Georgia
Talent pipeline between Georgia Bulldogs and Detroit Lions overflows in 2025 NFL Draft
Tate Ratledge, Dan Jackson and Dominic Lovett all share something in common. They were Georgia Bulldogs and now they’re Detroit Lions.
But it goes deeper than that — all three 2025 NFL Draft picks approach the game with the same tenacious attitude.
They’re intense, ferocious, resilient and, most of all, gritty — just like the team they’re joining.
“Never going to quit,” Lovett, a slot receiver, said. “Never gonna give up until the clock strikes zero. We just really got that ‘dog’ mindset and really just want to compete every play, day in and day out.”
That relentless spirit was cultivated at one of college football’s premier programs, which has suddenly become a go-to talent source for this revived NFL franchise. Lions general manager Brad Holmes has developed an affinity for the SEC stronghold, which is seen as the closest facsimile to the Alabama juggernaut that Nick Saban lorded over until his retirement in January 2024.
There is a reason for that; Saban’s one-time protégé, Kirby Smart, runs the Georgia machine. He has powered it to two national championships this decade and made it a hotbed for NFL prospects. In Athens, Holmes sees a lot of what he once saw during his visits to Tuscaloosa.
“The physicality. The detail. The tempo … the energy,” he said.
It was all right there before his eyes as he watched Smart’s team train, just as it was evident when he observed Saban leading his rugged Alabama squads through drills.
The players who endure that kind of grueling regimen are “ready,” as Holmes put it, to play on Sundays.
Lovett, a seventh-round pick, can attest to that.
He said the experience during his two seasons at Georgia (after transferring from Missouri) hardened him. He called it a “grind,” where fortitude and camaraderie were forged in practices he described as “hard.”
“I feel like what you go through at Georgia will ultimately help you for the next level,” he said.
It should make for a seamless transition to the Lions, a franchise that, under coach Dan Campbell, has fostered a culture that parallels the one Smart has developed over his nine-plus years at Georgia.
“I see a lot of similarities,” said Ratledge, a mauler of a right guard who was taken in the second round following a five-year stint in Athens. “As far as what coach Smart and what coach Campbell believe in, I think they’re right (in) line with each other. I think they both believe in physical football players, tough football players, smart football players, and I think they both have a lot of those on their teams.”
But until this weekend, the pipeline between Smart’s Bulldogs and Campbell’s Lions wasn’t active. Holmes instead spent the past three seasons tapping Alabama for its best and brightest. In 2022, he drafted the Crimson Tide’s star receiver, Jameson Williams, with the 12th overall pick. A year later, he made an aggressive move to take their electrifying running back, Jahmyr Gibbs, in that same slot before selecting Alabama’s dependable defensive back, Brian Branch, in the ensuing round. Then, last April, he traded up to snatch Tide cover man Terrion Arnold.
But the budding stars Saban coached and developed will soon start to phase out, which is why Holmes has Georgia on his mind as the next best place to go get quality football players. That makes perfect sense to Jackson, a safety and a former walk-on who was plucked by Detroit in the seventh round.
“Georgia has really shaped me,” Jackson said, “into the player I am today.”
In essence, his college program made him, Ratledge and Lovett fits for the Lions.
Speaking of Georgia, Holmes said, “I think the proof’s in the pudding in terms of what they put out.”
And now the Lions have made sure to get their hands on some of it.
Contact Rainer Sabin at rsabin@freepress.com. Follow him @RainerSabin on X
The SEC has announced the future Georgia football conference opponents for the 2026 through 2029 seasons.
Georgia will face Florida, South Carolina and Auburn every season. The SEC announced on Friday that the annual opponents will be revisited every four seasons.
Georgia football future SEC opponents, schedule
- 2026: Florida (Atlanta), at South Carolina, Auburn, at Alabama, at Ole Miss, at Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Vanderbilt
- 2027: Florida (Tampa), South Carolina, at Auburn, at Kentucky, at Texas, at Texas A&M, LSU, Mississippi State, Tennessee
- 2028: Florida (Jacksonville), at South Carolina, Auburn, Alabama, Ole Miss, Arkansas, at Oklahoma, at Missouri, at Vanderbilt
- 2029: Florida (Jacksonville), South Carolina, at Auburn, Kentucky, Texas, Texas A&M, at LSU, at Mississippi State, at Tennessee
“it’s hard. I mean, it’s brutal. And everybody’s the same,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said on Tuesday night. “I mean, we all gotta play each other. It’s really tough, highly ranked teams, physical teams. It’s just going to continue to be a grind. I mean, looking forward with the nines coming, it’s going to be scary because you just don’t have enough. Nobody has enough depth.”
Dates for the 2026 schedule will be announced in December, according to the conference. The schedules will be flipped in 2028 and 2029 from the home-road splits in 2026 and 2027.
In its scheduling outline, the SEC made it clear it wants competitively balanced schedules, which will be determined using the entire schedule and not just the annual opponents. Tennessee reportedly will face Alabama, Vanderbilt and Kentucky in each of the next four years. The latter two are not exactly football powerhouses.
According to the SEC, the highest opponent average winning percentage for any school in the 2026-29 schedules is 55.67% while the lowest is 46.65%, a difference of only 9.02%. From 2020 through 2023 — when the league still used the divisional format — the highest winning percentage was 61.32% and the lowest was 39.76%.
In addition to nine conference games, the SEC stipulates that schools face one Power Four in its nonconference scheduling.
Georgia’s game against Georgia Tech satisfies that requirement. Georgia has future nonconference games against Louisville, Florida State, Clemson and Ohio State on its schedule for the time being.
As it stands, Georgia has 13 games scheduled for the 2025 season. The Bulldogs have nonconfernce games against Tennessee State, Western Kentucky, Louisville and Georgia Tech.
“We’re working through that right now, and a lot of that’s going to be determined as we learn when and where our schedule is going to be in the next few weeks,” Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks said. “But that’s something we’re attacking right now to see what our options are going to be in 2026. So we’re going to take it one year at a time right now. The first focus is going to be on 2026 and then 2027 and moving on. So still a lot of work to be done, and I work closely with Coach Smart and Mark Robinson and the league to kind of figure out what is that going to mean for our schedule moving forward.”
Georgia takes on Alabama this week, with the game scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
The grounds for his arrest are still unknown, even to his attorneys.
We’re back for another week of college football action and the slate is loaded, including three games between ranked opponents.
Here’s how to watch in Week 3. Scroll down for live scores, highlights and more.
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Here are the best games this Saturday:
Clemson at Georgia Tech (+3), Noon ET, ESPN: The Tigers are just 3-point favorites ahead of their first road game. It’s a sign that expectations for Clemson have been way off. With Haynes King back, the Yellow Jackets will want to keep it on the ground.
Georgia at Tennessee (+4), 3:30 p.m., ABC: Has Georgia’s offense been good enough ahead of this pivotal SEC game? Saturday is the day to air it out as Tennessee will be without its top two corners again.
South Florida at Miami (-17.5), 4:30 p.m., The CW: The Bulls are the surprise team so far this season. Can they pull off a third straight upset, or will the ‘Canes handle business?
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Florida at LSU (-7), 7:30 p.m., ABC: This game was going to be the day’s marquee matchup before Florida’s loss to USF. A Florida victory would certainly quiet the idea that Billy Napier is on the hot seat.
Texas A&M at Notre Dame (-6.5), 7:30 p.m., NBC: Aggies QB Marcel Reed has thrown for seven TDs so far and A&M’s offense has racked up 953 total yards. The Irish will surely try to get the ball to their star running backs after a subpar opener.
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