Georgia-Florida rivalry brings extra juice for Georgia players

Heading into this Saturday’s showdown between Georgia and Florida, several Bulldogs have had their chance to share what the rivalry game means to them. From decades of experience in the rivalry to first-time appearances, natives of the area and those that become familiar with it only after arriving in Athens, the Dawgs sounded off on their feelings towards The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.

Let’s start with Georgia head coach Kirby Smart. He’s a native of South Georgia from Bainbridge. He played at Georgia and partook in the festivities of Georgia-Florida on the field. Now he has roamed the sidelines as a head coach in the rivalry six times with a seventh awaiting on Saturday.

“…I enjoy the pageantry of going down there and playing,” Smart said. “I enjoyed playing there as a player, I enjoy tradition. I enjoy all those things.”

Sure, he may be one of the biggest advocates for moving this game to a home and home for recruiting purposes, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t understand the benefits of it being in Jacksonville too.

As for the Georgia players, there certainly are some South Georgia natives in that category as well. Quarterback Stetson Bennett, offensive lineman Warren McClendon and outside linebacker Nolan Smith are from Blackshear, Brunswick and Savannah, Ga. respectively. All within a two hour drive of Jacksonville, this is the closest to home that those three Bulldogs ever get to play.

“Yeah, for me it was a little bit closer to home down there, you know,” Bennett said. “I don’t know exactly how far we were to Jacksonville. I only went once. But, it seemed like there were more Florida fans, so it was more rivalries between households — you know, talk smack. So yeah, I’d say I grew up with a little bit more of a proximity to the game.”

“Growing up, it always was a huge experience. You know, everybody comes into town, cookout, just all the family come back into town,” McClendon added. “My uncles, they’ll normally come down for it so growing up, that was just a huge experience for me.”

“Man, it’s just… it’s exciting for me just because it’s a game that I always watched all my life. I’m a kid from Savannah and I used to go to Jacksonville to go to camps with my mom and I just get really excited to play in that game,” Smith said. “And I just feel like as a kid from Savannah, I just smell the weather. It feels so good that breeze just feels like I’m at home and I’m playing at home again.”

Finally, there are the out-of-staters. Few and far in between at the University of Georgia, they are well represented on the Bulldogs’ roster. That’s because of the way that Kirby Smart has recruited during his time in Athens. However, they may require a little bit of a lesson of what exactly this Georgia-Florida rivalry means upon arrival in Athens.

“The first time playing Jacksonville, I didn’t really know what to expect. But then when we got there everyone was tailgating and the stadium was split. It was pretty cool to see,” Brock Bowers said. “I mean, it’s a rivalry game so it’s always a big one.”

“Before I committed here I just watched the two teams all the time: the ‘18, ‘17, ‘20 game. And just to go back, it’s a popular rivalry. Just kind of something I wanted to be in,” Jamon Dumas-Johnson added. “And the rivalry means everything to Coach Smart. The team, the people last year, even two years ago, we still go off of how we lost in 2020. So, we still got the chip on our shoulder going into the game. And the University, it means a lot to us. So we still trying to play for the seniors that lost in 2020. Still got that chip on our shoulders.”

So, if a game that some of the players on the team weren’t even on campus for is still sticking with them, you know just how much this Georgia-Florida rivalry means to these Dawgs.

“I can tell you that it’s hard to get a feel for how much the players care and feel about the rivalry until you play in it,” Bennett summarized. “You know, you can throw records or whatever you want out the window more so than probably any other game on our schedule when we go down there and play Florida… They’re always going to be a force to be reckoned with down there.”

Kickoff time for Saturday’s game between the Bulldogs and Gators is set for 3:30 p.m. ET from TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville on CBS.