3 Georgia football takeaways from spring game as defense bests offense

ATHENS — Ten years ago, Georgia fans packed Sanford Stadium for Kirby Smart’s first-ever G-Day game. Over 93,000 fans were in attendance to watch the new era of Georgia football.

In Year 11, there wasn’t much sizzle during the team’s spring game. The red team, made up of the first team offense, beat the black team, comprised of the first team defense, 27-17.

While the red team won, the Georgia defense was the main story of the day. The first team defense, even with several starters out, made things very difficult for the starting offense.

To illustrate just how much the spring game has changed, the announced attendance was 31,023, just about a third of what it was for Smart’s first spring game.

Even with less fanfare and buzz, the spring game was still a worthwhile look at Georgia’s 2026 team. Below are some takeaways and observations from the afternoon.

Georgia makes things hard on quarterbacks

Gunner Stockton didn’t have anything to prove for the Bulldogs this spring. He’s entrenched as the team’s starter and was not asked to do all that much on Saturday.

He completed 7 of his 12 pass attempts on the day for 76 yards. He threw a touchdown to Jaden Reddell to put the red team up 10-0 in the second quarter.

Stockton did not play in the second half of the game.

The two primary backups didn’t play all that well on Saturday. Ryan Puglisi was the No. 2 quarterback, getting snaps with both teams. He finished the day completing 8 of his 19 pass attempts for 88 yards. He found Talyn Taylor for a 32-yard reception, but also had a few notable misses.

Ryan Montgomery finished 10 of 18 for 122 yards. He was intercepted by Todd Robinson just before the end of the first half. Montgomery did have a nice drive in the fourth quarter, finding Colton Heinrich and Landon Roldan for explosive plays. The 53-yard pass to Heinrich was the longest play of the day, with Heinrich making a nice one-handed snag.

Georgia had seven different quarterbacks take snaps on Saturday. Further down the depth chart, redshirt freshman Hezekiah Millender scored on a one-yard rushing touchdown. He completed 9 of his 15 passes for 103 yards.

Bryson Beaver, a freshman transfer from Oregon, had an impressive 47-yard throw on his first drive of the game. He did have a touchdown pass to Thomas Blackshear that was negated by a sack.

Maybe Georgia fans would have liked to see more explosive plays from this group, especially given how much Georgia threw the ball on Saturday. But Smart wants to make things difficult for his quarterbacks. Smart seemed to succeed in that regard.

Two third-year skill players shine

Tight end Jaden Reddell and running back Dwight Phillips Jr. both play in stacked position groups. They’re both in their third year in the Georgia program.

And they each had strong showings on G-Day.

Reddell scored the first touchdown of the day while working with the first team offense. He pulled in a seven-yard pass in the red zone, beating Khalil Barnes in coverage. Reddell added a 23-yard run earlier on the drive on a jet sweep.

Reddell finished with 61 yards, catching 3 passes in addition to the one carry.

As for Phillips, he took advantage of an early injury to Nate Frazier to be Georgia’s top running back. He had 29 rushing yards on 7 carries while adding 19 yards as a pass catcher.

Phillips scored Georgia’s second touchdown of the day, powering in from one yard out to give Georgia a 17-0 lead.

Reddell and Phillips were the early standouts, but they weren’t the only Bulldogs who made plays on Saturday. Freshman Craig Dandridge hauled in a 33-yard pass early on to set up a Georgia field goal. Taylor pulled in a 32-yard pass from Puglisi for an explosive play in the first half.

Running back transfer Dante Dowdell had runs of 28 yards and 27 yards, showcasing his explosiveness. He added a one-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Dowdell transferred in from Kentucky this offseason to provide more depth to the running back room. Dowdell had a team-best 61 rushing yards on the day.

Freshman Kaiden Prothro stepped up late for the Bulldogs, catching a short touchdown pass from Beaver. Georgia split Prothro out wide, even though his long-term home may be at tight end.

Georgia’s starting offensive line on Saturday was Earnest Greene at left tackle, Dontrell Glover at left guard, Cortez Smith at center, Zykie Helton at right guard and Juan Gaston at right tackle. Jah Jackson also came in at right tackle and worked with the first team offense.

Georgia’s veteran receivers did not play on Saturday, with neither London Humphreys nor Sacovie White-Helton taking the field. Georgia Tech transfer Isiah Canion had a single reception for 9 yards.

Georgia defensive front shines

The stats may not tell the complete picture, but the most impressive group on Saturday was Georgia’s defensive line.

It wasn’t even that the offensive line played all that poorly. But Georgia’s stable of defensive linemen really stood out.

Xzavier McLeod had a pass deflection on third down. Nnamdi Ogboko had an early sack. Elijah Griffin absolutely manhandled freshman Zykie Helton, leading to a one-yard gain for Puglisi on a scramble.