The transfer portal has only officially been open for a week, but you’d be forgiven for thinking it had been open longer. After just one week, Georgia saw 12 players from the 2023 roster officially enter the transfer portal.
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“McLeod redshirted this year at South Carolina.” Technically correct, but the fact that he was actually kicked off the team after four games makes it much more concerning than the more common redshirt. For example, by being removed from the roster he no longer got to practice with the team and stay in shape while hopefully getting better. Plus, isn’t it at least somewhat concerning that he got kicked out of the South Carolina program?
Remember the “greatest tight end in history” who quit on his team at LSU? I said we should avoid that guy because he was trouble in the making. Of course, I was in the minority, but I think what happened showed I was right from the get-go. Is McLeod a similar situation, but perhaps actually more risky? It seems like he just wasn’t good enough to get playing time at South Carolina. Obviously, there’s something I’m missing here.
I'm far from an expert on this, but shouldn't all of these folks who are looking at going to the NFL or staying at UGA know their situations by now? I mean, even for Brock Bowers, why the delay in announcing that he's declaring? It's highly unlikely that he plays in the Orange Bowl but even if he did, he could still declare for the NFL and play in that game. But the UGA coaches likely already know his decision. If what Sentell wrote earlier is true about Beck, though, he's still in decision mode. He's supposedly known for his quick decision-making on the field. Shouldn't he and McConkey and a few others be able to say yay or nay by now, so UGA can get its ducks in order? I mean, Beck's and McConkey's NFL draft grade is unlikely to change in the next week, so let's announce your plans and we can all take the next step in terms of solidifying the 2024 roster. Go Dawgs!
Of the 12, my biggest regret is Blaske. Though not a position of comparatively great need, he's proven to be a tough, versatile dude, and you can never have enough road graders. Go Dawgs!
It's sad to see the state of college football. These kids enter the portal to basically see who the highest bidder will be. I think Kirby has managed to keep the main thing the main thing and recruit kids who have the desire to be DGD's. But, it's a changing landscape. Many of these high school seniors have parents who are looking for the money, and not the long term goals. It's great to see players like Ladd win awards for doing the good things that we can be proud of. Some of these kids are struggling with making that decision between the NFL money and staying at a place they love with their team mates. Our first NC team started with players who could have gone but came back. One of those Dawgs gave a speech to the team and told them, "Enjoy it while you are here. You'll never enjoy the game as much as you will in college." There is a huge difference between doing something because you love it and with people you love and doing the exact same thing for money. We all know this. May they all make the right decision for themselves.
