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What recent transfer portal additions mean for Kirby Smart, 2026 Georgia football roster

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  • reddawg1reddawg1 Posts: 4,415 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate
  • GramsterGramster Posts: 641 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate

    @MontanaDawg wrote… "The SEC slogan " It just means more" really should be " It just means more money "…

    Bingo, we have a winner! Follow the money, it's always just about the money.

  • randomsportsfanrandomsportsfan Posts: 118 ✭✭✭ Junior

    @RedUga4Ever You have it backwards. Elite QBs are going to be hesitant to come to UGA without WRs that are at least above average. Reason? No one wants to go through what Jake Fromm did in 2019 and Carson Beck did in 2024 where both guys got hurt, had turnovers and saw their draft stock slip because WRs weren't getting open. And elite WRs want an offense where there are going to be a lot of challenging throws downfield. It is fun for them and prepares them for the NFL. Incidentally big time QBs want the same.

    Folks have been talking about the effects of Smart's aversion to risk in the passing game ever since Terry Godwin's mother trashed it for ruining her son's draft status in 2018 and when a 5 star WR recruit decommitted and went to Oklahoma because he didn't like the offense. Another 5 star WR Luther Burden publicly said that he didn't consider UGA for the same reason. People have always defended Smart and called the WRs and QBs selfish. Which makes no sense. Bama, Clemson, LSU and Ohio State have won national titles the past 10 years by airing it out. The only school other than UGA not to do it in that time was Michigan due to their issues recruiting WRs. And even there that offense was downfield passing off play action like the Bama 2009, 2011 and 2012 title teams. Saban reacted to losing the 2014 title game to Ohio State by hiring Lane Kiffin to change the offense to throw downfield even more.

    Who was Saban's DC most of those years? Kirby Smart. So Smart knows this. Why he chooses to win another way is a mystery. What isn't a mystery is that 5 star WRs aren't going to come play for a system where not even George Pickens and Ladd McConkey are going to reach 850 receiving yards - even by playing 15 games - and be first round picks. Lots of clearly lesser WRs accomplish both elsewhere. And win titles too.

  • GoodOlDawgGoodOlDawg Posts: 840 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate

    @reddawg1 I understand your point, but UGA was eliminated in the second-round last year and this year, not the first round. They advanced to the second round by virtue of a bye for being ranked as a top 4 team by the playoff committee. I'm not calling you out on this issue (you are a great commenter on this site), but I am convinced that this has worked against them, especially this year. I believe that having a warm-up game against Tulane was a decisive advantage for Ole Miss and would have given UGA an opportunity to "shake off the rust" if they were to have played Tulane (or James Madison) in the first round following a 3-week layoff. I believe that the challenge that went un-met last year and this year was how to come back from a 4-week layoff and play like they did in the SECCG.

  • reddawg1reddawg1 Posts: 4,415 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate

    If Indiana wins tonight and plays Miami for the NC game those two teams were in the top 16 rated teams for TP players with the most previous starts. Oregon was 33rd. Ole Miss was just 1 place behind Miami at 17th rated team with TP player previous starts. Texas A&M, 48 th ranked, Ohio St 55th ranked, BAMA 59th ranked and UGA 62nd ranked in TP player experince all got beat.

  • EastmandawgEastmandawg Posts: 688 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate
    edited January 9

    Experience and maturity matters - imagine being a freshman or maybe even a sophomore making your HS or college starting lineup. They are not ready for the most part. There are exceptions, but very few. Most folks have to grow mentally, physically and experience more on the field - chemistry certainly matters also.

    This is one reason that colleges had freshman teams before - same as HS, most are not ready.

    Stars are good, but all they mean is potential based mostly in height, weight and 40 times. If these supposedly future stars don't have the "want to" - none of it matters. The other thing also is that most all of these services that rate these kids have never seen them play live - I trust the college staff more to evaluate than some rating service… hence, why some 2 and 3 stars that come in under the radar.

    In other words, you can't simply look at star ratings and automatically assume they didn't work out because of coaching…more to it than that.

    I like Kirby's model, it's more sustainable than turning over a roster of 30+ each year. Get the ones with potential, supplement where needed through the portal, try to retain the ones you want, get rid of the ones that don't and build…. turning a roster of 30+ as some schools are doing over each year is asking for trouble.

    The NIL has made things more complicated, but I certainly like the way Kirby & crew has adjusted.

    When you consider that over half the team at UIGA is made up of freshman & sophomores - Kirby & staff did an incredible job IYAM.

  • reddawg1reddawg1 Posts: 4,415 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate

    @GoodOlDawg Yeh don't even get me started on the curse ofthe bye week:

    Bye Team Performance (1-7 in Quarterfinals)

    • 2024-25 Season: All four teams with byes (Oregon, Georgia, Boise State, Arizona State) lost their quarterfinal games.
    • 2025-26 Season: Three of the four bye teams (Ohio State, Texas Tech, Georgia) lost, with No. 1 seed Indiana being the sole exception, beating Alabama in the Rose Bowl. 
  • dawgfromduluthdawgfromduluth Posts: 1,169 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate

    https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6956702/2026/01/09/sec-ole-miss-playbook-adjustment/

  • David1David1 Posts: 1,369 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate

    I just can't believe that Dawg Nation hasn't posted an article about some QB that played at Georgia last season.

  • Tswood1959Tswood1959 Posts: 546 ✭✭✭✭ Senior

    is there any OC or DC in the portal?

  • EastmandawgEastmandawg Posts: 688 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate
  • reddawg1reddawg1 Posts: 4,415 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate

    Say what you want but CB came up big last night!

  • AugustadogAugustadog Posts: 45 ✭✭✭ Junior

    I’m “ hoping” that OT Hughly entering the portal might mean that he knows Freeling n Greene are coming back because it sure appeared he would have been the next man up. Guess we will know sometime in the next 6 days. Go Dawgs!

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