Ahead of Georgia’s Week 8 trip to Texas, Kirby Smart’s 2026 class suffered a blow Thursday evening when five-star quarterback Jared Curtis reopened his recruitment and backed off his pledge to the Bulldogs.

Curtis, the No. 4 recruit in the ESPN Junior 300, is ESPN’s top quarterback prospect in the 2026 cycle. A junior at Nashville (Tennessee) Christian School, Curtis initially committed to Georgia in March after he threw for 2,522 yards and 25 touchdowns with nine interceptions in his sophomore season. His decommitment now leaves the Bulldogs with two prospects committed in the 2026 class.

Curtis announced the decision Thursday in a statement posted to X.

“This morning I spoke with coach Smart and [offensive coordinator Mike Bobo] and let them know that I still love Georgia, but would like to take some more time to explore all my options so I can make the best, most informed decision for my future. I let them know it just doesn’t seem right or fair to stay committed while checking out other programs. I want people to know where I stand and I’ve learned that making big decisions takes time.”

Curtis became the first member of Georgia’s 2026 recruiting class this spring when he picked the Bulldogs over Alabama, Texas, Ohio State and Oklahoma on March 23. The 6-foot-4, 255-pound passer burst onto the recruiting scene when he threw for 27 touchdowns and led Nashville Christian to a 10-3 record in his freshman season in 2022, earning runner-up honors for Tennessee’s Mr. Football that fall. Curtis has led Nashville Christian to a 6-1 start this fall.

“My focus now is taking care of business during the rest of our high school season and being a great teammate and leader,” Curtis continued in his statement. “I look forward to making the most of an open recruiting process in the months ahead.”

With Curtis’ commitment reopened, Georgia now holds pledges from a pair of 2026 pledges, four-star cornerbacks Jontavius Wynn (No. 159 in the ESPN Junior 300) and Dominick Kelly (No. 247), both of whom committed to the Bulldogs in late July.

In the 2025 cycle, Smart is looking to close his ninth straight top-three class at Georgia later this year with the Bulldogs’ latest class ranked fifth in ESPN’s latest team rankings for the cycle. Curtis now stands as one of two uncommitted players among ESPN’s top-10 pocket passers in the 2026 cycle alongside four-star quarterback Ryder Lyons (No. 5 pocket passer). All but one of ESPN’s top-five dual-threat passers in 2026 have committed following Helaman Casuga‘s pledge to Texas A&M Thursday afternoon.

No. 5 Georgia visits No. 1 Texas at 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC) on Saturday night.

It’s another blockbuster night in MLB’s league championship series.

First, the New York Yankees are in Cleveland up 2-0 over the Cleveland Guardians in the ALCS. Later, the Los Angeles Dodgers look to take a commanding 3-1 NLCS lead over the New York Mets at Citi Field.

With all four of baseball’s final four teams in action, we’ve got you covered with live updates and analysis from both games, plus takeaways and what’s next for the winners and losers after the final pitch.

Live updates

Today’s matchups

All times Eastern

Yankees lead series 2-0

Pitching matchup: Clarke Schmidt (5-5, 2.85 ERA) vs. Matthew Boyd (2-2, 2.72 ERA)

Lineups

Yankees

2B Gleyber Torres (R)
RF Juan Soto (L)
CF Aaron Judge (R)
DH Giancarlo Stanton (R)
3B Jazz Chisholm Jr (L)
1B Jon Berti (R)
SS Anthony Volpe (R)
LF Alex Verdugo (L)
C Jose Trevino (R)

Guardians

LF Steven Kwan (L)
DH Kyle Manzardo (L)
3B Jose Ramirez (S)
1B Josh Naylor (L)
CF Lane Thomas (R)
RF Daniel Schneemann (L)
2B Andres Gimenez (L)
C Austin Hedges (R)
2B Brayan Rocchio (S)

Dodgers lead series 2-1

Pitching matchup: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (7-2, 3.00 ERA) vs. Jose Quintana (10-10, 3.75 ERA)

Lineups

Dodgers

Shohei Ohtani (L) DH
Mookie Betts (R) RF
Teoscar Hernandez (R) LF
Tommy Edman (S) SS
Enrique Hernandez (R) 3B
Max Muncy (L) 1B
Will Smith (R) C
Andy Pages (R) CF
Chris Taylor (R) 2B

Mets

Francisco Lindor (S) SS
Mark Vientos (R) 3B
Pete Alonso (R) 1B
Brandon Nimmo (L) LF
Starling Marte (R) RF
J.D. Martinez (R) DH
Jose Iglesias (R) 2B
Harrison Bader (R) CF
Francisco Alvarez (R) C

NEW YORK — All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman is not in the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ starting lineup for Game 4 of the National League Championship Series as he continues to nurse a lingering ankle injury.

Freeman has played in seven of the Dodgers’ eight games this postseason after badly spraining his right ankle Sept. 26 against San Diego. Typically a power threat, he has seven hits — all singles — in 27 at-bats.

With left-hander Jose Quintana poised to start for the New York Mets, Los Angeles opted Thursday for a mostly right-handed lineup. Teoscar Hernandez will move into the No. 3 hole typically occupied by Freeman, and Kiké Hernández, who has played center field, will move to third base while Max Muncy shifts across the diamond to fill Freeman’s spot at first.

The Dodgers lead the best-of-seven series 2-1 after an 8-0 victory in Game 3 on Wednesday night.

Freeman, a former MVP and eight-time All-Star, has undergone hours of treatment daily to prepare to play. He also missed Game 4 of Los Angeles’ division series win against San Diego.

Freeman, 35, was not in the Dodgers’ pregame lineup before Game 1 of the division series, either, but he was penciled into the lineup card just before game time and proceeded to get two hits.

“He’s in a lot of pain out there,” Los Angeles catcher Will Smith said. “You can see it when he’s running and all that. But he’s inspiring us as players, as a teammate. Willing to put his body on the line. It’s impressive. It gets us going. We love when he’s in there. He’s been swinging it good for us. Unfortunately he’s not in there today, but I know he’s back in there tomorrow.”