Georgia
Georgia groups push for more restrictions on abortion, House speaker wants IVF protections
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – On Friday, Georgia Right to Life held a silent march and a rally to push for legislative restrictions on abortion.
State Rep. Charlice Byrd spoke at the rally. She told Atlanta News First she is introducing a bill and hopes to present it soon.
“I have just dropped a bill that at conception, the baby would have the same rights as any other individual standing here today. It’s an important one and we will see how it goes. It’s not a topic many people around the capitol’s steps want to talk about,” said Byrd.
While Republicans like Byrd argue more could and should be done to protect the unborn, while pro-choice groups are against Georgia’s abortion ban.
Georgia’s LIFE Act was signed by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2019. It went into effect in 2023 shortly after Roe v. Wade was overturned.
The law states that women cannot legally obtain an abortion in Georgia after a heartbeat is detected around six weeks. There are some exceptions.
In the last presidential election cycle, Georgia’s abortion ban made national headlines when nonprofit news organization ProPublica reported the state’s maternal mortality review board found the deaths of two women trying to get an abortion could have been prevented.
After the first week at the start of Georgia’s legislative session, no Democrats have presented bills related to abortion access in Georgia.
Speaker of the House Jon Burns mentioned at a press conference that he wants to codify access to in vitro fertilization.
“We want to make sure that every family in Georgia, every couple that wants to take advantage of IVF, can do just that,” said Burns.
In Washington D.C., pro-choice groups held their March for Life on Friday.
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Georgia Tech has agreed to a new five-year contract with head coach Brent Key, according to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
The new deal will run through the 2030 season and includes a significant raise in salary, as well as increased investment for his staff. The Yellow Jackets are at their full revenue share for the program, and has allotted $150 million in resources for football over the next few seasons, which will entail a new performance center and a renovation plan for Bobby Dodd Stadium.
The deal, per Thamel, has been in the works for weeks.
Key has been speculated as a candidate for multiple jobs, most notably at Penn State. The Nittany Lions continue to swing and miss on replacements for James Franklin, who was fired in October. Key is 27-19 at Georgia Tech and went 9-3 in the regular season this year.
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Alabama football will learn its College Football Playoff fate Sunday.
But first it gets to face No. 3 Georgia in the SEC Championship Game on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The question now is, will that be a must-win game for the Crimson Tide to make the playoff?
ESPN analyst and former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy doesn’t think so. Not with the Crimson Tide ranked No. 9 in the CFP rankings revealed Tuesday.
“At this point based on what we saw tonight, assuming Alabama doesn’t get steamrolled by 28 points, 21 points plus, I think Bama’s in the field regardless of the outcome of Saturday’s game,” McElroy said on ESPN. “They can only enhance their resume with a win against Georgia for a second time and possibly get all the way up to the point where they’re in the five spot, which is much coveted. Naturally a home playoff game and maybe even a first-round bye.”
The CFP committee moved Notre Dame from No. 9 to No. 10. Right now, the No. 10 spot is the last spot in the field because of the remaining two highest-ranked conference champions making the field.
Here’s the committee’s justification for the swap:
“The debate between Alabama and Notre Dame over the past three weeks has been one of the strongest debates we’ve had in the room for the past two years that I’ve been a member of the committee,” CFP chair Hunter Yurachek said on ESPN. “I think this week, as we looked at those two teams and how closely they have been over the past the past three weeks, Notre Dame went on the road, had a strong road win at Stanford, but Alabama went on the road, in a rivalry game. Looked really good, especially in the first half, got up 17-0, rand the ball well. Auburn came back on them. They had a great, gutsy call on 4th-and-2 late in the (fourth) quarter, to get a touchdown and then got the turnover late in that game. And I think that was enough to change the minds of a couple committee members to push Alabama up ahead of Notre Dame in this week’s rankings.”
The next question for Alabama is, if it beats Georgia and wins the SEC, can it get a first-round bye?
The top four highest-ranked teams get a first-round bye.
ESPN’s Booger McFarland, Joey Galloway and McElroy weighed in.
“I don’t think they get a bye,” McFarland said. “I think they get into the five, six neighborhood. I think the committee values Alabama’s consistency, beating the four ranked teams in a row going through that stretch. When they’re good, they can beat anybody. I just think that loss to Florida State is probably going to keep them out of a first-round bye.”
Galloway agreed, “even though they’ve had an amazing season.”
But McElroy saw things differently.
“I think they’re getting a bye,” McElroy said. “I really do. … It depends a little bit on what happens in front of them, but it’s absolutely in their reach.”
Five-star quarterback Jared Curtis shook the recruiting world when he flipped his commitment from Georgia football to Vanderbilt on Dec. 2 per a report from Rivals.
In one stunning swoop, Curtis became the highest-ranked commitment in Vanderbilt football history, and Commodores coach Clark Lea found an heir to star QB Diego Pavia, who has helped lead the program to relevancy the past two seasons.
Curtis, a 6-foot-3, 225-pound dual-threat prospect, is the No. 1 quarterback nationally and No. 4 player overall from the 2026 class, according to the 247Sports Composite. He totaled 3,467 yards of offense, 58 touchdowns and three interceptions last season, winning the Division II-A Mr. Football award and Gatorade Tennessee Player of the Year.
This is Curtis’ second decommitment from Georgia and Kirby Smart. He picked the Bulldogs in March 2024, then reopened his recruitment in the fall before committing again in May 2025.
That he picked Vanderbilt — once the longtime conference doormat — and spurned alpha-dog Georgia puts Curtis’ flip in the conversation for wildest SEC upset ever.
How Jared Curtis, Vanderbilt football saga began
Rumors of the Curtis and Vanderbilt courtship first surfaced the week of the Commodores’ game against Missouri on Oct. 25. Curtis and Nashville Christian coach Jeff Brothers, a former Vanderbilt quarterback, attended a Vanderbilt practice together that week. It was a part of a professional shadowing assignment Nashville Christian gave its students, Brothers said. Curtis later attended the Missouri game.
The night before the game, Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo was on the sidelines for Nashville Christian’s 65-12 win over Ezell-Harding on Oct. 24. Curtis threw six TDs.
Everyone seemed to be buzzing about Curtis and the Commodores the following morning. Seconds into Nashville comedian Nate Bargatze’s “College Gameday” show appearance, he made a pitch for Curtis to attend Vanderbilt. ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit also brought up Curtis.
“It’s hard not to remind Jared Curtis how much I’d love for him to come to Vanderbilt,” Bargatze said. “We’re local kids. We’ll become best friends, bud.”
Curtis has thrown for 9,528 yards, 123 touchdowns and 25 interceptions in four seasons as the Nashville Christian starting quarterback. He’s also rushed for 2,199 yards and 48 TDs.
He is 127-of-195 passing (65%) for 1,863 yards, 31 touchdowns and six interceptions this season, while missing more than two games with an ankle injury. He also has 536 yards rushing and 10 TDs.
Curtis led Nashville Christian to the Division II-A state championship last season and finished the season 179-of-255 passing for 2,830 yards, 40 touchdowns and three interceptions. He also rushed for 637 yards and 18 touchdowns on 88 carries.
Curtis will try to lead Nashville Christian to its second straight state title on Dec. 4 in DII-A state championship against USJ.
Tyler Palmateer covers high school sports for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for Tyler? Reach him at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, @tpalmateer83.
He also helps write The Tennessean’s high school sports newsletter, The Bootleg. Subscribe to The Bootleg here.
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