Skip to main content
Join Now
Team Avatar
Georgia

Kearis Jackson comments on championship ring, target on Georgia's back

ns_headshot_2024-clearby: Nick Schultz04/19/22NickSchultz_7
georgia-bulldogs-coach-kirby-smart-updates-status-of-kendall-milton-kearis-jackson-ahead-of-sec-championship
Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Georgia unveiled its championship rings over the weekend, and they got rave reviews. Kearis Jackson sure sounded excited to see them after G-Day on Saturday.

Jackson said he hadn’t seen the rings yet in his post-G-Day media session, but he’d heard good things. He added he couldn’t wait until he could see it in-person.

“I haven’t seen it up close yet, but I heard they’re pretty big,” Jackson told reporters. “I think we get ours on Monday, so I’m excited to get it.”

CLICK HERE to get 30% OFF your Georgia Bulldogs National Championship apparel

As far as how the Bulldogs are coming off the national championship victory over Alabama, Jackson said it’s all about creating a new identity. The goal is to make this year’s team different from last year’s title-winning group, and it will be on paper. Georgia lost some key pieces from last season, including Nakobe Dean, Jordan Davis, Travon Walker and George Pickens, who are all heading to the NFL Draft.

But this season is going to be different from last year. Georgia is sure to get every team’s best shot, and that comes with winning a title. That said, Jackson isn’t thinking about the “target” on their backs.

“People feel like we have a target on our back,” Jackson said. “Us on the team, we don’t feel like we have a target on our back. We feel like this is a brand new team with a new identity, so we have to go out there and go prove ourselves. … Just knowing the hard work that we put in these 15 days, really [over] a month period, has been a huge difference than when we first started at the beginning of spring up until now.

“I feel like we’ve made great strides throughout the whole spring, picking guys up, having guys like myself lead in the right direction because, of course, we’ve got a lot of young guys. Had a lot of the guys leave. But having that leadership on the field, it means the most to the young ones on the field.”

One of the key pieces coming back this year is Stetson Bennett, who went from walk-on to national champion and is returning for one more go-round with the Bulldogs. He had a strong showing on G-Day, going 15-for-35 for 273 yards and three touchdowns. Jackson was the top target of the day, catching four passes for 104 yards as Georgia Black won 26-23.