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
Top 10 overlooked cruise packing items before you sail
Packing for a cruise made easy with 10 overlooked essentials and smart boarding day tips to help you stay organized and stress-free.
It can be hard to find a truly unique experience for your next vacation. That’s where Travel + Leisure comes in.
Back in May, members of the publication’s team created a list in celebration of America’s 250th Fourth of July, highlighting a unique experience in each state “from hidden gems to iconic highlights and editor-approved favorites.”
Find vacation discounts with Groupon
Most unique experience in Georgia
The Georgia spot highlighted was the World of Quercus. Here’s what writer Lydia Mansel said about it:
“The 3,800-acre property, dotted with pecan groves and cabins, isn’t your run-of-the-mill retreat. Guests are encouraged to roam the land by golf cart or on foot, visit the biodynamic vegetable garden, fish the Flint River, and connect with the ranch’s horses. Owned by Chiara Visconti di Modrone and her husband Angelos Pervanas, Quercus is a place where relaxation comes in many forms—and you can design your experience to fit your pace and preferences.”
Where is Quercus?
Quercus is in Gay at 208 Caldwell St. It’s about 30 miles east of LaGrange and over 50 miles south of Atlanta.
How much is Quercus per night?
The Sylva, Ember, and Cypress cabins are $2,700 per night. The Naya cabin is $4,500 per night.
Unique experiences in the South
- Alabama: Freedom Monument Sculpture Park
- Florida: Greater Florida Everglades
- Georgia: Quercus
- Kentucky: Kentucky African American Heritage Trail
- Louisiana: New Orleans Museum of Art
- Missouri: Anheuser-Busch Brewery
- Mississippi: Vikin’s Mississippi Delta Explorer
- North Carolina: Good Hot Fish
- South Carolina: Casual Crabbing with Tia
- Tennessee: Blackberry Farm
- Virginia: Chincoteague Island
- West Virginia: New River Gorge National Park
Miguel Legoas is a Deep South Connect Team Reporter for USA Today. Find him on Instagram @miguelegoas and email at mlegoas@gannett.com.
APPLING COUNTY, Ga. (WCYB) — The co-owner of Yurezz Home Center in Greeneville has been arrested in Georgia, according to a report obtained by News 5.
Earlier this week, News 5 told you about the dealership in Greeneville that abruptly shut down last month.
This has left homeowners with partially built homes and employees without jobs.
It is not yet clear why Richard Altman was taken into custody.
This is a developing story.
Georgia
Georgia Supreme Court upholds convictions of men in deadly shooting during gas station carjacking
Two men found guilty of murdering a man while he was pumping air into his tires at a Georgia gas station will remain in prison, the Georgia Supreme Court has ruled.
Miles Chatezal Collins and Josiah Hughley, Jr. had appealed to the state’s highest court after they were found guilty of felony murder, aggravated assault, violating Georgia’s Street Gang, Terrorism and Prevention Act, and hijacking a motor vehicle, among other charges in 2025.
The men’s charges stem from a shooting on July 10, 2022, at a QuickTrip gas station in Peachtree Corners. According to the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office, 30-year-old Bradley Lamar Coleman had stopped at the gas station to fill up his tires when Collins, Hughley, and a third man pulled up beside him and tried to steal his Dodge Charger.
When Coleman tried to stop the men, officials say they shot him and fled the scene.
Authorities say the three men were members of the Blood gang and had tried to steal the car to increase their status.
While their first trial ended in a mistrial due to a comment by the prosecution, a jury found Collins, Hughley, and their co-defendant, David Jarrad Booker, guilty of more than a dozen charges in 2025. They were each sentenced to life plus 145 years in prison.
In Collins and Hughley’s appeal to the state Supreme Court, they argued that there was insufficient evidence to support some of the charges and that the judge in the case improperly admitted certain evidence and committed errors in instructing the jurors.
The justices’ rulings disagreed, finding that their attorneys failed to object to the supposed errors and that the two men’s claims were insufficient.
The judges also found that a claim by Hughley that his counsel failed him by not asserting that a statement made to law enforcement should have been suppressed. With those findings, the Supreme Court chose not to overrule the case, letting the convictions and sentences stand.
“We are grateful for this affirmation from the Georgia Supreme Court,” Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said. “Thanks to the incredible work of our team of trial and appellate prosecutors, and all of the staff that assisted with defending these convictions, two dangerous criminals will remain in prison.”
Booker’s appeal remains pending.
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