The following, a 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 it informative, insightful and fun.
Georgia football begins workouts
While the Georgia Bulldogs continue to work the transfer portal and recruiting trail to finalize their 2024 roster, the football team such as it exists at the moment began offseason workouts Friday in Athens.
What happens within the secure confines of Butts-Mehre football complex over the next two months could go a long way toward determining how the Bulldogs line up next season. The group being put through the paces by strength coach Scott Sinclair is more than 90 strong. It includes at least 56 returning lettermen, 24 early enrolled signees (the Bulldogs signed 28 in total) and six transfers.
Some of those players are in various stages of recovery from injury, including wide receiver Rara Thomas (foot), cornerback Julian Humphrey (shoulder) and inside linebacker Smael Mondon (foot). All of them are expected to fully recover soon and will be involved in intense playing-time competitions in mid-March when spring practice commences.
Others who need to make significant strides during this get-faster-and-stronger period include: offensive tackles Monroe Freeling and Chad Lindberg, centers Jared Wilson and Drew Bobo, defensive linemen Jordan Hall and Jamaal Jarrett, outside linebackers Gabe Harris and Damon Wilson, inside linebackers Raylen Wilson and Troy Bowles and defensive backs Chris Peal, Daniel Harris, Joenel Aguero and JaCorey Thomas.
With Georgia’s roster as overloaded as it currently is – and bound to have more additions – continued physical development is sure to factor into decisions between spring practice and the next portal period, which begins May 15. Like all FBS teams, the Bulldogs’ roster will have to be set at 85 by the time preseason camp opens the first week of August.
The main thing is the main thing
As a 34-year-old, Damon Stoudamire played 31 games for the San Antonio Spurs during the 2007-08 season. He was at the end of his NBA playing career and part of a team coached by one of the league’s best in Gregg Popovich.
Now in his first season as Georgia Tech’s coach, Stoudamire recognizes that his short spell in Texas with Popovich influenced the way he coaches and the way he now leads a program.
“Not to overreact on things. You gotta make the main thing the main thing,” Stoudamire explained on his weekly radio show. “We tend to overreact to certain things, then when you actually look at the game, it might not have impacted the game in a way you thought.”
Stoudamire told the story of the 2008 Western Conference semifinals and how the Spurs beat the New Orleans Hornets (and current Tech assistant coach Bonzi Wells) in a seven-game series. After falling behind 2-0, and then 3-2, Popovich never panicked and assured his team that all the Hornets had done was win their home games just as they were expected to do.
But going into Game 7 in New Orleans, Popovich switched team hotels, nixed the team shootaround before the game and called a team meeting.
“It was simple,” Stoudamire said of Popovich’s message. “‘They ain’t been here before. We’ve been here. We know what it takes. They don’t. It’s as simple as that.’”
The Spurs went out and won 91-82 to advance to the Western Conference finals, where they lost in five games to the Los Angeles Lakers. But the lesson from that postseason was imprinted on Stoudamire forever.
“It’s staying process-driven and not overreacting to things you just don’t got control over. You control the controllables, and you try to always make the main thing the main thing,” he said. “Those things always stand out with me.”
New digs for Diamond Dogs
It might not feel like it outside, but baseball is just around the corner for the Georgia Bulldogs.
Under the direction of first-year coach Wes Johnson, the Bulldogs have begun preseason workouts at Foley Field. That has given Georgia’s players an opportunity to enjoy some of the new amenities provided in an ongoing $45 million renovation of the baseball complex.
Returning to school for winter semester, the Bulldogs were greeted with a new locker room, players’ lounge, team meeting room and nutrition area. The project also includes a state-of-the-art pitching lab and new batting tunnels built underneath the stadium.
By end of the two-phase endeavor, there will be an additional 41,000 square feet of space, 230 extra seats and new LED lights for the field.
Johnson replaced former baseball coach Scott Stricklin last summer. The Bulldogs feature 20 returning lettermen, including All-American first baseman/outfielder Charlie Condon and pitchers Charlie Goldstein, Chandler Marsh and Leighton Finley. Johnson also added 17 players via the transfer portal, including shortstop Kolby Branch, an All-American from Baylor, infielder Slate Alford (Mississippi State) and pitcher Brandt Pancer (Stanford).
The Bulldogs will hold their annual First Pitch banquet Feb. 10 before opening the season with a home series against North Carolina-Asheville on Feb. 16. A three-game set against Georgia Tech highlights March, followed by the SEC opener on the road against Kentucky.
Baseball is not the only spring sport getting a facelift. Georgia’s softball complex also was approved for a $38.5 million renovation at the fall athletic board meeting. That money will add a two-story, 27,500 building and new locker rooms to Jack Turner Stadium complex.
Roster raiding
Alabama’s roster has been poached since Nick Saban’s retirement, and acclaimed defensive back Caleb Downs is among those in the transfer portal. Most believe he’s heading to Georgia, where he immediately would have a case as the Bulldogs’ best defender.
New Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer was asked about teams raiding his roster last weekend. He shared the following:
“I don’t care where you’re at, if you see an opportunity to add to your team, especially if it might hurt one of your competitors, you’re going to do that,” DeBoer said. “Unfortunately, that’s the situation that college football, college athletics is in right now where those things can happen pretty quickly. In many cases, there’s not much as far as consequences if you’re not handling things the right way.”
The Bulldogs might be the clear preseason No. 1 team for 2024. They’ve already landed running back Trevor Etienne (Florida) and receiver London Humphreys (Vanderbilt) among others in the portal. Downs would be their best addition yet.
Downs’ older brother, Josh Downs, played receiver at North Carolina and just completed his rookie season for Indianapolis. Downs had 68 catches for 771 yards and two touchdowns for the nine-win Colts.
Continuing a trend
The Braves will enter this season seeking their seventh consecutive division title, which of course would put them halfway to their record 14 straight division crowns (1991-2005). No other team in MLB history has won even 10 consecutive division titles, so the current Braves already are approaching rare air.
Only the Dodgers currently have a longer postseason streak than the Braves, having made 11 consecutive postseasons. But the Giants won the National League West by one game in 2021, snapping the Dodgers’ string of eight division titles. The Braves have the lengthiest active run atop any division.
-Staff writer Chad Bishop, Gabriel Burns and Chip Towers contributed to this report.
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