The following, a new weekly feature of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, allows our reporters to open their notebooks and provide even more information from our local teams that we cover daily. We think you’ll find in informative, insightful and fun.
Arthur Smith’s new look
The first true day of training camp brings optimism, a blank slate for the coming season and the ramp-up of activity for NFL teams.
In the Falcons’ case, it also brings the official debut of coach Arthur Smith’s mustache. A bold move, he knows.
“It’s a lifestyle change,” Smith said Wednesday. “It’s not for everybody.”
Maybe not, but it’s a change that drew admiration from some of his players. Especially those who can’t quite pull off the same look.
“He asked me to grow one out, but I couldn’t, so,” kicker Younghoe Koo said. “I think it looks good. Jealous of it, a little bit.”
For the record, Koo has tried to do so before, to disappointing results: “Yeah. it doesn’t look good.”
Running back Cordarelle Patterson has a full beard himself, but when asked, grinned and couldn’t bite his tongue about Smith’s new look: “Can’t really say what I want to say. You know, I (expletive) love it.”
It’s easy for the mood to be happy-go-lucky so early in training camp, but all that positive energy is nonetheless a good sign, Koo said.
“It’s like first day of school,” Koo said. “That energy, if you don’t have the jitters the night before, can’t sleep a little bit, that’s the energy we want. And we’re just excited to be here and get to work.”
Travon Walker gives back to UGA
Former Bulldog Travon Walker found a cool way to give back. Actually, he found 44 ways to do it.
A star defensive end on Georgia’s 2021 national championship team and the No. 1 overall pick of the 2022 NFL draft, Walker donated a lot of money to UGA this past week with the plan to donate a lot more over many years.
Specifically, Walker earmarked $44,000 for the UGA Athletic Association’s Sports Medicine department. The No. 44 is special to Walker as it is the number he wore on his jersey while playing for the Bulldogs from 2019-21, and it’s the number he currently wears for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Walker’s initial gift was just the first installment that the Travon Walker Foundation will be donating over the next several years as part of his #BlessUp44 campaign. The foundation has pledged to annually donate $4,400 44 times, so this first gift represents 10 of those offerings.
“Without the University of Georgia, to be honest, I really don’t know where I would be at this point,” Walker said in a UGA press release. “I’m truly grateful that I went to the University of Georgia, which helped instill me with leadership, integrity and discipline. One of the main things that made me contribute and give back to the University of Georgia was just the simple fact that the university poured so much into me.”
Ron Courson, UGA’s director of sports medicine, said Walker’s donation would be used to purchase a Kineo Intelligent Load system. It is a new generation robotic machine from Italy designed for both rehabilitation and training, Courson said.
“We greatly appreciate Travon’s generous donation,” Courson said. “… Travon represented the University of Georgia extremely well both on and off the field and continues to make positive impacts now through his play in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars and in the community through his foundation.”
As a junior at Georgia, Walker started all 15 games on the defensive line during the Bulldogs’ 14-1 national championship season of 2021. He tallied 37 tackles, 6.0 sacks, 7.5 tackles for loss and a team-high 36 quarterback pressures, closing out his Georgia tenure with a career-best seven pressures in the national-title win over Alabama.
Walker became the fifth Georgia player to be selected first overall in the NFL draft. In his rookie season with the Jaguars, Walker started 14 of 15 games played and recorded 49 tackles, 3.5 sacks, one interception, two passes defended and one forced fumble while helping the Jaguars reach the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
Welcome to America
Newcastle wanted a “Welcome to America” moment for its arrival in Atlanta.
So, those working with the team set up a photograph in which the players stood on a riser in front of Truist Park, home of the Braves.
It was an interesting image.
A soccer team from England, in a city that has led MLS in attendance for the past six years and is on pace to do so again this season, posing in front of a stadium that hosts a baseball team.
But the players enjoyed themselves, and even got another American staple, barbecue, for dinner before some of them watched the Braves lose to the Diamondbacks.
Fatherhood is … awesome
Josef Martinez was smiling brightly as he patiently made his way through the mixed media zone after his new team, Miami, defeated his old team, Atlanta United, 4-0 in the Leagues Cup on Tuesday at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
One question caused him to beam:
“How’s your baby boy?” he was asked.
“(Expletive) awesome,” Marinez said.
A sign of the times at Tech
On Oct. 1, Georgia Tech’s football team traveled to face No. 24 Pittsburgh. The Yellow Jackets were three-touchdown underdogs after their coach, Geoff Collins, had been fired earlier in the week.
Brent Key took over Tech in an interim role. He led his team into Acrisure Stadium and shocked more than 46,000 Pitt fans with a 26-21 victory.
That results undoubtedly turned Tech’s season around as it would go on to win three more times under Key. But there was one play in the fourth quarter that allowed Key to know brighter days were ahead.
“Hassan (Hall) takes a handoff on a 3rd-and-(11), gets about 7 yards, and five offensive linemen and a tight end come behind him and push him for what ends up being a (13)-yard gain,” Key said this week during the ACC Football Kickoff. “That, to me, was kind of that turning point in who we want to be as a team.”
The Jackets ended that drive with a field goal to take a 12-7 lead, a lead they never relinquished. Hall ended the day with a season-high 157 yards rushing.
Chippers’ lessons from the Crime Dog
Baseball Hall of Famer Chipper Jones discussed new inductee Fred McGriff last weekend, saying if it had been his call, McGriff would’ve been honored in Cooperstown a long time ago. Jones also said that while McGriff opted against having a team insignia on his plaque – he played for six franchises – he’ll think of Crime Dog as a Brave.
“I feel like he’s a Brave because he was there when I got there (was called up),” Jones said. “He was a consummate pro. Long time coming. I think with all the homers, all the consistency, especially the way he played in the postseason, it should’ve been done a lot earlier. But he’s here now and nothing can change that. Just a great guy. Taught me a lot about hitting in the middle of the lineup through the years.”
On what he learned from McGriff, Jones added: “Setting up pitchers, maybe sitting a little more off-speed in hitter’s counts. People sometimes don’t come at us. If they’re not going to let you beat them, sometimes you have to let the guy behind you do the damage. … He was one of those guys who got me a little more patient. You have to draw walks. Have to hit the ball from foul pole to foul pole. It took a while, but it stuck.”
Rolen’s one-liner
Fellow Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Scott Rolen delivered one of the more memorable speeches in years, largely focused on his family. Rolen implemented some humor, too. After mentioning he played for four teams – the Phillies, Cardinals, Blue Jays and Reds – he looked behind him and said he’d explain what that’s like to Chipper Jones and Derek Jeter, who spent their entire careers with the Braves and Yankees, respectively, and were on the stage for his speech.
McGriff Hall of Fame tidbits
*McGriff’s plaque made history: It’s the first one to cite OPS in its description of his accomplishments. It mentioned McGriff finished among his league’s top five in home runs and OPS across seven consecutive seasons.
*On July 22, the Braves, Blue Jays and Rays co-hosted a party for McGriff at Templeton Hall in Cooperstown. McGriff spent parts of five seasons with each team. The event included team representatives, family, friends and media.
*Next Braves Hall of Famer? That’s a tough question. Outfielder Andruw Jones has garnered increasing support but fell well short of qualifying on the latest ballot (he received 58% of votes, needing 75%). Jones has four more years on the writers’ ballot. Beyond him, one might look at current players. Closer Craig Kimbrel, 35, is enjoying a nice season for the Phillies but clearly is in his twilight years, making him a candidate.
-Staff writers Chip Towers, Chad Bishop, Sarah K. Spencer, Gabriel Burns and Doug Roberson contributed to this article.
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