If you want proof that context matters in NFL Draft evaluation, look no further than Christen Miller’s career arc at Georgia. He arrived in Athens as a four-star recruit and spent his first two years buried behind first-round picks Jordan Davis, Devonte Wyatt, and Jalen Carter — three players who all heard their names called on Day 1.
Georgia
Georgia News and Notes for Tuesday
Georgia News and Notes for Tuesday
Running backs Branson and Roderick Robinson continue to make progress ahead of Friday night’s game with Georgia Tech, head coach Kirby Smart said after practice on Tuesday.
Branson Robinson (meniscus) has not played since Georgia’s win over Mississippi State, while Roderick Robinson has not played at all after undergoing preseason surgery to repair a turf toe injury.
“Rod [Robinson II] has done practice, contact. Has done taking reps. He’s looked good out there. Branson [Robinson] has too. Branson is taking some. I didn’t get to see the last part of practice to know how much Branson and Rod did early in practice,” Smart said. “They did take some reps in with the twos and rolled through there, just seeing where they are confidence level and where they are mentally, you know. They’ve been kind of out of contact for a while, but both of them did practice and did some good things.”
Meanwhile, Trevor Etienne – who has missed the past two games with a rib injury – remains unable to go, although he can get some running in.
“Trevor has been able to run. He’s running well. He hit 20-21 miles an hour yesterday, which is really good for him,” Smart said. “He looks good, but he hasn’t gotten to do anything with us.”
… Regarding defensive lineman Christen Miller (shoulder) and wide receiver Dillon Bell (ankle) Smart had this to say: “Christen Miller has not practiced much. He’s been banged up,” Smart said. “He’s recovering, running, doing some treatment stuff. Dillon Bell, he’s done a little bit. He’s done some walkthroughs with us and taking some reps. We’re just trying to get those guys healthy and ready.”
…Smart said he’s still unsure of the status of offensive lineman Earnest Greene III, who has missed the past two games. “He’s done more this week. He’s actually worked at right and left (tackle), Smart said. “I’m very pleased with the play at our left tackle. Outside of a probably two-quarter performance there at Ole Miss) where we had to throw the ball a lot. I think we played well at that position.”
Should Greene not be able to go, Monroe Freeling will start his third straight game at left tackle.
Tray Scott up for Broyles Award
Defensive line coach Tray Scott was tabbed Georgia’s nominee for the Frank Broyles Award, given annually to the nation’s top assistant coach.
“Yeah, he’s a rock. He’s a pillar at this place and he’s one of the guys that’s been here the longest, which I have a lot of respect for because we don’t do it easy around here. You know, we work a tough schedule, work a hard schedule, I’m very demanding of our coaches and I have high expectations and he meets those,” Smart said. “He is tremendous with his group. He’s tremendous with other groups. He inspires people with his story, but you know, he cares about these kids. He’s a tremendous father and husband. He’s really what college coaching is all about.”
Two more Bulldogs up for national awards
Two more Bulldogs are finalists for a pair of national awards, it was announced Tuesday.
The list includes:
…Malaki Starks: Starks is one of three finalists for the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award given to the nation’s top defensive back, according to an announcement from the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame and the Jim Thorpe Association Tuesday.
Starks, a native of Jefferson joins Texas’ Jahdae Barron and Ohio State’s Caleb Downs as the three finalists. While former Bulldog All-American Deandre Baker won the 2018 Thorpe Award, Starks was also a finalist in 2023.
He is tied for the team lead with 55 tackles, including four tackles for loss, and has an interception. Lining up at the Star position as well this season, he has started 39 consecutive games and has helped hold four opponents scoreless in the fourth quarter in 2024, including No. 1 Texas in Austin. In addition, Starks has had to fill in at punt returner and has four returns for 39 yards (9.8 avg.).
…Brett Thorson: Thorson is one of three finalists for the Ray Guy Award given to the country’s best punter, according to an announcement from the Augusta Sports Council Tuesday.
A native of Melbourne, Australia, Thorson joins Florida State’s Alex Mastromanno and USC’s Eddie Czaplicki as the three finalists. Jake Camarda was the last Bulldog finalist in 2020. Former Georgia All-American Drew Butler won the 2009 honor.
He stands fifth nationally with a 46.3 average and has forced 12 fair catches and dropped 19 within the 20-yard line. Bombing 13 at least 50 yards this season, Thorson has a season-long of 58 and has helped put the Bulldogs fifth nationally in Net Punting at 43.5. Opponents have had six returns for 18 yards, which also stands fifth nationally.
…Monday, linebacker Jalon Walker was named one of five finalists for the Butkus Award, which goes annually to the nation’s top linebacker.
…Long-snapper Beau Gardner is one of three finalists for the Patrick Mannelly Award given to the top snapper in the FBS, according to a recent announcement.
Gardner, a UCLA graduate transfer from San Francisco, Calif., joins Florida’s Rocco Underwood and Michigan’s William Wagner in the final group. Gardner is now the Bulldogs’ first semifinalist and finalist for the accolade in the award’s six-year existence.
More from Kirby Smart
… With Signing Day and the new Transfer Portal window getting set to hit, roster sizes shrinking to 105, the next 30 days are going to be crazy for college football coaches. That includes Smart, who said he has no idea how everything will unfold. “I can’t answer that question. I wish I could, we haven’t been told anything on the walk-ons in terms of if you guys don’t know,” Smart said. “I ask daily, and a lot of it is conference to conference. A lot of it is the legal case in California, how it resolves itself, and the timing of that. So, I don’t really know, I mean, it’s going to be a strange 30 days.”
… Smart said wide receiver London Humphreys is capable of getting more snaps than he is now. “He’s in good shape. He plays hard. He’s smart,” Smart said. “He plays multiple positions. He does a really good job.”
… Smart thinks Friday night’s game will resemble a heavyweight fight. “We have to have a seeking contact attitude and enjoyment of a street fight. Not everybody loves that,” he said. “So, it’s one of those things that you find out a lot about yourself when you get to play a really physical football team like these guys.”
… With the game on Friday, Smart said the team will have a Thanksgiving meal together on Thursday.
(WSAV) — The man accused of shooting and killing three people in Dekalb County April 13 was found dead in his jail cell, officials confirmed Monday night.
Olaolukitan Adon-Abel was found unresponsive in his jail cell at 6:48 p.m., a Dekalb County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said. Life-saving measures were performed, according to officials.
He was pronounced dead at 7:17 p.m.
Adon-Abel was charged with malice murder, aggravated assault and firearms counts in connection to the shooting deaths of Prianna Weathers, Tony Mathews and Lauren Bullis.
In 2025, Adon-Abel plead guilty in Chatham County Recorder’s Court to multiple misdemeanor counts of sexual battery for groping women in Chatham County under the name Adon Olaolukitan.
According to court documents, he was banned from Savannah for four years and ordered to undergo a psychosexual evaluation.
The official cause will be determined by the DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office, and a standard internal review has been launched, according to officials.
At this time, the sheriff’s office said there are no indications of foul play. No additional details were released.
The defensive tackle assembly line at Georgia is nothing short of extraordinary, and Miller patiently waited his turn. By 2024, his turn had arrived, and what NFL scouts saw was a prototypically built interior defender who carries his 321-pound frame with impressive athleticism and natural leverage.
Miller’s greatest asset is his run defense. He is a solid anchor — quick to press his hands into blockers, disciplined about maintaining gap integrity, and stout enough to hold the point of attack against double teams that would cave lesser prospects — but he’s not dominant.
His lateral mobility is a genuine differentiator for a man his size; he can scrape down the line to close on outside runs or loop inside on stunts without losing his footing or pad level.
That combination of power and movement is why Georgia trusted him on the field for passing downs, and it’s why scouts project him as an immediate contributor against the run at the NFL level.
The legitimate questions surrounding Miller center on his pass-rush production and his still-developing anticipation skills. Over his entire collegiate career, he accumulated only four sacks — never cracking two in a single season.
Still, Miller’s athleticism stands out immediately — he carries his size well and shows the lateral quickness you don’t always find at his frame. His hands have some pop, and he’s flashed the ability to jolt interior linemen off their spot. But he’s a prospect defined more by his floor than his ceiling.
No single trait rises above average, which means his pass-rush production will hinge on technique and motor rather than any physical advantage. He also needs to improve as a finisher — getting close isn’t enough at the next level.
The traits for pass-rush development are present: he has good first-step quickness, flashes as a one-gap penetrator, and showed enough in stunt packages to keep offensive linemen honest. But he has yet to build a consistent, go-to counter move when his initial rush is neutralized. Against better competition, his reaction time to the snap can be late, and he can drift out of his gap assignment when he tries to freelance for a big play.
What Miller offers any franchise is a high floor with a realistic upside trajectory. He comes from one of college football’s most technically demanding defensive line programs, coached by coaches who regularly develop NFL talent.
He plays with a motor that never stops. He competed in SEC trenches for two-plus seasons and was named to the All-SEC First Team as a senior. The experience and winning culture he brings — two state championships in high school, a national championship at Georgia — will matter to coaches who value locker-room character.
The ceiling here isn’t flashy, but it’s tangible: a reliable, two-down starting defensive tackle who keeps blocks clean and lets linebackers run free. In a league that increasingly prizes versatile, multi-technique interior linemen, Miller’s ability to play the nose or the B-gap makes him a schematic asset for even-front and two-gap systems. Don’t sleep on him because his sack totals are modest — evaluating him solely by that metric would miss the forest for the trees.
Miller’s fit in Green Bay is an interesting one. The Packers are switching to a 3-4 base defense under new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, and they lack a proven run-stuffing nose tackle while being long overdue for a meaningful investment on the defensive interior — which is exactly the profile Miller fits.
The team brought him in for a pre-draft visit, signaling genuine interest, and his skill set maps cleanly onto what Green Bay needs. His calling card — an elite run defense grade that ranked second among all FBS defensive tackles — translates directly to what Gannon will ask of his interior linemen, and his versatility to play nose in an odd front or kick out to three-technique in sub packages only adds to the appeal.
NORCROSS, GEORGIA — Geoff Duncan, former Republican lieutenant governor of Georgia, won’t stop apologizing.
He’s sorry for supporting the state’s 2019 “heartbeat bill,” which bans abortion at around six weeks, after a fetal heartbeat is detected. He’s sorry for facilitating the passage of a “constitutional carry” bill in 2022, which allows most people to carry a concealed handgun with no license or background check. He’s also sorry for opposing Medicaid expansion, arguing at the time that it was not fiscally responsible.
“I’m sorry for those positions and any harm that they may have done,” Duncan told me.
Duncan first rose to prominence as one of the Republicans who resisted President Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn Joe Biden’s narrow 2020 win in Georgia. Duncan has been speaking out against what he calls Trump’s “toxic” and “dangerous” Republican Party since leaving office in 2023, and even endorsed Kamala Harris and spoke at the Democratic National Convention in 2024. After being excommunicated from the Georgia Republican Party in January 2025, Duncan switched parties in August. He is now running for governor as a Democrat in what will be one of the most closely watched races in the midterms.
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