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Has Georgia football come out on top in transfer portal transactions?
System
Posts: 12,928 admin
Has Georgia football come out on top in transfer portal transactions?
ATHENS â Georgiaâs recent transfer portal dealings are under scrutiny, but critics might want to give things a chance to play out before making any conclusions.
Comments
Obviously the Dawgs have benefited from the portal with the likes of Young, Etienne, and Branch. Dawgs were ranked #22 on 247 for their 2025 Transfer portal additions (10 players). But, like Ohio State proved last year, retention of key players is just as important as adding the RIGHT mix of KEY players to fill in the gaps. Heavy use of the portal doesn't lead to Championships as Lane Kiffin has proven, but it can make your team much more competitive. And that's what we're seeing around the country with teams like Vandy, Indiana, Illinois, Texas Tech, and Virginia.
I'd give the Dawgs a solid B grade for their portal additions. Solid additions but no game changing, Championship making players.
The problem with the portal is the limited number of big guy talent, or said another way, the talent on Offensive and Defensive lines. We all want to talk about Zack Branch, and he's a real star, but most football games success is driven by the guys in the trenches. I've seen defensive ends win their team a super bowl (Denver). Georgia's ability to get to the QB at Texas last year was the difference. But you can't just pickup those guys out of the portal. They aren't sitting the bench at Miami or Missu. If they have great Defensive Ends, they are playing, unless they are true freshmen. I believe Kirby has some young talent, but they don't have the body mass to utilize the talent. They have to grow up.
What hurts so much about Wilson is that he was trained and allowed to grow up, then when it's his turn, he bolted, which is wrong in my opinion. The University gave him free room, board, tuition, training, and reps. They didn't take someone else, they gave that year's slot to him. UGA can't go back and replace that. It's wrong. The pendulum has swung too far.
It’s a good thing Kirby isn’t into “stats” because if he were he’d be calling his buddy Coach Boom
• 108th in the nation with five sacks
• 52nd nationally with four interceptions
• 77th in the country in pass efficiency defense
• 71st in third down-conversion defense
Ouch…not the Georgia standard we have grown accustomed to…but the young guys should continue to improve as the season progresses so hopefully they peak at the right time, go dawgs.
We need to not just set the edge, but beat it down. Ditto on the middle. At least occasionally, to disrupt the other team's overall offensive scheme and at least some of its execution. Go Dawgs!
46 players tp’d out since 24’…just crazy. Kudos to Kirby that we are still competing, what a m ucked up environment this new age football
We'll find out how much more...or less, effective Mizzou's "pass rush" is….this weekend. If Simpson gets rid of the ball as fast as he did between the hedges.…I don't think Wilson or any other Tiger, is gonna get to him.
What are Mizzou's Team QB Hurries vs UGA's Team QB hurries....without regard to individual stats. I'm just sayin'....imo...Kirby has never relied on one or two guys or any one position group, to generate QB pressure. Even when he had Carter, Davis, Wyatt, Anderson, Walker, Tindall and Dean…all on the same team.
When CKS decides pressure is needed more than coverage....he'll start sending guys from all over the field. And, he will disguise what he's doing.
Imo....with that in mind...odds are, if Damon Wilson was still in Athens, his individual stats would not be what they are, now. But, let's not let nuance and fact get in the way of an intriguing narrative. Reporters gotta eat too. Lol
Not enough time to break it for ya. Just keep watching. I'll get back to you after this weekend. Lol
Excellent research and well done article by MG for those of us who wonder "what ever happened to…"
Makes you wonder why some of these guys could not sniff the field while at UGA. Could be they were outworked by others and that alone keep them in reserve. Certainly some of them would've eventually helped this team. And, of course, some were poached though inevitable extended playing time in the SEC at UGA (and similar NIL) should have been enough to retain most of them one would think.
CBeck's success this year, coming off elbow surgery, would be an indictment of the Mike Bobo's failure last season. CBeck in '23 lit it up. CBeck in '25 lit it up. Can blame some of '24 on dropped passes. Coaching, game planning, play calling and personnel all come back to the offensive coordinator.
As for the pass rush, remember that Medozie was the fallback pass rusher UGA wanted. UGA tried for Beau Atkinson from NC who ended up at OSU. Atkinson has 2.5 TFL and 1 sack in 5 games in '25.
This is an interesting and informative perspective, which I appreciate. A couple of reactions:
All speculative, of course, but both topics still seem to point toward coaching more than talent, IMHO...
2 good points. Often wondered "what if" in '24 w/no drops. "less competition" is definitely attractive to many players looking for immediate playing time.
I look at AJ Harris and Nyland Green as 2 CB's I'd like to have on this team. But they were both tackle shy. Tackling is paramount for a CB in the UGA scheme.
After looking at the list again I was going to add a little more to my previous post. Of the list of departures there are really only 9 maybe 10 players that I think would be nice to have back. So roster attrition, by any means, really is necessary for roster turnover for UGA to bring in big, highly ranked recruiting classes. But the Damon Wilson transfer is really puzzling ($$$?) . He would be OLB1 on this UGA D.
Also a little surprised CKS let CBeck go. They saw every day what he could do in practice and in '23. Could be his act wore thin and the money was too much considering the elbow surgery uncertainty. W/o the elbow uncertainty he was definitely a bird in the hand vs a work in progress (GS). Think about what the UGA coaching and QB narrative will be should CBeck win the Heisman this year.
It seems UGA (CKS) would rather take a chance on the potential of youth than work with a guy already in the program that maybe isn't working hard enough to live up to the perceived potential. Can't blame CKS for that. The approach has produced Stokes, Tindall, Bullard, DEdwrds etc.
it’s just the things you write I’m not sure you and I watch the same games lolol.
Damon Wilson would be feasting if he were still here. He’s better than anyone else we’ve trotted out at OLB this year. Especially if we just let him go get the passer. If you’ve watched any UGA game this season you’ve seen us have trouble rushing the passer. We’d do better if we could count five Mississippi. If you don’t see that you are choosing not to or don’t know what you’re watching.
You’ve mentioned Kirby is “saving” some secret formations or defensive plays. Why do that? Do you not want to implement that against Bama? What is Kirby and Glenn saving these for? Ole Miss? Florida? Texas? It doesn’t add up.
If Kirby could bring pressure he would’ve by now. If we can pressure the QB, coverage doesn’t matter as much. In 2021 we didn’t have great DBs, but with our front 7 it didn’t matter. I think this DB squad might have more pedigree but QBs have 7 seconds to pass and no DB can cover that long. Maybe Kirby can finally use some pressure against Auburn this weekend.
It's starting to look like our vaunted recruiting classes the last four years have not exactly panned out as well as the stars would have projected. It might be that our HS player assessments are not that good, or perhaps they have not been developed as well as we used to develop our talent with previous coordinators and assistant coaches. Our defense this year is filled to the brim with HS recruiting stars. Why can't we have a decent pass rush? Seems like we concentrate too much on linebackers rather than the defensive ends. Without talent in all the rooms, the defense is only as strong as its weakest link. We really need to consider hiring a 5-star defensive coordinator and try to keep Schumann as the LB coach…
Our inability to pressure the QB has amplified the departure of Damon Wilson II, who transferred out of Georgia to Missouri, where he’s the highest-rated edge defender in the SEC, per PFF, and has 22 QB pressures while UGA doesn’t have anyone with more than 12.🔁
Good & informative article though.