Kirby Smart supports SEC transfer policy, talks offseason priorities

The spring window of the transfer portal came and went pretty quietly. Georgia lost just two players after the conclusion of spring practice – running back Andrew Paul and wide receiver Tyler Williams, both of whom were more depth pieces for the Bulldogs rather than superstars. That seemed to be the case around the country, and if you want to pinpoint it on anything, an easy target for keeping things in check would be the SEC’s intraconference transfer policy. The league wouldn’t allow players to transfer from one school in the conference to another without being ineligible for the upcoming season. That’s a rule Kirby Smart said on Wednesday he’s in favor of seeing remain in place.

“Yeah, I’d be comfortable with that rule being permanent. I think that’s important that we’re not fighting each other’s rosters during the spring time. Don’t think it’s very good for our league,” Smart said during a brief interview session with reporters at the Regions Tradition golf tournament at Greystone Golf and Country Club in Birmingham, Alabama. “It’s probably good for other leagues because I’ve had several coaches outside our league tell me they hope we keep that because it gives them an opportunity to gain SEC players. It’s something that’s been in for a while, and I support it.”

Quickly asked if he thought it might be a disadvantage for the SEC to have such a rule, limiting the number of players that teams in the league can target this time of year, Smart said he did not think that was the case. Because Georgia’s priority is to retain its players, relying primarily on high school recruiting and supplementing with the transfer portal, he believes the rule is to the Bulldogs’ benefit.

“I don’t see it as a disadvantage because we keep our players,” Smart said.

“It’s been great. We’re not really active in it,” he added about the spring portal as a whole. “We retain our roster and worry about the kids we got.”

Georgia has however added one player from the transfer portal this spring. Arizona State quarterback Jaden Rashada committed to the Bulldogs on April 25th after taking a visit to Athens earlier that week. Rashada won’t be Georgia’s starter this season, and he knows that. With Smart openly wanting a fourth scholarship and potential to compete for the job ahead of the 2025 season, the Georgia-Rashada match was one that fit on multiple levels.

“Well we have three so we always want to have four quarterbacks. That’s the goal,” Smart said when asked about adding Rashada. “We’re excited to have him.”

Overall, for Smart, the offseason is about getting his team best prepared to play in the fall. In December, that means adding talent by way of the transfer portal that can make an immediate impact. Georgia did that with the likes of Colbie Young (Miami), Trevor Etienne (Florida), Ben Yurosek (Stanford) and others. Then comes spring practice and another portal window. At that point, Smart believes it’s best to focus on the players that are already on the roster.

“The biggest thing is getting our players better,” he told Cole Cubelic and Greg McElroy on Wednesday during an appearance on their Birmingham-based morning radio show. “We’re trying to grow our depth, and we spend a lot of time on our 2’s and 3’s throughout spring practice. We kind of say if you’ve played over 500 snaps we see you as a returning starter, and we’ve got quite a few guys that fit that mold. The deal was can we build up the rest of our roster? You know, how do we retain them? How do we sell that you might be a 2 now, but you’re closer to going into the NFL Draft from here as a 2 than you are at our neighbor school as a 1?”

“The development piece is probably what we sell the most,” Smart continued. “We had a lot to work on. We’ve got to play better defensively than we did. We were No. 1 in the country in third down, but we didn’t create enough turnovers and we didn’t stop the run well enough. And then offensively we had to do the same thing.”

Georgia completed spring practice in April and has watched the spring opening of the transfer portal come and go. The Bulldogs added eight transfers (QB Jaden Rashada, RB Trevor Etienne, WR Colbie Young, WR London Humphreys, WR Michael Jackson III, TE Ben Yurosek, DL Xzavier McLeod, DB Jake Pope) to a roster that returns several key pieces from 2023 including quarterback Carson Beck.

With a wide receiver group that features the likes of Dominic Lovett, Rara Thomas, Dillon Bell and Arian Smith, one of the nation’s top tight end groups including Oscar Delp and an offensive line that returns four players with starting experience, hopes are high for the Georgia offense. Of course though, as long as Kirby Smart is the head coach, the Bulldog defense is going to be strong, and that remains the case in 2024. Safety Malaki Starks was an All-American last season while EDGE Mykel Williams and inside linebacker Smael Mondon are certainly capable of playing at the kind of elite level. CJ Allen and Raylen Wilson played valuable snaps as true freshmen and should take steps forward – as should sack leader Jalon Walker, now a junior – while the secondary must replace three NFL Draft picks including one each at cornerback, safety and STAR.

Georgia, likely to be the nation’s No. 1 team entering the fall, kicks off its season August 31st in Atlanta against Clemson.