Two Bulldogs excited for another homecoming in Jacksonville

When Georgia tight end Isaac Nauta sets foot in Jacksonville, Florida, it will be a familiar sight.

Not only is he playing in the Georgia-Florida game for the third time. The Bulldogs’ junior grew up with the rivalry.

Nauta lived in Jacksonville for about eight years and has seen a lot — from the late-filling crowd, the nearly perfect split of people wearing blue and red at TIAA Bank Field or the rowdy fans celebrating an event that used to be known as the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.”

“It’s always awesome for me to come back and play this game,” Nauta said. “It gets crazy, and it is probably the best atmosphere in college football.”

Nauta finished his high school playing career at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

But was he a Gator fan? No, nice try.

In fact, there was an intent to stick with the Florida rivals. Nauta grew up a Florida State fan — because he was in a grade school class with a host of Gator fans. And the 240-pound tight end wanted to be different — in ways than looking years older than his fellow classmates throughout middle and high school.

Nauta was committed to Florida State for a while. As a three-year varsity player at Buford (in a five-year stint as a Georgia resident), the formerly-coveted prospect was destined to play across the Florida panhandle in Tallahassee.

He went on a visit to Florida under former head coach Jim McElwain and enjoyed his time, but the Bulldogs prevailed over both teams in 2016.

For Nauta, the treat-each-game-the-same mentality doesn’t completely hold true.

“For me, I don’t really like these guys a whole lot,” Nauta said. “That’s the rivalry. Every time we come in to Jacksonville, we want to win this game.”

There are similar ties for Georgia offensive guard Solomon Kindley, a 2016 recruit and redshirt sophomore. Kindley was a three-star recruit out of Raines High School in Jacksonville, and enjoys what the border rivalry brings to the city.

Kindley wasn’t asked by reporters to reveal his former ties to fandom, but he did not have an offer from Florida and was a Bulldogs pledge about two weeks before 2016 National Signing Day. He does recall recent occurrences when his family would walk in the city in red-and-black while being surrounded by an assemblage of Gator fans.

“It’s a great atmosphere across the city,” Kindley said. “It’s the one time the city comes together, but it’s divided with Florida and Georgia fans. I can’t wait.”

It goes beyond Kindley and Nauta, too. Both Florida and Georgia recruit the same areas and have plenty of players with hometown ties to the opposing state.

What does that bring? As Nauta put it, some “word swap.”

It’s something that begins on the recruiting trail and showcase camp circuit, and it continues at the collegiate level. It has become inevitable as the bickering begins in the offseason, finishes at the final buzzer and starts again.

But for the Bulldogs to be the victor in an ever-important rivalry, the balance is important.

“This is always a trash-talking game, but this game is also about composure,” Nauta said. “You have to be able to control it. It’ll cost your team if you can’t keep your mouth shut.”