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
Congress has shut down in a deadlock over whether to extend the pandemic-era federal subsidies.
Promotional materials for GeorgiaAccess.gov distributed at a Georgia Access launch event Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, near the Georgia Capitol. Georgia Access is the state-based exchange marketplace for the Affordable Care Act in Georgia. (Ariel Hart/AJC)
Georgia is expected to lose about 33,600 jobs next year if federal subsidies on the Affordable Care Act marketplace exchange expire, according to a new forecast.
The study was done by researchers at George Washington University and funded by the left-leaning Commonwealth Fund. The ACA, also known as Obamacare, is operated in this state as Georgia Access.
The “enhanced” subsidies, which were enacted by the Biden administration during the pandemic to help many Americans afford health insurance, are at the center of a federal government shutdown that is entering its third week. Health insurance premiums will rise for millions of Americans unless they are extended.
The new study shows that jobs would also be on the line.
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Ariel Hart is a reporter on health care issues. She works on the AJC’s health team and has reported on subjects including the Voting Rights Act and transportation.
THE FLATS – Kickoff time for Georgia Tech football’s Nov. 1 game at NC State has been placed on a six-day hold, the Atlantic Coast Conference and its television partners announced on Monday. Game time for the Georgia Tech-NC State contest will be determined following the conclusion of games this Saturday, Oct. 25.
No. 7 Georgia Tech enters this Saturday’s homecoming game versus Syracuse with its highest regular-season ranking since 2009 and its first 7-0 record since 1966. The Yellow Jackets are also riding a nine-game winning streak at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field dating back to the beginning of last season, their most consecutive wins at Bobby Dodd since they won 17 in a row at home from 1989-91.
Saturday’s homecoming game versus Syracuse kicks off at noon. In addition to celebrating homecoming on The Flats for the 76th time, Georgia Tech will also commemorate the 10th anniversary of the “Miracle on Techwood Drive” win over Florida State in 2015 during Saturday’s game. Tickets still remain for Saturday’s Tech-Cuse homecoming showdown – click HERE to secure your seats online.
2025 GEORGIA TECH FOOTBALL TICKETS
With a fanbase that has been reenergized by the Yellow Jackets’ success, attendance at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field is up 24% over this time in 2024. Fans can still be a part of the excitement on The Flats, as tickets remain for the Yellow Jackets’ final two home games at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field in 2025.
Oct. 25 vs. Syracuse (Homecoming) – Click HERE for tickets.
Nov. 22 vs. Pitt (Senior Day/Military Appreciation Day/Michael Isenhour Toy Drive-25th Anniversary) – Click HERE for tickets.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on X, Facebook, Instagram and at www.ramblinwreck.com.
Georgia’s enjoyed a coaching advantage in rivalry with Florida since the day it hired Kirby Smart. Lane Kiffin would help level the scales.
Lane Kiffin: Ole Miss has ‘a lot to fix’ before Oklahoma
Lane Kiffin said Ole Miss needs to improve before what he called a big test in Oklahoma in Week 9.
Sunday turned just a bit sour for Kirby Smart, because it became a good day for Florida. By firing Billy Napier, the Gators got better. Maybe that sounds harsh, but it’s the truth. Napier’s coaching had been holding Florida back.
By firing Napier, Florida gave itself an opportunity to level the longstanding coaching mismatch inside the “Cocktail Party” rivalry Smart’s ruled.
By firing Napier, Florida gave itself a chance to chase Lane Kiffin. If you’ve watched the Georgia-Mississippi games the past two seasons, you know Kiffin can go toe-to-toe with Smart. The Gators haven’t had a coach capable of doing that since Georgia hired Smart.
Dan Mullen gave Florida a shot with X’s and O’s, but Smart ran circles around him on the recruiting trail. Mullen managed to beat Smart once in four tries. Florida replaced Mullen with its very own version of “Ray Goof,” as Steve Spurrier once called the former Georgia coach whom he beat seven straight times. Napier brought some talent into Florida, but coaching gaffes defined his tenure.
If Florida lands Kiffin, it finally would employ a coach capable of matching sideline wits with Smart and who also could counteract his recruiting prowess. Smart still rules the old model of signing high school talent, but Kiffin’s aced the transfer free agency roster-building strategy better than anyone.
With Kiffin, Florida could hope to field a team as talented as Georgia’s, while having a coach as savvy as Smart. It also would have one of college football’s best quarterback developers. That goes a long way anywhere. It goes miles with Gators fans thirsting for the second coming of Steve Spurrier.
Even in Ole Miss’ 43-35 defeat in Athens, Kiffin’s schemes and play-calling gave Smart’s squad fits for three quarters until his Bulldogs rallied late, as is their style.
“A lot of credit goes to Lane and his staff,” Smart said after his team overcame a two-score deficit, one year after getting smashed by Kiffin’s Rebels. “Their team was really prepared to come into this game and start fast, as they did.”
Smart labeled Kiffin “the best in the country” at clock management.
What a contrast that would be for Florida. It spent the past four seasons competing with the nation’s worst clock manager on the sideline, and also a coach who struggled to master how to get 11 men — and only 11 men — on the field.
Ole Miss scored touchdowns on five straight possessions against Smart’s defense, while Napier had his hands full with Jeff Lebby and Mississippi State. True, Kiffin’s Rebels failed to land the knockout blow, but X’s and O’s couldn’t be faulted, at least.
Everything matters in coaching nowadays. The boss man must be a good CEO, a steady recruiter, a keen evaluator of potential transfer talent, and a glorified grifter who can help attract booster bucks. Actual coaching matters, too, especially in this era of increasing parity.
It’s still a game of Jimmies and Joes, but any school with a billionaire or at least a few motivated millionaires can hope to land a five-star Jimmy and some four-star Joes or snag some value buys out of the portal.
They’re not all going to Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State.
Check out a typical Saturday inside the modern SEC. Vanderbilt whupped LSU, and it didn’t count as an upset. Texas needed overtime to survive Kentucky. Missouri bested Auburn in two overtimes. Georgia survived Ole Miss in a thriller.
On a day when eight conference games were played, six were decided by one possession. The days of Nick Saban assembling a three-deep of all-stars and routinely creaming the field on a run of dynastic dominance are finished.
The game’s changed, and this is no time to employ a sideline stiff, not when in-game coaching can swing the difference in these white-knuckle SEC games that unfold weekend after weekend. Ole Miss has a coach that’s buoyed it into playoff contention and onto Georgia’s level. He could be the solve to Florida’s problems.
From Florida to Auburn to Georgia Tech, Smart’s owned each one of his most important rivals. Kiffin in a Florida visor would make the “Cocktail Party” a fair fight.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
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