Illinois coach takes another shot at Georgia over transfer running back
It would seem Illinois head coach Bret Bielema is not a fan of how the Georgia Bulldogs ended up with running back Josh McCray last season.
Over the weekend, the father of former Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love went viral after discussing how his son turned down lucrative offers to play for Notre Dame out of high school. The move worked out for Love, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft.
However, multiple online accounts have incorrectly stated Love’s father said Georgia was one of the schools that pursued his son. In the interview, Love’s father never mentions any schools by name.
Bielema fell for the misinformation by reading the post instead of clicking on the video to hear what Love’s father actually said.
In doing so, the Illinois coach seemed to further reveal how he still feels about his former running back.
“Wish they had succeeded... because they came and got ours #famILLy,” Bielema posted on X (formerly Twitter).
McCray, who transferred to Georgia last spring, ran for 609 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2024, his final season at Illinois.
Georgia did not get the same level of production from McCray in 2025. He ran for 135 yards on just 53 carries, working mostly as a short-yardage running back. He did have the game-winning touchdown in overtime against Tennessee. McCray was not chosen in the NFL draft.
This is not the first time Bielema has voiced his displeasure over what happened with McCray. In an appearance on Urban Meyer’s podcast last summer, Bielema brought up how quickly McCray was linked with Georgia through the transfer portal.
“We did lose a guy to Georgia,” Bielema said on “The Triple Option” podcast. “Somehow, he found his way to the portal, and 12 hours after being in the portal he was on a flight to Georgia. I don’t know how that happened but it’s crazy.
“Wish Josh all the best. He took advantage of that opportunity.”
One interesting wrinkle with Bielema is that he was the head coach at Arkansas in 2015 when Kirby Smart hired Sam Pittman off his staff to become the offensive line coach at Georgia. Pittman helped build the offensive line that powered Georgia to an SEC championship in 2017, the same year Bielema was fired at Arkansas.
Georgia did add another running back via the transfer portal this offseason, bringing in Kentucky’s Dante Dowdell. Unlike McCray, Dowdell was able to participate in spring practice. Dowdell was one of the stars of G-Day, when he ran for a team-high 61 yards and a touchdown.
About the Author
Connor Riley has been covering the University of Georgia since 2014 before moving to DawgNation full-time before the 2018 season. He helps in all areas of the site such as team coverage, recruiting, video production, social media and podcasting. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 2016.
