Kirby Smart hands former Georgia Bulldogs WR his flowers right before they meet again in SEC showdown

Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs are set to face a familiar face when they take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs this upcoming weekend.

Kelsey Kramer — College Football & NFL Trending News Writer
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Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart talks to wide receiver Anthony Evans III (5) before the kick off from the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the first half at Caesars Superdome.
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Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs are set to face a familiar face when they take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs this upcoming weekend.

That familiar face is wide receiver Anthony Evans III.

Evans was a star on the Bulldogs’ special teams until he transferred to Mississippi State this past summer, hoping to see more playing time.

Before heading to Mississippi, the former four-star recruit from Texas finished the 2024 season reeling in nine catches for 88 yards and another 50 yards on three carries for Georgia. And as a specialist, Evans returned seven kicks for 124 total yards and 17 punts for 129 yards. 

Anthony Evans is having a breakout 2025 season

He has only continued to add to his resume with the Maroon Bulldogs as one of their top receivers, hauling in 52 catches for 653 yards and four scores through nine games so far.

Evans will enter Saturday’s game after a big outing last week, where he helped Mississippi State to their first SEC win in more than two years. He finished with a career-high five receptions for 111 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning score with just 48 seconds left on the clock.

Evans’ breakout year has been far from surprising for Smart, who handed him his flowers earlier this week.

“Yeah, Anthony’s played awesome,” Smart told reporters on Monday. “It was great the last 24 hours. I’ve seen highlights throughout the year, watching Anthony play really well just in games in passing and things that overlapped. And then yesterday, you get to sit and watch four or five games in a row. He’s really played well. Explosive, fast, vertical threat, quick game threat, blocking well. He’s always been a good returner. He’s everything we’ve thought he was. He’s really grown, gotten better, and as you grow up and get better, you improve, and he’s done that at a really high level.”

Georgia vs. Mississippi State kicks off at 12 p.m. ET on ABC, where fans will get to see how well the Bulldogs can contain their former wide receiver.

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