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 Georgia Public Service Commission this week approved a plan expected to reduce utility bills for Georgia Power customers by a few dollars a month.
The commission said the change will generate about $285 million in total annual savings for Georgia Power customers, or roughly $50 per year — about $4.04 per month — for the average residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month.
The Georgia PSC voted Thursday to lower overall rates as part of the approved plan.
Georgia Power Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Tyler Cook said the decision will provide “real savings for Georgia families and businesses as the heat of summer begins and energy use increases.”
“At Georgia Power, our teams work every day to run our business efficiently and keep reliable and affordable energy flowing to our customers,” Cook said.
Cook said the outcome followed months of work between Georgia Power and PSC staff, including reviews, public hearings and input from residents and intervenors.
The approved plan is tied to a stipulated agreement reached earlier this month involving two cases filed with the PSC in February, the Fuel Cost Recovery case and the Storm Cost Recovery case. Those cases addressed recovering fuel costs used to generate electricity and expenses tied to restoring power after storms.
Georgia Power said its rates remain, on average, about 15% below the national average and that it is still on track to provide additional annual savings of about $102 per year for typical residential customers beginning in 2029.
ATLANTA – The Georgia Public Service Commission approved a stipulated agreement on Thursday to lower utility rates for Georgia Power customers starting June 1.
The regulatory body voted to pass the deal without changes, establishing how the utility can bill for fuel costs and storm damage restoration expenses.
State regulators approve rate cuts
What we know:
The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) voted 3-2 to reject several utility cost amendments before ultimately passing the overall deal. Under the approved agreement, a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month will see monthly bills decrease by roughly $4.03 to $4.04. Total annual savings across all 2.8 million Georgia Power customers are projected to reach approximately $285 million.
The deal reduces how much money the utility can recover from its customer base for storm expenses by nearly 60%, dropping the revenue requirement from $270 million down to $109 million. The agreement also extends the amortization of storm recovery costs, largely tied to Hurricane Helene in 2024, to 67 months, caps natural gas advance purchases at 20% over a 36-month window, and cuts $13 million from the company’s original fuel recovery estimates.
Accountability questions remain unresolved
What we don’t know:
While the PSC agreed to launch a separate investigation into how fuel costs are allocated, officials have not yet confirmed how much large industrial operations will be forced to pay in future rate cases. Consumer advocacy groups argue that massive data center companies are driving up fuel costs for everyday ratepayers without paying for the infrastructure upgrades they require. Critics note that it remains unclear if a future utility asset structure will successfully shift financial burdens away from residential homes.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from official press releases issued by the Georgia Public Service Commission and Georgia Power, as well as previous FOX 5 Atlanta reporting.
Georgia
St Louis CITY2 Goalkeeper Lucas McPartlin Called Up to U.S. U-19 MNT Domestic Training Camp in Fayetteville, Georgia | St. Louis SC
St Louis CITY2 goalkeeper Lucas McPartlin has been called up to the U.S. U-19 Men’s National Team for their upcoming domestic training camp in Fayetteville, Georgia from June 1-10, led by head coach Gonzalo Segares. McPartlin will be representing the U.S. for the first time in his youth national team career. McPartlin is the first CITY SC goalkeeper in club’s history to get a national team call up.
The U.S. U-19’s will face Argentina in back-to-back matches on June 5 and 7, then close out their final match against Japan on June 9.
McPartlin has been a member of St Louis CITY2 since 2025 and made his professional debut against Sporting KC II in August 2025, earning his first professional clean sheet in a 3-0 win. The Missouri Native has made seven starts and appearances for CITY2 this season, earning three clean sheets and making 24 total saves, with a 3-1-3 record. McPartlin spent time with CITY SC in both preseason camps this year and has been a regular in first team training this year.
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