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The Dawgs arrive in South Florida

Kirby Smart

“We’re excited to get down here. We got a Monday practice in Christmas Day, and then we got a Tuesday practice this morning. We wanted to get down here so we could get used to the weather a little bit tomorrow. And hopefully avoid rain Thursday, says that we may have Thursday rain, but our guys have been great. We’ve had really good practices the last two days. Practices have been a lot better since we came back and got a lot of mid-years here and excited to see these guys go play.”

About athletes opting out on FSU and the mindset of his athletes:

“I mean, it’s not about them, it’s about us. And we don’t really know. It doesn’t matter to us, because we’re trying to play to our standard, we’re always trying to play our standard, we’ve had a lot more good on good practices, it’s probably been the best bowl practices in terms of not going against a scout team and going against each other. Because when you don’t know 100% what you’re going to see you’re better off going against really good people. So we’ve done a lot of ones on ones, two on twos and probably have gotten more three on threes than we ever have because we’ve got good depth with the 9, 10, 11, I don’t know how many fifth years that are there now. So we’ve been able to get a lot of depth.”

What he is looking forward to most:

“The kids getting away from our campus and getting the sunshine and getting out here to compete. Now I’m ready to play. I want to see these guys go play. A lot of guys have been working their butts off moving up and down the depth chart. We’re probably healthier than we’ve been for last four or five games of the year. And it’s great to see these guys go out and play. I mean, I’m really proud of the guys that are dying to go play, our guys want to play, they’re excited to go play so our guys are excited.”

Dawgs in the NFL – Week 16

Former Bulldogs in the National Football League continued to impress in week 16 of the regular season. George Pickens and Zamir White were major parts of their teams’ success this week, as Pickens posted nearly 200 yards receiving to pair with two touchdowns, and White ran for a career-high 145 yards in a big road win over the Chiefs. James Cook and D’Andre Swift currently rank third and fifth respectively among the league leaders in rushing, while Roquan Smith is currently fifth in the NFL in tackles with 151.

Rams 30, Saints 22

Matthew Stafford, QB – Threw for 328 yards and two touchdowns in the Rams’ victory on Thursday night. This was Stafford’s fifth game in a row with two or more touchdown passes and a rating of 100 or higher. Stafford’s dominant performance marked his seventh game in a row against New Orleans with two touchdown passes. With his 328 yards on Thursday night, Stafford now has over 4,000 yards passing in 14 career Thursday Night Football starts for an average of 296 yards per game.

Derion Kendrick, CB – Saw action on 10 defensive snaps and six special teams snaps for Los Angeles, recording no statistics.

Warren McClendon Jr., OT – Was listed as inactive for the Rams.

Monty Rice, ILB – Was listed as inactive for the Saints.

Steelers 34, Bengals 11

Broderick Jones, OT – Started at right tackle for the Steelers as they gained 397 yards of offense in the win.

George Pickens, WR – Hauled in four passes for a career-high 195 yards, good for fourth-most single game receiving yards by a former Georgia Bulldog, and two touchdowns for Pittsburgh. This marks Pickens’ third game in a row against Cincinnati with 55 or more receiving yards. Pickens has also recorded 70 or more receiving yards in all six of his career home games against divisional opponents with a total of 685 receiving yards and six touchdowns. His 86-yard touchdown was a career long, and his 195 receiving yards put him over 1,000 yards receiving this season. 

Darnell Washington, TE – Appeared on 29 offensive plays for Pittsburgh, catching one pass for eight yards in the win.

Trey Hill, OC – Was listed as inactive for Cincinnati in the loss.

Bills 24, Chargers 22

James Cook, RB – Started at running back for Buffalo, rushing for 70 yards on 20 carries in the win. Cook currently ranks third in the NFL in rushing yards with 1,038 which marks the seventh season in a row that at least one former Bulldog rushed for over 1,000 yards in a season.

Leonard Floyd, OLB – Started at defensive end for Buffalo, recording two tackles in the win.

Jamaree Salyer, OT/OG – Started at right guard for the Chargers as they gained 273 yards of offense.

Buccaneers 30, Jaguars 12

Jake Camarda, P – Punted two times for 101 yards for Tampa Bay on Sunday, for an average of 50.5 yards to go along with one punt downed inside the 20-yard-line.

Tyson Campbell, CB – Started at cornerback for the Jaguars, posting six total tackles in the loss.

Travon Walker, OLB – Started at defensive end for Jacksonville, recording five tackles and a sack. Walker has now recorded a sack in back-to-back games and has half a sack or more in five of his last six.

Seahawks 20, Titans 17

Kenny McIntosh, RB – Was active for Seattle but did not play in the win.

Falcons 29, Colts 10

Lorenzo Carter, OLB – Saw action on 25 defensive snaps for Atlanta, recording two tackles in the win.

John Fitzpatrick, TE – Was listed as not active for the Falcons on Sunday.

Packers 33, Panthers 30

Eric Stokes, CB – Started at cornerback for Green Bay, posting five tackles in the win.

Quay Walker, ILB – Appeared in all 66 defensive snaps for the Packers, recording five tackles, half a sack, and one quarterback hit. Walker’s five tackles on Sunday put him over 100 tackles for the second season in a row.

Devonte Wyatt, DE – Saw action in over 50 percent of Green Bay’s defensive plays, posting three tackles and one quarterback hit.

Lions 30, Vikings 24

Lewis Cine, S – Was listed as not active for the Vikings.

Bears 27, Cardinals 16

Jonathan Ledbetter, DE – Appeared in 49 percent of defensive snaps for Arizona, recording two tackles.

Dolphins 22, Cowboys 20

Channing Tindall, ILB – Saw action exclusively on special teams, recording two tackles in the win. 

Patriots 26, Broncos 23

David Andrews, OC – Started at center for New England as it gained 289 total yards in the win.

Raiders 20, Chiefs 14

John Jenkins, NT – Appeared on 26 defensive plays for the Raiders, posting one tackle. Jenkins set a new career high in tackles in a season last week with 52 total tackles this season.

Zamir White, RB – Made his second straight start at running back for Las Vegas, carrying the ball 22 times for a career-high 145 yards in the win.

Christopher Smith II, S – Was active for the Raiders but saw no action on Monday.

Eagles 33, Giants 25

Jalen Carter, DT – Entered the game as a reserve defensive tackle for Philadelphia, contributing one tackle in 21 defensive snaps.

Jordan Davis, NT – Earned the start at defensive tackle for the Eagles, where he notched two tackles in just over half of the team’s defensive snaps.

Kelee Ringo, CB – Started for the second consecutive week and hauled in his first career interception to seal the win for Philadelphia while adding five tackles. 

Nolan Smith, OLB – Saw action in a backup linebacker role for the Eagles, appearing in 17 defensive snaps, recording two tackles, and 18 on special teams. 

D’Andre Swift, RB – After rushing for 92 yards and a touchdown on 20 attempts for Philadelphia, Swift stands in fifth in the league for rushing yards with 988. He has already set single season career highs in both rushing yards and yards for scrimmage (1,197).

Azeez Ojulari, OLB – Entered the game in a reserve role for the Giants as a linebacker where he recorded a tackle for loss in over 75 percent of the team’s defensive snaps.

Andrew Thomas, OT – Started at left tackle for New York, appearing in all 63 offensive snaps as the team racked up 292 total yards of offense. 

Lawrence Cager, TE – Was listed as inactive for the Giants in the Christmas Day loss.

Ravens 33, 49ers 19

Ben Cleveland, OG – Entered the contest as a backup guard for the Ravens where he saw action in 20 total snaps – 13 on offense and seven on special teams.

Roquan Smith, ILB – Led the Ravens with eight total tackles and also had a quarterback hurry in the team’s Christmas Day win. Smith, who stands in fifth in the league with 151 total tackles, is one of just four players in the league with at least five tackles across 14 games played this season. 

Robert Beal Jr., DE – Saw action as a reserve defensive lineman for San Francisco, earned a tackle on special teams in six total snaps. 

Charlie Woerner, TE – Played in a backup tight end role for the 49ers, seeing action in 16 offensive snaps and 17 on special teams, recording no statistics. 

Chris Conley, WR – Entered the game as a reserve wide receiver in 12 offensive snaps and 14 on special teams, recording no statistics. 

Practice Squads

Falcons: Justin Shaffer, OL

Buccaneers: Richard Lecounte III, S

Commanders: Jake Fromm, QB

Chargers: Mark Webb, DB

49ers: Chris Conley, WR

Reserve Lists (IR, PUP, NFI)

Ravens: Nick Moore, LS

Rams: Stetson Bennett, QB

Titans: Kearis Jackson, WR/PR

Browns: Nick Chubb, RB

Dolphins: Isaiah Wynn, OT/OG

Eagles: Nakobe Dean, ILB

Chiefs: Mecole Hardman Jr., WR

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