Hey folks - as a member of the DawgNation community, please remember to abide by simple rules of civil engagement with other members:
- Please no inappropriate usernames (remember that there may be youngsters in the room)
- Personal attacks on other community members are unacceptable, practice the good manners your mama taught you when engaging with fellow Dawg fans
- Use common sense and respect personal differences in the community: sexual and other inappropriate language or imagery, political rants and belittling the opinions of others will get your posts deleted and result in warnings and/ or banning from the forum
- 3/17/19 UPDATE -- We've updated the permissions for our "Football" and "Commit to the G" recruiting message boards. We aim to be the best free board out there and that has not changed. We do now ask that all of you good people register as a member of our forum in order to see the sugar that is falling from our skies, so to speak.
- Please no inappropriate usernames (remember that there may be youngsters in the room)
- Personal attacks on other community members are unacceptable, practice the good manners your mama taught you when engaging with fellow Dawg fans
- Use common sense and respect personal differences in the community: sexual and other inappropriate language or imagery, political rants and belittling the opinions of others will get your posts deleted and result in warnings and/ or banning from the forum
- 3/17/19 UPDATE -- We've updated the permissions for our "Football" and "Commit to the G" recruiting message boards. We aim to be the best free board out there and that has not changed. We do now ask that all of you good people register as a member of our forum in order to see the sugar that is falling from our skies, so to speak.
Options
Georgia defensive back Marcus Washington Jr. enters the transfer portal
System
Posts: 10,539 admin
Georgia defensive back Marcus Washington Jr. enters the transfer portal
Georgia defensive back Marcus Washington Jr. becomes the latest Georgia player to enter the transfer portal.
Comments
Marcus becomes our second legacy player to enter the transfer portal with Matt Landers being the first. Both had fathers that started and played major roles with the Dawgs - Marcus #44 LB and Toney Mack (Landers' dad) with Hugh Durham's UGA basketball team. Hope he succeeds with a program that's not our rival.
Kind of strange, you can have multiple DBs on the field, fight for playing time, but chooses to transfer.
There can only be one QB on the field, most likely Beck, but so far none of the other QBs are heading out.
Hoping MWJ would’ve stayed as he was a local kid, but new age, so best of luck unless he lands at our rivals.
You forgot Jaden Hunter. ('17 high 4* #46 in the country Rivals).
This is puzzling as MWII is now getting MORE reps at star w/Bullard becoming starting SS.
I remember having a LONG argument w/someone about why MWII should have stayed in HS and not taken up a scholarship. Turns out the scholarship was inconsequential as UGA starters, thankfully, stayed healthy. But the kid could've used another year of physical maturity before attempting to compete at the SEC level. Rushing to play at the next level may have cost him his dream of playing for UGA.
He has had a year of elite training that will help him play at another school. Now he has had another year of physical maturity that puts him on a level playing field with other freshmen moving on to CFB. Somebody will get a player with upside.
He has 4 years of eligibilty left. THere is no need to transfer out with that much time left unless a) they're not happy with him or b) he's not happy with them, thinks he should be higher in the pecking order than he is or c) he has had his eyes opened to the level of talent he has to compete against and he realizes he may never see the field at UGA. If that's the case then perhaps its been intimated to him he should look around. I don't confess to knowing how any of that getting your scholarships in line stuff works, just surmising.
The Dogs have a ton of very good defensive backs. Despite getting a few more reps this spring and presumably going forward, perhaps Washington Jr. simply saw the writing on the wall that he would behind the new 23 signees and his 22 cohort on the depth chart. Every time someone transfers out these days, Dog fans on this site are puzzled, but nobody ever considers that the player might have been encouraged to do so by the coaches. In fact, there’s a very good chance that’s what happened with Bear Alexander, despite a lot of fans just assuming it was because he wanted more NIL money
Not really puzzling. Probably a combination of the things you mentioned.
And UGA needs to cull a few players before September. Unfortunately, that is CFB. Even Saint Dabo will have to have guys transfer or take scholarships from walk ons as Clemson is over as well.
As you said he has 4 yrs of eligibility left. But what he doesn't have left is a redshirt year. Already used it when he could have been maturing for another year in HS. He won't have that 5th year that every other freshman ('23) will be getting (after age 18).
Christopher Smith '18 recruit used (and needed) all 5 of his years at UGA to maximize his maturity and draft potential.
"the kid could've used another year of physical maturity before attempting to compete at the SEC level."
In a sense, that's what he got by redshirting at Georgia -- plus a lot of elite training. The thing missing for him is that he won't be able to compete in the SEC. It'll be interesting to see where he ranks in the transfer portal. No reason to think he won't be able to hitch on with a good program, where he might be second string and heir apparent at safety or nickel.
@JTM22
Yes, only one QB can play at a time, but UGA only takes one QB a year, and in 2023 didn't even take that. BVG knows that if Carson Beck throws for 4000 yards this season he enters the 2024 draft, and with all the talent that UGA will have on offense that is far more likely to happen than not. As for Gunner Stockton, where is a redshirt freshman 6'1" 210 lb. 4 star dual threat spread QB going to get guaranteed playing time in 2023 except a Group of 5 school? And even the better Group of 5 schools often have upperclassman 3 star recruits and/or other P5 transfers starting. For example, last year UCF and USF played former starters at Ole Miss and Baylor at QB. So he would have to go to a school in one of the lesser Group of 5 conferences like the Sun Belt or MAC, and even there choose a spread option program in order to start right away. Yes, Ben Roethlisberger went from 4 years running the spread at a MAC school to the Steelers, but Roethlisberger was 6'5", 240 lbs with an NFL arm.
Also, while multiple DBs do start, it really isn't helpful to view them as interchangeable: safeties are different from CBs. Even among safeties, free safeties are different from strong safeties and rovers (basically the STAR position). At schools that don't reel in 4 and 5 star DBs every year then sure: the guys with the most ability wind up on the field, especially at safety but UGA isn't one of those programs.
Washington has Malaki Starks, Javon Bullard, Smoke Bouie and Tykee Smith in front of him at the positions that he is likely to play. All of them have at least 2 years of eligibility left, though whether Bullard and Smith actually take them remains to be seen (Starks and Bouie are underclassmen who have no choice). Sure, he could stick around, but UGA is just going to keep reeling in top 100 DBs. His finding a spot where he is more likely to get on the field - basically everywhere in college football this side of Alabama and LSU - makes a lot of sense.
All true. But he gave up a year of showing his game at the CFB level as a mature player by essentially taking his RS year as a HS SR. We could debate whether taking every practice rep as the star of his HS team vs taking a few 4th team reps at UGA was more beneficial. Players need to play. Certainly the UGA weight room and nutrition is better. Beyond football he lost the best year of a young person's HS experience.
When I think of young players reclassifying and coming in early I always think back to UGA vs Boise St in '11. I was pretty confident. Then I read that Boise St had something like 25 5th yr guys. They opened up a big can of Whup A** on the UGA youngsters that day.
Bottom line: In his haste to get to UGA he wasn't as mature and ready to compete as he could've been. Now he is not at UGA anymore.
Deon got the fans turned out in Boulder on a cold snowy day. Of course they’re used to it. But looks like he will make them relevant st some point.
Aguero must look awesome…
Given Georgia is over the 85 limit and will possibly have a transfer or 2 coming in, I suspect there are some quiet behind the scenes conversations going on to encourage a few departures. And generally speaking, the departures will have better opportunities at other schools where they can get on the field. So far, no big deal.
By all appearances, Alexander was poised to take on a big role in the Georgia defense. On what are you basing this idea that there's "a very good chance" that the coaches encouraged him to leave?
So far the only player to enter the TP that really surprised me has been Bear Alexander. NO disrespect to the others that have left. And I wish them all well as long as it’s no harm to our Dawgs aspirations.
But they either had guys in front of them plural or some one just as good or better that they didn’t feel they could push out of the way for Quality playing time. So can’t blame them for seeking greener pastures.
Bear is still a bit of a mystery to me with his transfer. I thought he was viewed as an Up and Coming player that would more than apt start Or be second in rotation. I admit he caught me off guard with his leaving.
I hope for our Dawgs sake that the only ones that leave here on out will be those buried on the depth chart. And in that situation we as Dawgs fans can’t or shouldn’t feel betrayed. If they gave their very all and someone in front of them was just flat out better, then they had little choice to continue their career.
Bear's departure is surprising because it's the only one that doesn't seem to be a rational choice -- unless he cares about playing time this season more than his longterm future.
Best Wishes to him.