Georgia

Auburn Recruiting Class Closes Talent Gap on Alabama and Georgia

Published

1 year ago

December 5, 2024

Auburn Recruiting Class Closes Talent Gap on Alabama and Georgia

Auburn’s 2025 recruiting class helped the Tigers close the talent gap on Alabama and Georgia with three areas standing out. As head coach Hugh Freeze said, “Good day for us.”

Indeed it was. Auburn’s recruiting class showcased many superlatives. Here were the three that best helped the ultimate goal of closing the talent gap on the Tigers’ two biggest rivals, the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs.

1) Auburn’s defensive line haul was tremendous.

For far too long, Auburn’s pass rush has been so-so. The 2024 Tigers sacked opposing quarterbacks 28 times, good for 45th nationally. Anyone having watched the likes of Alabama’s Jalen Milroe out-maneuver defensive linemen at Auburn and the rest of the SEC, there’s no doubt the Tigers needed more skilled athletes to chase quarterbacks.

That’s why it’s vital that the Tigers signed Jared Smith, Rivals’ No. 30 overall recruit. At 6-foot-6 and 235 pounds, Smith was a unique defensive end for Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson. He’s shown the talent to make an early contribution on the Plains.

The Tigers also landed four defensive tackle recruits. Bama and UGA often dominate in the trenches because they have the best starting defensive tackles and the depth to overwhelm opponents; Auburn’s overall defensive line haul resembled any of the prior defensive line classes signed by the Tide or Dawgs.

To that point, Malik Autry, Darrion Smith, Antonio Coleman, and Jourdin Crawford had several SEC offers and were rated among the nation’s best defensive linemen. For instance, 247 ranked Autry 31st nationally.

2) Auburn signed several versatile skill position recruits capable of impacting games.

First, Auburn’s versatile recruits already gained valuable experience by playing multiple roles. That will aid them wherever the Tigers play. Here’s an example of why.

A player like Derick Smith could have played several spots for the Tigers. Placed at No. 46 on ESPN’s national list, he plans to play receiver. Smith could have just as easily decided on safety, cornerback, or running back.

A big hitter, one could argue that he displayed even more traits as a safety. Bottom line, he learned how to play on both sides of the ball and that fact aided his overall football development. Several of Auburn’s skill players are quite versatile.

Safety recruits Eric Winters and Anquon Fegans both starred at multiple positions during their high school careers. In fact, Winters played quarterback, running back, receiver, cornerback, nickel, and safety. Fegans excelled at safety and cornerback.

Jakaleb Faulk was a menace as a tight end while also being his team’s best defender as a linebacker. Faulk’s long arms and quick feet allowed him to chase down running backs and receivers much smaller than himself. That speed was also a big reason for his success at tight end.

Another linebacker who’s been capable of impacting games in different ways would be Bryce Deas. Often used as a blitzer, Deas has seen action at safety, linebacker, and even at defensive end.

Overall, Auburn’s class was one of the most versatile in recent memory. That bodes well for future matchups with Bama and UGA.

3) Deuce Knight has shown the talent to be a game-changer.

Auburn signed a truly dynamic quarterback with the physical tools to take over a football game. As an example of Deuce Knight’s talent, he won Mississippi state championships in the high jump and long jump. His football acumen was obvious to anyone who watched him play.

He’s definitely been a big-time passer. In particular, Knight showed the propensity to be an excellent run-pass option signal-caller, something that fits with Auburn’s offense. If there’s nobody open, the lanky quarterback often used his legs to make critical plays. Eventually, all of Knights’ skills will help the Tigers battle their two biggest rivals.

Overall, Auburn’s 2025 recruiting class added several talented players to help close the talent gap with Alabama and Georgia. Auburn fans should be ecstatic with how the class finished.

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Georgia

Georgia loses another outside linebacker to the transfer portal

Published

5 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Georgia loses another outside linebacker to the transfer portal

12 hours ago

Jake Fromm reveals where Gunner Stockton can improve most before 2026 …

ATHENS — Gunner Stockton could be on the verge of taking a big jump in his quarterback skills this offseason, according to former Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm.

Mike Griffith

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Georgia

Georgia Men Defeat Florida State; Women Take Down Florida State and Arkansas

Published

17 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Georgia Men Defeat Florida State; Women Take Down Florida State and Arkansas

Georgia vs Arkansas vs Florida State

January 10, 2026
Athens, GA — Gabrielsen Natatorium
SCY (25 Yards)
Full Meet Results
Team Scores Women
- #14 Georgia 170 — Florida State 116
- #14 Georgia 169 — Arkansas 124
- Arkansas 195 — Florida State 101
Team Scores Men
- #4 Georgia 183.5 — #10 Florida State 114.5

The Georgia Bulldogs swept Florida State and the women also took down Arkansas in their first dual meet of 2026. The Arkansas women beat Florida State in their dual, 195 to 101.

Women’s Meet Recap

The #14 ranked UGA women easily defeated Florida State and Arkansas in their double dual meet on Saturday, outscoring Florida State by more than 50 and Arkansas by more than 40.

Despite earning the overall win, the Georgia women did not take home either relay titles, but they had the fastest times in most of the individual events.

Freshman Kennedi Dobson continued to build on her strong NCAA season, taking home three event wins with the top times in the 1000 free, 200 back, and 500 free. In the 1000, she swam 9:29.05, a new personal best time and the 3rd fastest time in the country this season.

She also swam the 200 back and 500 free double, which sees only the 200 breast come in between, setting a new best time in the 200 back of 1:53.66 and in the 500 free, she swam 4:39.48 for the win.

The only other Georgia swimmer to set the fastest time in multiple events was Ieva Maluka. She won the 200 fly in 1:56.29, a new season best time. She also had the fastest time in the 200 IM, touching in 1:58.11, but the Bulldogs exhibitioned the last event to allow Arkansas and Florida State to score more points.

Charlotte Headland and Elizabeth Nawrocki split the breaststroke events for Georgia. Headland swam the 100 breast in a personal best 1:00.50, building on her progression this season. She came into the year at 1:01.39, and has dropped three times since then.

Nawrocki, a freshman, swam 2:11.48, just missing her personal and season best of 2:08.44 This swim was still more than a second faster than the 2:13.00 she started college with.

Marie Landreneau won the women’s 200 freestyle for Georgia, touching in 1:44.46 to beat teammate Shea Furse‘s 1:46.77 by a little over two seconds.

Finally, senior Olivia Della Torre won the 100 fly in 53.09, just off her season and personal best of 52.95 from the UGA Fall Invitational.

Arkansas bested Florida State in their dual meet, due, in part, to the strong performance from Harriet Rogers. Rogers won both the 50 and 100 free, swimming 22.23 in the 50 and 48.77 in the 100 to earn the top spots.

Holly Robinson won the 200 IM with her 2:03.06 coming in as the fastest non-Georgia swimmer, so she won the event, picking up nine points for the Razorbacks.

Arkansas also won the 400 free relay. Tammy Greenwood led off in 49.69. Rogers swam 48.38. Delaney Harrison was 3rd in 49.54, and Viola Petrini swam 49.73.

They also had the top two divers at the meet with Lotti Hubert earning the top spot on the 1 meter board in 314.75, leading three other Razorbacks to take the top four overall spots in the event. The 3 meter went to Maria Jose Sanchez in 348.00, more than 20 points ahead of 2nd place Kayleigh Clark from Florida State.

Florida State won one individual event and one relay. They started the meet with a win in the 200 medley relay with their team of Alice Velden (24.50), Martina Fanunza (28.07), Maryn McDade (22.95), and Mary Leigh Hardman (22.20) swimming 1:37.72 to beat the Georgia ‘A’ team by half-a-second.

Velden also won the 100 backstroke in 53.76, missing her season best of 52.40 by about a second.

Men’s Meet Recap

The men’s meet was just a dual meet between Georgia and Florida State, and the Bulldogs came out on top, scoring 183.5 points to Florida State’s 114.5.

Georgia won both relays, starting with the top time in the 200 medley relay where they swam 1:24.38 to come in just two tenths ahead of Florida State. Luca Urlando led off for Georgia, splitting 21.10 to earn the Georgia team a near seven tenth lead. Elliot Woodburn was 23.94 on the breaststroke, Ruard Van Renen split 20.18 on the butterfly, and Tane Bidois was 19.16 on the freestyle.

Florida State’s relay consisted of Max Wilson (21.77), Tommaso Baravelli (23.72), Michel Arkhangelskiy (19.91), and Sam Bork (19.20), and they touched in 1:24.60.

The 400 freestyle relay was made up of Van Renen (43.26), Tomas Koski (42.81), Bidois (43.04), and Luke Sandberg (43.21) swimming 2:52.32 to win the event by more than two seconds.

Luca Urlando won three events for the Bulldogs, swimming 1:39.59 in the 200 fly to win by almost four seconds over teammate Drew Hitchcock. He also won the 100 fly in 45.27, coming in more than a second ahead of Florida State’s Michel Arkhangelskiy‘s 46.72

Urlando also swam the 200 IM for the first time this season, touching in 1:42.95, the 15th fastest time in the country this season.

Georgia freshman Sean Green won two events, swimming 8:57.64 in the 1000 and 4:19.57 in the 500.

Hayden Meyers and Ruard Van Renen split the backstroke events. Van Renen won the 100 back in 44.68 and Meyers won the 200 back in 1:41.66.

Florida State picked up event wins in both distances of breaststroke and the 50 and 100 freestyles. Michel Arkhangelskiy won the 50 free in 19.64 and he won the 100 free in 42.92, off his season best times in both.

Tommaso Baravelli won the 100 breast for the Seminoles in 53.63, coming in more than half-a-second ahead of teammate Liam O’Connor‘s 54.26 in 2nd.

Mathias Christensen won the 200 breast in 1:57.15, just 17 hundredths ahead of Georgia’s Cale Martter, who swam 1:57.32.

Up Next

Georgia will race Tennessee on January 24th in Knoxville.

Florida State will host Florida on January 30th.

Arkansas will race kansas on January 23rd in Kansas.

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Georgia

Alabama linebacker to transfer to Georgia Tech

Published

1 day ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Georgia Tech

Pro Football Focus graded Noah Carter Alabama’s third-best tackler this season.

Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton runs against Alabama linebacker Noah Carter during the first half of a Southeastern Conference championship NCAA college football game, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Atlanta. (Mike Stewart/AP)

A third Alabama player is transferring to Georgia Tech for the 2026 season.

Noah Carter, a 6-foot-4, 243-pound linebacker, intends to transfer to Tech, On3 reported Saturday. Carter spent two seasons with the Crimson Tide.

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Chad Bishop is a Georgia Tech sports reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

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