Leadoff: On Jake Fromm’s Heisman chances, SEC East schedules, etc.

Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm was No. 4 in a preseason ranking of 2019 Heisman Trophy candidates published Tuesday by USA Today. Three other QBs were ranked ahead of him: Clemson's Trevor Lawrence, Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa and Texas' Sam Ehlinger, in that order.

Here’s what USA Today’s Paul Myerberg wrote about Fromm’s Heisman candidacy: “Fromm's steady growth … hasn't gone unnoticed on a national level, even if Tagovailoa dominates headlines in the SEC. As he enters his junior year, Fromm is as productive on a per-pass basis as any starter in the country and very clearly an irreplaceable piece on a team destined to again butt heads with Alabama to decide the SEC and perhaps the national championship.”

A former teammate of Fromm’s also made the list: Justin Fields, who transferred from Georgia to Ohio State after last season, at No. 10.

Read the story here.

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Georgia apparently isn't the only SEC East football program in the overdue process of bulking up its schedule. On Tuesday, the day after UGA announced a home-and-home series with Oklahoma, Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin made it known that the Gators are "getting ready to announce" a couple of future home-and-home series -- "just waiting on some final contract signatures in the coming weeks," he tweeted.

Georgia's announcement of the 2023 and 2031 games against Oklahoma, following earlier UGA announcements of home-and-home series with UCLA, Florida State, Texas and Clemson, drew attention across college football. Yahoo Sports columnist Dan Wetzel praised Georgia coach Kirby Smart's aggressive scheduling, writing: "It's reason enough for every college football fan to not only salute Smart, but hope that the trend extends (if it hasn't already) to their own head coach and athletic director."

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Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw will start tonight in the finale of a three-game series against the Braves in Los Angeles. He has started four games this season, working six or seven innings in each of them and allowing two runs or fewer in three of them (three runs in the other). Mike Foltynewicz will start for the Braves.

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THREE LEADOFF LINKS 

> 1. The high school football state championship games will move out of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, largely because of the cost of playing there, and into Georgia State Stadium (the former Turner Field), Todd Holcomb reports.

> 2. Watch Damian Lillard in the NBA playoffs to see what Trae Young can do for the Hawks someday, Michael Cunningham writes.

> 3. Could Sean Newcomb find a role in the Braves' bullpen? Gabe Burns examines that question.