Make sure you recalculate your kids’ GPAs using the UGA calculator. You can find that on the UGA Admissions blog. You may find your 3.8 kiddo is more competitive than you thought. Of course, you are correct that it has become a quite competitive admission.
@tsbna44 gave a nice overview of the GA publics. For big sports and easier admission than UGA, have your kids dive into Georgia Southern. Huge sports fan base and alumni network (although more regionally based than a UGA/Tech). Statesboro is a rural college town but isn’t that far from Savannah and the Georgia coast. The majority of students are GA residents.