
Four-star defensive lineman Valdin Sone announces commitment
Sone is a four-star recruit from the class of 2026, who reclassified from the class of 2027. The 6-foot-3, 315-pound defensive lineman plays high school football for Blue Ridge School in Dyke, Virginia. He earned a spot on the Navy All-American Bowl alongside Georgia freshman wide receiver Talyn Taylor.
Sone has a different path than most recruits. He was born in Sweden and is of Cameroonian descent. He grew up playing soccer while also partaking in ju-jitsu and taekwondo. In April 2024, he helped Sweden win the 2024/25 IFAF European Junior Football championships, earning two sacks and a fumble against Denmark in the championship game.
Sone marks Georgia seventh defensive lineman commit and 30th overall commit in Georgia's class of 2026. He joins a defensive line room with four-star PJ Dean and three-stars Corey Howard, Carter Luckie, Preston Carey, and Seven Cloud. Sone is the highest ranked among them as he is the No. 4 defensive line prospect and No. 46 overall prospect in the class of 2026.
Sone is Georgia's fifth commit from the month of July. The Bulldogs are continuing the massive hot streak they had from middle-late June, but Georgia has had four recruits in a six-day span. They have the No. 2 recruiting class of 2026 in the nation, just behind USC.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Georgia football injury, suspension report entering fall camp
Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart updated the status of several ailing Georgia players during SEC media days. Overall, Georgia is pretty healthy entering fall camp. The Bulldogs don't appear to have a season-ending injury yet, but Georgia does have a pair of players recovering from knee surgeries in punter Brett Thorson and defensive back Ondre Evans. Perhaps Georgia's most important injury is at punter. Thorson is rehabbing a knee injury he suffered in the SEC championship, but has still earned preseason All-American honors this summer. "Thorson's coming back. He's done a good job," Smart said at SEC media days. "I can't sit here and tell you if he'll be the starting punter. It depends on his health. But he's starting some punting." Georgia is expected to start fall camp in early August as the Bulldogs prepare for the Aug. 30 season opener against the Marshall Thundering Herd. Georgia will not have to release an official injury report until Week 3's SEC opener at Tennessee, so the Bulldogs and coach Smart will likely be pretty hesitant to share details on injuries as usual. Expected to be ready for fall camp Running back Roderick Robinson (ankle) Offensive tackle Monroe Freeling (shoulder) Wait and see Tight end Jaden Reddell (ankle tightrope surgery) Outside linebacker Quintavius Johnson (ankle tightrope surgery) Punter Brett Thorson (knee) Defensive back Ondre Evans (torn ACL) Facing possible suspension Offensive lineman Jahzare Jackson (arrested) Kirby Smart is unlikely to publicly announce a suspension Jackson, but his arrest was significant and could even result in him being dismissed from the program. Former Georgia wide receiver Nitro Tuggle and offensive lineman Marques Easley were both arrested in the spring and left via the spring transfer portal, so we'll see if things unfold in a similar manner with Jackson. This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: UGA football injuries and potential suspensions ahead of fall camp
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Surprising Georgia Bulldog named as preseason first-team All-American
The Georgia Bulldogs had just one player make the 2025 preseason Walter Camp All-America team. Walter Camp, which is the nation's oldest college football has just a first- and second-team. Surprisingly, Georgia punter Brett Thorson made the first-team. Thorson's inclusion is not shocking because of his level of skill, but because he is recovering from knee surgery after he suffered a knee injury (to his non-kicking leg) in Georgia's 2024 SEC championship win over Texas. "He (Brett Thorson) won't be ready at fall camp, but we think he'll be ready by the first game," said Kirby Smart back in April. Smart has not confirmed the exact injury Thorson suffered, but it is suspected he tore his ACL. If Thorson returns for the start of the 2025 college football season, then he will have returned to action in less than 10 months. If Thorson is unable to play, then sophomore Drew Miller, who played in Georgia's Sugar Bowl loss to Notre Dame, is expected to start. AP named Thorson as a second-team All-American for his excellent 2024 season. Last year, Thorson averaged 47. 6 yards per punt and pinned opponents inside the 20 yard line on 22 different occasions. He had a career-high 18 punts go over 50 yards. Thorson is expected to be part of an elite Georgia special teams unit in 2025. The Bulldogs return starting kicker Peyton Woodring and long snapper Beau Gardner. Woodring made 21 of 23 kicks in 2024 including nine of his 11 attempts over 40 yards. This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: Georgia football specialist makes first-team All-America


USA Today
18 hours ago
- USA Today
Former Georgia QB Carson Beck tells legendary SEC championship story
Former Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck had a memorable time at ACC media days. Addressing the media for the first time since his decision to sign with Miami, he earned a ton of time in the spotlight. Beck used a lot of that time to discuss his favorite memories with Georgia last year. One of them was the time he came back in the 2024 SEC championship against Texas. He suffered a UCL injury while trying to throw a Hail Mary on the last play of the first half, but he miraculously came back to hand the ball off to Trevor Etienne for the game-winning touchdown in overtime. 'People are like, jumping on me and stuff,' Beck said. 'Yo, chill. I'm injured. That was a cool moment, I think, to be my last play for Georgia and not (have) the injury be my last play.' He told this story on ACC. A little earlier in the interview, former Georgia coach Mark Richt joked around with Beck about his NIL money. ""You were at Georgia, went to Miami," said Richt. "I was at Georgia, went to Miami. The only difference is you got paid more than I did." Richt's salary with the Hurricanes, where he finished his College Football Hall of Fame career from 2016-18 after leading UGA for 15 years, was reportedly $4 million a year. Beck is making over $4 million with his new NIL deal with the Miami Hurricanes. Carson Beck talked about his decision to leave for Miami in the Hurricanes' press conference. He believed it was a hard decision for him, but the right decision to make. He discussed his favorite moment with the Georgia Bulldogs as well, and overall, he looked back on his time at Georgia very positively.