Georgia football has a little over a month before taking on the Oregon Ducks, and in honor of SEC Media Days, we are joining the talking party and getting to know our staff better.
SEC Media Days is this week, and we are excited to see our favorite Georgia football national championship-winning coach Kirby Smart take the stage while some of our favorite players hit media row for interviews.
It’s a splash of summer information to hold us over until the beginning of fall camp.
Everyone enjoys the talking portion of the offseason, but SEC Media Days usually brings the best crowds and, of course, a lot of interesting tidbits from all 14 teams.
But while we’re waiting to see Smart take the podium, we thought it might be fun for you to get to know some of the people here at Dawn of the Dawg who help bring you all the Georgia news and takes throughout the year.
Get to know our Dawn of the Dawg staff, who is obsessed with Georgia football.
So without further ado, here are our answers to eight Dawg-related questions!
Who is your favorite current Georgia football player?
Savannah Leigh (editor): Nakobe Dean
Rick Beach: Stetson Bennett IV
Justin Brown: Robert Beal
George Somerville: I love that Nolan Smith is returning to lead this team in defense of the national championship. To me, he embodies the Kirby Smart culture and work ethic. Some NFL team is going to be very lucky to get this guy.
Ashley Espie: Kearis Jackson! I’ve had the opportunity to meet him twice, and he is seriously the nicest guy. Great team player who hypes everyone up and is always there when you need him. I hope he has a phenomenal final season at Georgia and finally runs a punt back for a touchdown. I will say that the Mailman is a very, very close second, though!
Scott Green: Chris Smith
Favorite past Georgia football player?
Savannah Leigh: David Pollack
Rick: Mike Bobo
Justin: Chris Conley
George: When I started writing, I wanted to interview players. But living in the U.K., it wasn’t easy to get my requests taken seriously. Georgia did, and incredibly my first ever interview was with Rodrigo Blankenship. He was great with his time, and I subsequently met him on a visit to Athens. Great guy, an awesome teammate, and a generational kicker!
Scott: Nick Chubb, Nakobe Dean or Roquan Smith
Ashley: Nick Chubb. I’m that girl that posts this almost every Sunday in the fall.
Friendly reminder that this has been and always will be a Nick Chubb fan account✨ pic.twitter.com/3YbeBNUD67
— Ashley Espie (@dawggirl27) January 3, 2021
I loved watching him play at Georgia and admired his humbleness and dedication to talking with his helmet. I had the chance to meet him with some members of my family while he was rehabbing from his knee injury after the 2015 season, and he was so nice and kind to my entire family. If he wasn’t my favorite already, that moment solidified his role in that spot.
Favorite Georgia football tradition?
Savannah Leigh: The solo trumpet player
Rick: Solo trumpet — Battle Hymn of the Republic
Justin: Light up Sanford Fourth Quarter specatular
George: While there are many, Uga is an iconic mascot, which is such an awesome tradition. So much so that he has appeared almost everywhere in the lead-up to big games. He is a real celebrity!
Ashley: Krypton and Light up Sanford are my favorites! It looks amazing, and I can’t wait to see it in person one day. Calling the Dawgs is a lot of fun too!
Scott: The lone trumpet pregame playing to a silent Sanford Stadium
What is your favorite Georgia football memory before last season? We all know it’s hard to beat the natty!
Savannah Leigh: Georgia vs. Auburn blackout game. I couldn’t talk for three days after. Notre Dame in Athens is a close second.
Rick: Watching Georgia beat Arkansas in the 2002 SEC Championship
Justin: Sony Michel’s overtime touchdown in the Rose Bowl game to go to the national championship. It was such a surreal moment because it felt like we had no chance of winning that game, and then we came all the way back, and that was the way to finish it. It still gives me goosebumps.
George: Being in Athens for the first time and watching Georgia beat Texas A&M in a homecoming game. Such an awesome experience.
Ashley: Such a hard one for me, but I’d probably have to go with storming the field against Florida in 2007. That was one of my favorite Georgia teams, and being from Florida, that was one of the first times I remember them beating the Gators.
It was exciting and crazy, and I loved it. The 2017 game against Florida is up there too for the same reason! Twenty-one points in the first quarter?! I was so excited!
Scott: The Charlotte meet-up with fans before the season
How did you become a Georgia football fan?
Savannah Leigh: I was born into the fandom. My grandfather went to Georgia, and they’ve had season tickets since the 70s.
Rick: I come from a family of Dawgs.
Scott: Born and bred as a Georgia fan
Justin: My dad, his entire life, has been a huge Georgia fan, so I have been a Georgia fan my whole life because of him. Being able to watch every game with my dad is something that I will cherish forever.
George: Firstly, I am a college football fan, but I love the SEC. While I had visited SEC country before, I did a great tour in 2019, which ended in Athens. The people I met in Athens could not have been more welcoming or nicer to me. I fell in love with Athens. There is no place like it on a Saturday.
Ashley: My mom has been a diehard Georgia Bulldogs fan since she was a kid, and my dad is a fan as well. My house has been nothing but Red and Black for as long as I can remember.
While there are Alabama, Auburn, and Florida fans among my extended family, my mom’s whole crew has stuck to the straight and narrow, and it paid off when we all finally got to celebrate that natty together this year.
It was worth waiting for, and I’m so thankful we all could experience that intense joy and excitement together.
What Georgia football game are you most looking forward to this season?
Savannah Leigh: Oregon for sure to see what will happen.
Rick: World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party
Justin: I am most looking forward to the Mississippi State game this year because, with M-state, you never know how they will be in the middle of the year, and the last time we played at their stadium was 2010. So it’s going to be an interesting game.
George: So many great games this season to choose from — Oregon will be a great game, as will the rivalry game against the Gators. I wrote an article about Tennessee as the biggest threat to the Dawgs this season. Huge game.
Ashley: The Cocktail Party! Living in Florida, this has been the game I have looked forward to the most since I was a kid, and this year is no different. I love when the Dawgs come to town!
Scott: Oregon and Auburn!
A Hot take for this upcoming Georgia football season?
Savannah Leigh: The Dawgs will go 12-0 and beat Alabama in the SEC Championship game.
Rick: Georgia will win all 12 regular season games by double digits.
Justin: We will have two one thousand-yard rushers.
George: This often overshadowed offense leads the nation in offense and makes many eat their words!
Ashley: The offense shows up big this year and shows everyone that Georgia can have a good defense and still score plenty of style points.
Scott: Georgia will average 46 points a game and Stetson Bennett will put up Trask-like numbers
If you were interviewed on SEC Network, what random fact would they pop up about you under your name?
Savannah Leigh: She has been to 130 Georgia football games.
Rick: Has a The Office quote for every situation
Justin: College Student
George: Hosts the United Kingdom’s first dedicated college football podcast
Ashley: Good at having a quote on hand for anything, bad at knowing where it originated
Scott: First college graduate in my family line with a Georgia agricultural degree, and went to Afghanistan with a big Georgia USA flag
And there you have it! Hopefully, you enjoyed reading this rapid round of questions as much as we enjoyed answering and putting them together for you. Here’s to another great season together!