Georgia fans got a chance to see Georgia practice the classic City Collective members were invited to watch on Sunday and I just think this is a really cool idea the one thing I've been kind of sort of pounding my fist in the table Stinchcomb UGA getting creative with fundraising? about for quite some time not just for Georgia but for all the college athletics is that that if you want to really raise as much nil money as possible you got to try to find a way to incentivize giving the way that it's previously been incentivized for folks kind of donating to the Hartman fund or the what's now become the mil Mill Society or just sort of regular traditional College athletics giving over the course of years that's been incentivized in a number of ways years ago there was some tax benefits I don't think those quite exist at the same level anymore but years ago that was a thing you've always gotten sort of priority seating or you know if you give enough you know extra Pats in the back sometimes you get your name on buildings things like that there's always been in other words a lot of incentivizing of what we sort of think of as traditional giving in the early days of nil I don't know that there was as much of that but saying hey if you'll give us $21 a month you can come and watch a Georgia practice near the start of our fall Camp John that seems like to me a pretty good deal for both sides here and I think an example of Georgia being pretty creative with how it's going to do some of its nil fundraising do you agree with that yeah you know what fans want they want access always and when you can offer a unique uh catered experience I think fans jump at those opportunities and obviously with classic City Collective um it's a both and both you get to help the team and and recruit some of the best players across the country and and you get access that otherwise would be restricted not many folks get the chance to watch uh training camp as as teams get ready and I know at the at the NFL level uh usually those practices are packed whether it's Falcons or otherwise and so for Unique access I think fans jump at that chance and they want to see what it looks like what some of these players that we've heard so much about they want that first opportunity to go back to their uh uh water cooler at work and be able to to brag about what they saw from Carson back or Michael Williams or that next great is that they' cired that they wanted to pay attention to so I think you continue to look at ways to uh reward those are that are helping the program if you will and uh in the day and age that we live now being able to stay competitive on an N nil front it matters you have to be able to uh at least stay competitive and then lean back on the fact that Georgia is the program that the premier program every else is shooting for so uh in addition to development of talent in addition to playing for championships uh Georgia has been and will continue to need to be competitive in that nil front to do that you have to incentivize folks to give so let me ask you this now this may be a little late for our classic City Collective friends but I believe the mill Society folks will see practice this upcoming Saturday so as a former player as a guy who's been on a lot of practice fields tell tell me how you would watch practice because one of the things you see is a lot of fans who go to something like this now Georgia doesn't necessarily want them doing this but they're going to do it anyway they're going to come back and sort of tell folks I've heard from people who've been there they're trying to recite what they saw but eyewitness accounts aren't always the most reliable thing sometimes people have a tendency to sort of you know I think misunderstand the facts in fact if you're watching like an offensive and a defensive l in battling during a rep if you're not careful you could wrongly assume the wrong person won the rep just depending on what what you're looking at there so as a former player who's obviously watching practice different than I would for those who either got that experience on Sunday or make get that experience coming up for Georgia how would you advise someone to watch a Georgia practice Yeah well first and foremost I wouldn't be too concerned what order players are going in individual drills I I see that reported time and time again whether it's from hoarders or from uh fans that got to go to games of like well we saw in this individual drill here was the order in which they they were presented at this time in Camp you know usually it's your veterans they get to go first because they know the drills more often than not better than some of the younger players uh when you get into team drills I think that's what's most competitive when you're doing individual drills I think you're looking for development of specific things I know a number of times uh for the players they're focused on uh specific techniques and specific uh points of emphasis for that day's practice and it may not look all that clean to a Fan's perspective but they're unaware that you know in this drill we're focused on X Y and Z uh more so and and how it fits a bigger picture so I think ultimately for fans um when you when you get to team drills I think those matter I think you're counting wins and losses in the individual drills obviously you want to see guys win more often than not but uh you can't put too much weight in in some of those things that the intention of all those individual drills is to work on specific skills that then translate so uh in my opinion what matters most are those drill the the competitive drills the 11 on 11 the inside drill uh you know even seven on seven for some of the outside players you get a good gauge but it's not quite the same as when everything can be thrown at you so uh for example if if I'm a safety and I know it's Pascale what's the only thing I have to worry about I only have to worry about routes I don't have to worry about my run assignments in these given plays but yet you get on 11 on 11 and all the all that changes so um again I to to the fans that do get that access enjoy those first Parts be able to to Garner some information about where a player is and whether they flash or not but what's most most important of those competitive drills at the end of the practice one of the things I talked about before you joined us was my excitement that someone like KJ Balden Stinchcomb on UGA freshmen battling for playing time? the five-star incoming safety could perhaps be in line for some early playing time and maybe even eventually a starter perhaps even from the word go possibly obviously for someone who does what I do for a living the notion of a freshman Phenom of a breakout star from the highly recruited ranks that's always going to be a lot of fun but John I also think there's a really important football value for this for Georgia that what we already think of as a really deep and talented roster if you could add another game ready player from the ranks of your incoming freshman if that guy is potentially as dynamic as Balin could be well to me that's a huge value ad for Georgia overall I played a clip a little earlier of Jake fromom kind of talking about not just for for Balton specifically but for all these types of freshman about kind of what it takes to be a guy that earns the coach's trust uh early in the season I was hoping you might talk a little bit more about that as we wrap up our conversation of whether it's KJ Bal or whether it's somebody else like what does it take to sort of jump to the front of the line and you know be a guy a little bit like what Malachi Starks was a couple of years ago that earns that trust right away yeah and and it's going to be who can play next to Malachi right so uh I had a coach tell me at one time to be able to get on this field it takes ability and said I'm not talking about uh you know athletic ability I'm talking about three things I'm talking about availability coachability and accountability so for for KJ B Balden obviously uh being available for practice being able to to get the lessons that he needs to advance his game to be able to contribute early it matters so staying healthy this camp for all these guys is huge but especially for a player that has that athletic ability and that potential but needs those reps needs to earn that trust and that comes with Coach ability so the ability for him to learn from the mistakes that he's going to make and has probably made already in not only Spring ball but also now in training camp how quickly can you adjust and learn from other people's mistakes learn in the film room uh learn from what the coach is telling you and then that third piece is accountability the ability for us to put you on that field and we trust that you're going to to get the job done but KJ Balton athletic ability is not the question right I mean we we all know there's certain players that come to Athens that are physically gifted and have the skills it's a matter of developing and being able to contribute in the system this isn't a one-on-one sport this is a a team game and we need you to be able to do the job that we're asking you on any given play so um what we've seen in years past I I think specifically to some of the younger linebackers last year uh with Dumis John johs son and and his injuries at times there were opportunities for young players that entire linebacker room was super athletic but when you watch film for some of the younger players it was that first step that first half step in the wrong direction or that pause when you've already seen your keys to to go ahead and Trigger and it puts you a half step behind and because they're athleticism they're able to to recover but uh that accountability is being able to to trust your eyes and trust your coaching that when you see something when you know your assignment that you can automatically trigger and not just rely on your athletic ability to recover this is a league where too many guys are talented to where if you're that half step or step behind that's a that's a step too much so uh for KJ or any of these younger players it's the accountability how much can we trust you when we put you on the field to execute the assignment that we're asking of you John great stuff appreciate your time here today as a part of dog Nation daily presented by pelindo indor of Georgia and each week we discuss all these things gets us that much close to the start of the 2024 season I know we're both excited about that we appreciate your time I'll look forward to seeing you back here very soon again on dog Nation daily presented by pindo indor of Georgia I always enjoy enjoy being on ba and let me tell you it look sharp that Cory Kell is a privileged to have you there so looking good and go dogs thank you John I appreciate appreciate that let's take a look around the rest of the League this is SEC through and with that we'll get ready to transition to cruise around the SEC courtesy of Royal Caribbean here today now I'm dressed up it's almost like a formal night on the cruise getting ready for a nice dinner although with the sun beating through this glass here I'm not quite as relaxed and comfortable as I would be for a typical Royal Caribbean cruise vacation but in April of 2025 we're going to be kicked back we're going to be relaxed going to be enjoying ourselves on board Utopia of the Seas perhaps you've heard me mention a thing or two about that it's the ship that we're going to be on for our dog Nation cruise and it's the newest of all the RO Caribbean cruise ships let me tell you what I love about it first of all I love the fact that it's in por and AAL that's a drivable port for me really easy from where I am in fact standing right here not too far from truest Park hop in the car I could be there just a matter of hours and I could be settled in and getting ready to enjoy myself there each and every one of the Utopia of the Seas itineraries also includes a stop off at Perfect Day Coco K you know I like that and I love the fact that our friend Jessica Slater right now can get you ready for whether it's Utopia of the Seas prior to our dog Nation Cruise you want to kind of a early experience to get you ready for that or as so many folks have done we have sold so many of these State rooms already so many folks have done being a part of what we're going to be doing with uh with Royal Caribbean and Utopia of the Seas Jessica Slater getting you ready for all of that right now you go to doation cruise.com you can find out more of the D details if you're watching on video you can also see Jessica's contact information can reach out to her there but check out dognation cruise.com for more on all of that all right let's get ready to give you a couple of cruise around the SCC stories here they're going to bring on Kaye Manzel at least for our video folks she's going to take you home when it comes to our RS Andrews cool down let me begin with this ESPN report yesterday uh New Michigan coach in trouble with NCAA? the leakage of the notice of allegations and notice infractions to Michigan stemming from the Conor stallion sign stealing the headline here is going to end up being that Chiron Moore is kind of caught up in this he's accused of a level two violation obviously the most serious allegations kind of go in the way of other Michigan staffers including head coach Jim arbaugh and look people make a big deal about this because it's going to be kind of a cloud hanging over more as he begins his coaching tenure at Michigan but for me this is a little bit different what you read at espn.com about this pretty much confirms everything that most people believe to be true back uh last season in other words we knew then what we know now Michigan cheated and no one seems to really care about that there wasn't any kind of appetite for any kind of serious for them then I don't believe it exists now but it's the kind of thing that if you're a Georgia fan a team that could have won the National Championship or frankly any other team that could have been in the college football playoff Florida State fans you know folks like that this is worth noticing here that the NCAA had no desire to step in on this at the time even though they reason had reason to believe it was true and for a Michigan program who likes to sort of fancy itself as better than others you know sort of a fancy pants Academic School and in a league the Big 10 that they would say has a little bit different motivation than the SEC often has well a year ago Michigan had a chance to prove just how much personal Integrity as an organization it has it chose not to do that it could have self-imposed violations a year ago um if it really did value Integrity in doing the right thing as much as the lip service they paid to that over the years well given the chance to show us they really believe what they've said for a long time they proved themselves to be total Hypocrites and that's the kind of thing that I don't think any of us should forget anytime soon Tennessee stays hot in recruiting here right now fison Brandon is a five-star quarterback with the class of 2026 and he's now a Tennessee commit uh the vs in particular at the quarterback position have been on quite a run when it comes to quarterback recuring and I'm reminded of something I 5-star QB Faizon Brandon commits to Tennessee believe I said on Friday's show but if you look at what George has done against Tennessee in the Josh hyp era it's been domination but I would say it stopped short of being total obliteration because this is still a Tennessee team that because of a fairly well organized nil structure and the fact that they're doing okay in winning games other than against Georgia they do remain a factor here and Josh hpel who obviously has an offense that receivers have enjoyed playing in other than the big GE for H hinden hooker in 2022 you know hyle hasn't really quite found sort of his Star Quarterback other than that the the one nice year for hooker with the quarterback recruiting they're doing right now including Nico yamala the upcoming season this could be the year in which hypo finally has a quarterback that can maybe fully operate in the offensive system that hypo wants to run Tennessee kind of remaining a factory here they're sort of On The Fringe of playoff contention for this upcoming year and uh perhaps a little bit more of a factor in recruiting than some of Georgia's other SEC Rivals are for the moment speaking of Rivals of course the Rival we hate more than Florida RB Montrell Johnson sustains knee injury anything the lousy stinking Gators and what is a pivotal season for Florida they get some bad news to kick things off Montrell Johnson the running back who came with Billy Napier from Louisiana Lafayette and who has been the leading rusher the last two seasons including over Trevor etn last year suffers a knee injury near the beginning of fall camp and had to have like a little bit of a I guess a arthoscopic surgery of some kind still expected to be ready when the season begins against Miami and I guess sort of being treated day-to-day here but for a Florida team that can really afford no bad news this is clearly some bad news here right now uh they're leading rusher kind of Uncertain status and given the fact there is no Trevor ET in there anymore this becomes po a little bit troubling for the Gators also keep this in mind the Billy neers got two straight losing Seasons to begin his career at Florida there was a note at CBS sports.com I believe Dennis do had this the other day the last time Florida kept a coach after two straight losing Seasons we have to go all the way back to the 1940s for that so pretty obvious this is a season which it's either have a winning record or get fired and for Billy Napier already playing an incredibly tough schedule now potentially having to deal without his leading rusher to start that schedule at least the possibility of that perhaps a concern for Florida one more note and ironically enough it's also a Georgia rival and speaking of hot recruiting streaks Auburn continues to Auburn continues recruiting hot streak be on one of those right now Jared Smith four-star defensive lineman out of the outstanding Thompson program in Alistar Alabama he commits to Auburn over the weekend giving the Auburn I believe five commits in seven days many of them highly rated some of them you know battles one head-to-head over Alabama right now Hugh fre is doing some very good things in the recruiting Trail and some of that nil money that the previous coach Brian harson was not getting a chance to use it seems like that budget's fully operational for hu freeze right now and at least at the moment he's putting that to good use we make that cruising around the SEC courtesy of Royal Caribbean obviously we'll get ready to say goodbye to all of you here today we'll forego our golden shoe for right now just because of the fact that uh we're on remote that becomes a little bit difficult we'll also throw our Gator hater number up there on the screen for you right now and remind you that it's always a good day to think about Georgia its long winning streak against those lousy stinking Gators and we love the fact that number keeps on going up and Gator Hater Updater up and up and with that in mind I'm going get ready to bring in my good friend Kaylee Manzel Kaylee of course did a great job for a couple of weeks R.S. Andrews 'Cool Down' with Kaylee Mansell why I had to be away from work and she's going to do a great job here right now Kaye I'm going to get ready to both literally and figuratively kind of pass the Baton to you for the uh RS Andrews cool down you and Cody chaen back there at the studio going to handle all of that but before I do obviously I know you enjoy being a part of this Corky kale Dave Hunter classic as much as I do this kickoff lunch in a big part of our start of the Season how excited are you about seeing all the these coaches and players back here together today well this is where it all really begins and this High School football season in my mind is going to be different than the ones that we've done in the past because there's no 7A anymore so the regions get bigger it gets a lot more competitive but the spirit of the Corky Cal luncheon like I said it's really where it all begins and you can't help but be excited seeing all the players and coaches walk in having their time with the media so uh I'm excited for what's to come I'm excited about that too I'm going to give you the microphone here I'll give you the headphones and you can roll through the rest of it all right in just a second we're going to do our RS Andrew's cool down but for now that'll wrap up dog Nation daily we're so happy to have you here and uh happy to be able to take the mic from Brandon Adams and on video time now for the RS Andrews cool down RS Andrew is the one you turn to for your air conditioning heating Plumbing electric needs they'll show up on time do the work that's promised for the price that's promised you can trust them on all of that let me get my headphones on so I can hear Cody and we'll go ahead and get started yeah it's and on everybody who is us some comments here Gerald Harmon says he's or Doug Ren says he's getting ready to watch Andrew smart and the Georgia Little League team Kaylee does it surprise you how good Andrew is at baseball no not at all if anything I would expect greatness and for him to be elite the fact that he is the ace pitcher the number two hitter tells you everything that you need to know and this Georgia team wasn't necessarily supposed to be the front runner for this Regional but they keep fighting keep making their way back so I hope we see Andrew SM and Georgia and Williamsport this year looking at dog nation.com CN DT talking about Coach uh Larry Campbell at Lincoln County as we talk about high school football Garrison Hurst he's another one mentioned there from Lincoln County so love the high school football talk who have you have you seen any of these you got a lot of BigTime teams are going to be arriving here behind you right yeah soon we're going to hear from all the teams but I did want to give an updated schedule for what our Corky Kell Dave Hunter class will look like this year you can watch it on the pach tree Sports Network Wednesday's games will feature lrange versus Douglas Atlanta at 4:30 Kell versus North Atlanta at 7:30 our Thursday matchups will be dun Woody versus South paing and then West verth versus Prince Avenue Christian a school that has never played in the corki H before Friday's games will be Hebron Christian and THL Cass versus Callaway at 5 Rome versus Creek Side at 8 Rome Creek Side two teams that dominate this event every year I'm excited to watch them go head-to-head and then of course Saturday's games will be at Mercedes Benz Stadium the first game being Brookwood and Walton then hon County and Alpharetta micher and North guet and then the night will wrap up with the game that I think everybody's talking about throughout this entire week and that's Cedar Grove versus Douglas County that's our Corky Kel Dave Hunter schedule and we hope that you tune in to uh not only support all of Georgia high school football but our very own Brandon Adams who's going to be on the call for a lot of these games yeah Tori eny shouting out Douglas County so we'll see what they yeah everybody Douglas County has been you know it's a program it's been around for a long time and it's been relevant for a long time but really last few years has really kind of climbed up with some of these big-time recruits absolutely and then uh we do have our Mr Football 2024 watch list including some names that I know a lot of you know the big one of course being ju guu Lewis who actually just reclassified so that he could enroll in to USC earlier he's going to be at the top of that list and then you've got Luke niichel the quarterback from Milton who won the 7A state championship last year he's a Miami commit some other names you might recognize on this list are CJ Wy Josh Petty Justice Terry Travis Smith Jr ug commit Todd Robinson Tay Harris out of Cedar toown and uh jadden parot is also on this list so a bunch of big names to watch for for the Mr TW Mr Football 2024 watch list f TT on dognation docomo let Rusty call three games outside in the heat again these first few weeks for you guys are brutal in the heat because you know especially playing during the day you get these three o00 kickoffs man it's hot do not feel bad a lot of the press boxes now are air conditioned and our luxury state-ofthe-art do not feel bad for either of those two and so give us this so like the games start next week right so we are here like High School football season is is happening yeah this is the Premier kickoff event it's one of the biggest in the country for all of high school football it really is the blueprint and the standard for what everybody else does there's nothing bigger than the Corky kill Dave Hunter classic but yeah it starts next Wednesday August 14th it's like the season's over and then you blink and it's right back here but I'll always have a special place in my heart for high school football this is where I got started and and seeing these young kids and their excitement for the game and some people aren't going to go on to play Collegiate football but the sense of community that high school football has and it brings people together it's uh it's refreshing and it's definitely different from college football now that college football is becoming more and more like the NFL I like being at the high school level for sure Matt rukavina saying it's summer here in Texas is not nearly as hot as it is there 103 and an underpass underneath an overpass season I can attest to that I tried to take a walk around the hotel in Dallas while we were there just to go up see de Plaza and do the thing it I mean it's a different kind of just wear you out just from walking around heat so kudos to Matt rukavina for dealing with all that yeah I think too the first three days of course we're outside but you know that that last day is going to be in Mercedes-Benz stadium so you just deal with what you deal with those first three days because you know you got the bins on Saturday that is climate controlled taking a look at some of the other comments thank you guys for hanging out with us Mak was hot Philip Wells says hot a yesterday W to let you fill in the blanks there appreciate that I love yeah everybody we got some great uh High School football on the YouTube side going on everybody bragging about their small hometowns and that that's one thing that's so cool about high school football and it we talk so much about like there's so many transfers now and we talk about the big time recruits but there's still nothing that beats I got to go with uh Jeff SEL down to Manchester to talk to Justice Terry last week and you just get around those smalltown High School football stadiums it there's something special when you got folks showing up who you know their kids hadn't been in school for 20 years and they still come to every game on a Friday night love that about Georgia high school football also too the different traditions and atmospheres of seeing all the high schools and what they do I get to like viously live through everyone else's experiences and there are certain places that it just means more there you can tell I've always said that with maretta high school they could be 10 and0 or 0 and 10 they're going to sell out every game and they're going to tailgate all day and then you've got the granite bowl at Elbert County so it just the Traditions are what make it so special and like you said Cody even if you've been graduated for 20 years the community is always going to show out and I feel like nobody does high school football like the state of Georgia Randy Payne checking in says eat off the floor in 2024 go dog from tiffon talking about great High School football towns Tiff County Blue Devils shout out to him appreciate it David West hotting upstate South Carolina he says saw Robin pull a worm out of the ground with a PO holder yeah it is that kind of hot dog days of summer for sure and then Scott Harris on dognation dcom saying his son playing High School football this year couldn't practice because of a heat index we were doing two days all August and that's so true two days are all but gone nowadays and as I was at that Manchester practice there it's all about the wet bulb at all these practices now they've got to know what the humidity is and that affects if you can practice or not so they couldn't even have full pads on at the one practice they were having at Manchester last week because uh the wet bulb said it was too humid it's amazing too A lot of these places have indoor practice facilities now a lot of the bigger programs I know uh Carolton Gainesville even Rome they have indoor practice facilities so the heat index doesn't matter they can keep practicing year round and that's just beyond me that these programs have the funding and the support to have those types of state-of-the-art facilities yeah that's just shows you how important High School football is all right Kayla we got to start wrapping this thing up I know you guys have a ceremony going on inside so I appreciate you stepping in pinch hitting for old ba today hey hey anytime ba is willing to give me the mic I'm going to take it but he's uh he's actually got the mic in the big room right now he's hosting the lunch and so he's got a much more difficult job than I do right now all right well we appreciate you guys joining us on the RS Andrews cool down I think that's going to do it for Kaylee and me it is dog Nation daily presented today by Pella Windows and Doors of Georgia we'll see you right back here tomorrow