SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA DAYS

July 21, 2026

Raylen Wilson

Georgia Bulldogs

Press Conference

Q. Team goals are obviously at the top of your list. But what individual goals are you trying to attain to get the team to the next level?

RAYLEN WILSON: I would say at least a hundred tackles in the season for me because I haven't done that yet on a collegiate level, and I feel like that -- with most of it being tackles for loss, I feel like that would help the team (laughs).

Q. Georgia's consistently had one of the nation's top defenses year after year. What are you guys doing to keeping the standard so high?

RAYLEN WILSON: I would say we just keep trying to get better every day and set a new standard every day and never let it drop.

Q. You guys added a new face in a transfer Gentry Williams to your defensive. What has he brought to the team in Athens from his time in Norman?

RAYLEN WILSON: He's legit. That's my dog. We done grown close already. I mean, he's brought speed. He brought maturity to the team and leadership, I mean, he's going to be a good DB for us.

Q. Are there any games on the schedule -- I know you take them all respectful to all those teams -- but any games on the schedule that you look forward to playing this year?

RAYLEN WILSON: I'm not going to lie to you, I really look forward to every game we play. I'm trying to beat everybody the same way.

Q. What do people not understand about Kirby Smart that you only know from playing under him?

RAYLEN WILSON: I mean, he's not hard on us for no reason. I mean, we know what's expected of us coming to Georgia. We signed up for it. We signed up for him to be on the mic all practice, ripping at us.

I mean, it gets us ready for the game. It doesn't really get any worse than getting ripped on the mic in practice in front of everybody. So I guess that makes the stress in the game really less.

Q. You actually went into what I was going to talk about, which was him on the mic. Do you think his hands get tired, or has he moved to, like, as -- he doesn't have to hand hold it? Do you think his voice gets tired? Tell me about the first time that you got yelled at and the last time you got yelled at.

RAYLEN WILSON: Yeah, his hands probably do get tired, but I mean, he know we tired out there. So he probably fighting the same way we are with his hands.

But the first time I got yelled at during practice, I'm pretty sure it was freshman year -- no, this was sophomore year, my most memorable.

I had missed a thud on Trevor Etienne. He was just ripping me on the mic. He was like, Raylen, you had a bad practice today. Raylen, you had a bad practice today. He's just trying to get to me. And you just don't let stuff like that get to you. You just listen to the coaching. Like, I missed the thud, I get that, and just on to the next play.

But the latest, I try not to hear my name on that mic too much. So I don't remember the last time.

Q. (Audio issues) you're so much better (indiscernible). Was there anything different in the lead-up that allowed you to physically dominate that game?

RAYLEN WILSON: I feel like we just play with a different chip on our shoulder because we played them earlier in the season and we knew how they were going to try to attack us. So I feel that helped tremendously.

Q. What's impressed you the most about Elijah Griffin's growth?

RAYLEN WILSON: EG, I mean, his growth in the weight room has been crazy, just bench pressing and squatting. Just his leadership role, he's been taking that pretty seriously. He's going to be a good leader for us this year as a young guy.

Q. You stand in the tunnel at Stanford Stadium, you look out between the hedges, all that red and black, yelling "Go, Dawgs." Do you still get goosebumps?

RAYLEN WILSON: I still get goosebumps every game right before we go out. It's really a crazy feeling and it's a blessing to be in this position.

Q. I think sometimes people understate Gunner Stockton's ability as a quarterback. You see him every day in practice. So how would you praise him? Tell all these folks about Gunner.

RAYLEN WILSON: Gunner is that dude. I see it every day, day in and day out in practice. On the field, off the field, I mean, he's going to be that dude to lead us.