Georgia Bulldogs not immune to ‘portal pains’

MIAMI — Let’s just call them “portal pains.” Everybody in college athletics is feeling them these days, most acutely in football at the moment. The Georgia Bulldogs certainly are.

At least 20 UGA players have entered the NCAA’s transfer portal since it officially opened Dec. 4. It’s difficult to say exactly where that ranks nationally because it’s an ever-changing number, especially now during the current 30-day window, which remains open until Jan. 3. There will be a second 15-day window in May.

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Suffice it to say, the Bulldogs’ outgoing number is high. Conversely, their incoming number (4) is low. But, again, it remains an active situation and Georgia is dealing with roster management still on the eve of its Orange Bowl matchup against FSU on Saturday.

Then again, so is everybody.

“Well, it is what it is,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said Tuesday night. “We’ve been dealing with that for – what is it? – four, five years. I don’t know how many it is … but they shrunk it some this year and reduced the number of days. I don’t think they got what they wanted out of that.”

The portal was instituted by NCAA membership Oct. 15, 2018. The term “portal” is slang. It’s actually just a password-protected online database managed by the NCAA. On Aug. 31, 2022, at the behest of coaches, the NCAA voted to provide “windows” in which players can enter their names. Those windows were intended to provide some sanity to the process.

Considering it started after the conference championship games and before the bowls, playoff and early signing period, that has not at all been the case. Five hundred thirty-eight players entered their names on the first day this year. That number grew to more than 1,000 within a week and has continued to increase each day since.

“They want kids to have flexibility,” Smart said. “My biggest problem is trying to finish what you started and finish the season. If you notice, the teams playing in the playoffs aren’t getting hit with it as much. It’s making the bowls harder to deal with for people, but not really for us. The kids we’ve got here are all in, wanting to play and do a great job. It’s not really been an issue or a big problem for us.”

In general, Georgia is not considered a major “portal player.” Its numbers don’t come close to touching those that are.

In 2023, Colorado and coach Deion Sanders infamously saw 50 players go into the portal and 56 come out – or 106 players total. Ole Miss was next at 57 (24 in), then Louisville with 53 (27 in).

For the Bulldogs, it primarily has served a roster-management tool. Players who aren’t getting enough playing time at UGA simply “hit the portal” to find a team that could use them. Of Georgia’s 20 who have entered the database this month, 13 have found new homes.

“It’s definitely a tough thing because guys come to college and they want to be able to play football, and sometimes it just doesn’t work out that way,” Georgia junior cornerback Kamari Lassiter said. “Sometimes it takes time. Sometimes guys think they can go somewhere else and play faster. Guys want to play. I can’t really judge someone for wanting to do better for themselves. All I can do is respect their decisions.”

Defensive backs such as Lassiter and sophomore safety Malaki Starks can be blamed for so many of their position-mates hitting the portal the past few years. Along with fellow starters Javon Bullard, Daylen Everette and Tykee Smith, they have played almost every meaningful snap the Bulldogs have taken this season. As a result, extremely talented players such as Nyland Green, AJ Harris and Daniel Harris have accessed the portal seeking greener pastures.

In the case of Daniel Harris, a freshman cornerback from Miami, he’s still trying to figure out his future. Though he announced via social media Sunday that he was entering his name into the portal, he accompanied the team to Miami and plans to play in the Orange Bowl. He could be the heir apparent to Lassiter, who is expected to turn pro after the New Year.

“It’s a very competitive room; it’s a very talented (group),” Starks said Wednesday morning. “The guys we have in there want to be elite. Everybody wants to be elite. Sometimes it’s just not the place for you, and you’ve got to go find somewhere else. That’s not a bad thing, necessarily. Those guys who left are definitely going to do their thing, and I’m excited to watch them.”

Just because players go into the portal, that does not mean they can’t decide to remain where they’ve been. Junior offensive tackle Amarius Mims did that in April 2021.

“It’s just business” and “people have to do what’s best for them” have replaced phrases like “loyalty to school” and “commitment.” Everybody understands that in the age of NIL and the portal. That doesn’t meant these players and coaches don’t have feelings.

“Look, it’s the nature of college football now, the portal landscape,” assistant head coach/tight ends coach Todd Hartley said Wednesday. “And sometimes kids have to do what’s best for them. That’s OK, but it hurts. You have a relationship with a kid you recruited, you signed. You went through the whole process of bringing them in and working with them for a couple of years. Then they leave.

“But, ultimately, if you truly love that kid and you have their best interest at heart, you support their decision to leave, if that’s what’s best for them. That’s what we do.”

The problem is, “what’s best” varies according to perspective. Georgia has been hit unusually hard this year by promising young players leaving before they’ve had a chance to develop and work their way into prominent roles. Conversely, there has been some surprising losses of established players who either were getting ready to assume greater responsibility or already had it.

Internally, rising senior Jamon Dumas-Johnson entering the portal and ultimately landing at Kentucky caught some Bulldogs off-guard. Not the coaches, however.

“I love ‘Pop,’” Georgia inside linebackers coach and defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann said. “You know, I wish him the best. I care about him, and obviously when you care about somebody and you’re no longer around with each other, and he decided that’s what’s best for him in this case, then I wish him the best from that standpoint.”

Dumas-Johnson earned All-American honors as one of Georgia’s defensive leaders on the way to last season’s 15-0 record and national championship. But after Dumas-Johnson broke his arm against Missouri in this season’s ninth game, freshmen CJ Allen and Raylen Wilson and sophomore Jalon Walker, who are bigger and faster, proved they’re up to the task of taking over. Meanwhile, after signing 28 players and bringing in four via the transfer portal this month, the Bulldogs remain well over the NCAA’s scholarship limit of 85. So attrition is and remains necessary.

“I love Pop to death; he’s a brother to me,” said Walker, a 6-foot-2, 245-pound sophomore who has played in every game this season. “I’m excited for his journey and seeing what he does. No disrespect or dishonor to the University of Georgia. He played a tremendous role being here and helping us win championships. Just wish him the best.”

The downside is it makes for a lot of uncertainty, both for coaches and players. You think you’re set at a position; suddenly you’re not. One day, you dress at a locker next to this player, the next day there’s another guy there.

“I hear about it the same way y’all hear about it,” Starks said of portal news. “Unless I’m real close to them – I am with some of the guys – you just hear it or see it on social media. At the end of the day, though, you want them to do what’s best for them. I love playing with them, so if they could come back that’d be great, too. But they have to do what’s best for them.”

And as a returning starter in Georgia’s secondary, Starks definitely hopes Daniel Harris come back.

“I mean, he’s going to be a great player,” Starks said. “He has developed so much since he got here and has things he can do; his speed and his length is incredible! But, again, I just want to see him do what’s best for him.”

Might as well get used to it because it’s not going away. Earlier this month, a U.S. District judge granted a 14-day temporary restraining order that prohibits the NCAA from restricting athletes transferring multiple times.

Under current NCAA rules, athletes can transfer once without cause provided they gain academic admission at their second college. However, should they transfer for a second time, they either must defer their eligibility for one year or obtain a waiver.

That no longer will be the case if the current lawsuit prevails. The NCAA warns that unlimited transfers will trigger a “system of perpetual and unchecked free agency” in Division I athletics.

It already seems like a free-for-all. In 2022-23, 8,699 athletes entered the portal. That number is expected to rise in 2023-24.

And it’s becoming increasingly pervasive to the competitions themselves. Just this week, Florida State’s starting quarterback Tate Rodemaker entered the portal and opted out of the Orange Bowl. Freshman Brock Glenn will start instead.

“That one caught us by surprise,” Georgia defensive end Mykel Williams said with a laugh.

Brace yourself. There are more surprises to come.

TRANSFER PORTAL UPDATE

QB Brock Vandagriff, 6-3, 215, So. – Kentucky

DL Jonathan Jefferson, 6-3, 295, So. – SMU

WR Jackson Meeks, 6-2, 205, Jr. – Syracuse

WR Yazeed Haynes, 6-1, 170, Fr. – Syracuse

OL Austin Blaske, 6-5, 310, Jr. – North Carolina

OLB CJ Madden, 6-4, 240, RFr. – Purdue

OLB Marvin Jones Jr., 6-5, 250, So. – Florida State

LB Jamon Dumas-Johnson, 6-1, 235, Jr. – Kentucky

ILB Xavian Sorey, 6-3, 220, So. – Arkansas