UGA Football Transfer Portal Update – Dec. 14, 2023

UGA Football Transfer Portal Update – Dec. 14, 2023

UGA FOOTBALL TRANSFER PORTAL UPDATE – DEC. 14, 2023 – The past two years, Georgia has not had many players hit the portal in December as they prepared for a playoff run.

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With that out of the picture and new portal windows that players must declare their intention, the Dawgs are seeing a mass exodus of players leaving. Let’s take a look at what we know and what might be coming soon.

• QB Brock Vandagriff—to Kentucky
• WR Jackson Meeks—to Syracuse
• OLB Marvin Jones Jr
• OLB CJ Madden
• OLB Darris Smith
• DL Jonathan Jefferson—to SMU
• OL Austin Blaske
• WR Logan Johnson
• OL Aliou Bah
• K Jared Zirkel
• CB Nyland Green
• WR Mekhi Mews
• LB E.J. Lightsey
• LB Xavian Sorey
• DB Jamier Moten
• LB Jamon Dumas-Johnson
• DB AJ Harris

Impact

Despite these 16 names in the portal so far, I don’t see a huge amount of negative impact on the Dawgs this year.

Losing Vandagriff only hurts if Beck cannot return. Even then, Vandagriff wasn’t promised the starting role next year as Gunner Stockton was going to push him for the job.

Jackson Meeks had a promising start to the year, but injuries derailed him. He’s one of UGA’s best blocking receivers, but has never made an impact catching passes.

Marvin Jones Jr stinks to lose, but the former 5-star has failed to live up to the hype. He should have really taken the reigns this year at OLB but he didn’t.

LB Xavian Sorey is another 5-star disappointment. He flashed at times this year, but was losing snaps to freshmen. After complaining about his playing time, he didn’t see the field for weeks.

Fans also may be disappointed that Mekhi Mews left. He wanted a scholarship and UGA wasn’t going to give him one. UGA will be able to replace him as a returner and he didn’t do much as a receiver.

Honestly, the person I’m most frustrated that’s in the portal right now is Austin Blaske. Blaske was fighting for the starting left tackle role at the beginning of the year. Then some injuries and an illness cause him to lose a lot of weight that he never put back on.

He would likely be the starting right tackle or center next year as he can play all 5 roles on the offensive line. Yet, he still decided to move on, which is confusing. 

Major Losses

Most recently, two guys hit the portal that would be major losses. Jamon Dumas-Johnson was UGA’s starting middle linebacker for the majority of the year.

While he didn’t perform up to his or UGA’s standard this season, he still is a solid linebacker and a phenomenal leader in the locker room. He’s the guy that gets everyone else lined up right.

Pop will be missed even though he likely was going to lose more and more snaps next year to CJ Allen. 

AJ Harris entering the transfer portal comes out of left field. The freshman DB was beat out for the open corner job this year, but would be in contention for the job next year. 

Who Else May Go?

OL Chad Lindberg is one to watch. I’d expect him to hit the portal due to lack of playing time. 

One rumor flying around is LB Jamon-Dumas Johnson may hit the portal. This would be a surprise as many thought he would go pro. Yet, after a less than stellar senior year, he may come back next year.

He started losing snaps to CJ Allen as the year went on, and after an injury against Missouri, he didn’t play for the rest of the year. He may look to get more playing time elsewhere.

The greater concern is that UGA has one of its biggest leaders and best guys for the culture potentially looking elsewhere. 

Mykel Williams. This one is terrifying. UGA’s most or second most talented defensive player is a must-keep in Athens this year.

Yet, rumors are that he’s being offered a boat load of NIL money to leave.

Supposedly, last year USC threw a bag at him and Bear Alexander. Bear left, Mykel negotiated more money to stay. He’s negotiating again, and time will tell if he goes. That would be a brutal loss to a frighteningly thin defensive line. 

Who May Commit?

There likely will be some more high profile guys leaving, but there also may be a few high profile guys coming in. Here’s the names that are getting tossed around right now

RB Travis Etienne. The Florida running back is in the portal and is heavily considering UGA. While he may not end up in Athens, UGA is right in the mix to land him and add experience to the running back room next year. 

RB Justice Haynes. Haynes is not yet in the portal, but given that Bama is in the playoffs, that’s not shocking. There are whispers that Haynes is not happy at Alabama and he may look to come home to UGA if a spot’s open. 

WR London Humphreys. The Vanderbilt receiver is big and fast. He was the guy who ripped of a 50 yard touchdown against the Dawgs on the first drive of the game. He’s gotten several offers, but it’s expected that he’ll announce that he’ll head to UGA soon. 

WR Colbie Young. The Miami receiver is huge at 6’5. He would bring about 50 catches with him. He’d be a nice addition for the Dawgs. He is visiting Athens this weekend.

TE Holden Staes. The Notre Dame sophomore may also provide some depth to the tight end room which lacks experience outside of Oscar Delp. 

Georgia is looking heavily at adding defensive linemen to the team. While there are several big names in the portal, UGA does not lead at the moment to land any of them.