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Sorry for the occasional absence, but believe me: I’ll still be popping into your inbox plenty.
Right now, for instance.
Quick links: Strider struggles | More on Buford’s swank stadium | The death of a trailblazer
ALL GOOD UNDER CENTER
Michael Penix Jr. and Kirk Cousins.
Haynes King and Aaron Philo.
Gunner Stockton and Ryan Puglisi.
Have the local football teams — the Falcons, Georgia Tech and Georgia — ever simultaneously had quarterback tandems they like this much?
Probably.
But not that I remember. And either way, it doesn’t make the current group any less fun to keep tabs on.
🐦⬛ The Falcons: Penix won’t play in the team’s second exhibition game Friday (or the preseason finale after that, presumably). That makes this week’s joint practices with the Tennessee Titans the closest he’ll get to game action before Week 1.
So far so good on that front, our pal D. Orlando Ledbetter reports.
The second-year QB started with a touchdown pass, then hit a bit of a lull before completing nine of his last 10 passes.
Said Jeffrey Simmons, the Titans’ Pro Bowl defensive tackle: “He’s got a lot of talent. He’s a good young quarterback.”
It’s possible Cousins sees some action in Friday’s exhibition game.
- You can still sign up for the Dirty Birds Dispatch, our new weekly Falcons newsletter. It comes on Thursdays.
🐝 Georgia Tech: Now these two are adorable. When King — the 24-year-old senior “as dedicated as any guy” quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke has worked with — isn’t literally spending the night at Bobby Dodd Stadium, he’s singing Philo’s praises.
“It’s hard not to love him,” King said. “Just the way that he handles himself and carries himself on and off the field is outstanding. The way he prepares. We talk all the time. Whether he’s doing really bad or really good, we talk. And we learn from each other.”
And Philo?
King “is like my best friend on the team, to be honest with you,” the redshirt freshman said. “I’m really thankful for him.”
🐶 Georgia: Now, having quarterbacks you like doesn’t necessarily mean either one has much experience. Stockton and Puglisi have 83 career pass attempts between them
Nevertheless: Stockton, the responsible gunslinger and credit union endorser, is ready to take the reins after getting a taste of things last postseason. And Puglisi continues preparing as if he’ll be the one in charge.
“He studies, he’s smart, he picks things up,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “He makes mistakes, which they all do, and he learns from them.”
None of these quarterback duos are perfect. Their forthcoming seasons may well bring some bumps, bruises and mixed results.
But the vibes are vibing — and that’s enough for now.
DOWN. SET. HI … GH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
It’s happening, y’all.
A Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic doubleheader officially kicks off Georgia’s high school football season today.
- Prince Avenue Christian and coach Jon Richt take on Callaway at Kell High School at 4:30 p.m.
- Then it’s Kell vs. South Paulding at 8.
You can watch on the Peachtree Sports Network and Peachtree TV. But you’ll want to stay tuned to AJC Varsity, too, where our team will have running updates (and a whole bunch of other stuff) throughout the night and the rest of the week.
📝 Your reading assignments in the meantime:
THE BIG NUMBER: 254
The Mets molly-whopped the Bravos last night, winning 13-5 in Spencer Strider’s latest disappointing outing. Somewhere in there, New York’s Pete Alonso hit two home runs and became his team’s all-time leader in dingers.
His career total (so far): 254.
We’ll concede this is only Alonso’s seventh season. But at the risk of being petty, we’ll also point out that record is the third-lowest of any big-league franchise — and would place him … eighth in Braves history.
The fine folks in front of him:
- Joe Adcock (259).
- Freddie Freeman (271).
- Andruw Jones (368).
- Dale Murphy (371).
- Chipper Jones (468).
- Eddie Matthews (493).
- and Hank Aaron (733).
If a couple of those look funny, remember: These are Braves-only numbers.
🙏 On the injury front: Chris Sale and his cracked ribs came out of their Triple-A rehab start A-OK. He’s eligible to come off the injured list Aug. 19, but may need two more starts before returning to the bigs.
PREEMPTIVE BROADCAST BEEF
In case you missed it: The Hawks will have a home game on MLK Day 2026, a year after one of our city’s more underrated sports traditions got nixed in favor of a trip to Madison Square Garden.
Glad to see it, but bummed that Atlanta will seemingly never get a coveted Christmas game.
And when the full NBA schedule comes out Thursday, I fully expect the Hawks to receive a light load of national TV games. Even with the elevated expectations in the East.
Best I can tell, they appeared on just eight national broadcasts last season. Lotsa haters in the league office.
📺 On the more imminent front: Eastern Conference player of the week Allisha Gray and the Atlanta Dream (winners of five straight) visit the Seattle Storm (losers of five straight) at 10 p.m.
Grab your favorite caffeinated beverage and watch on Peachtree TV.
ALSO INTERESTING
1️⃣ Emmanuel Latte Lath, Atlanta United’s very expensive striker, seems disappointed in his performance, too: “It’s difficult to get what we want. It’s frustrating sometimes, but it’s part of life.”
2️⃣ Former Braves TV reporter Kelly Crull landed on her feet — and on the radio.
3️⃣ Kennesaw State’s basketball and volleyball facility is now known as Vystar Arena, thanks to a $4 million sponsorship deal.
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Raymond “Tweet” Williams was athletic director at Clark Atlanta University, a longtime football coach for Atlanta Public Schools and a tireless advocate for acknowledging Georgia’s Black sports history.
He meant a lot to a lot of people. He died this week at age 99.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
He had been waiting all his life to be recognized, and that was monumental for him. Of all the accolades he had (received), that right there gave him a new lease on life, making him want to continue to live.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of Sports Daily. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.
About the Author
Before taking over the AJC's Sports Daily newsletter, Tyler Estep spent two years writing the A.M. ATL newsletter. A Gwinnett County native and University of Georgia graduate, he has been with the AJC since 2015 and previously worked as a reporter on the breaking news, hyperlocal and local government teams.
