Where things stand with Georgia football, transfer portal as first window closes

Of the departures, the most impactful was outside linebacker Damon Wilson. With Mykel Williams, Chaz Chambliss and Jalon Walker all moving on to the NFL draft, Wilson seemed primed to step into a major role for Georgia’s defense in 2025.

He had 22 tackles and 3.0 sacks while working as a rotational piece for the Bulldogs in 2024. Instead, he will look to use his final two seasons of eligibility elsewhere. Look for Ohio State, who Georgia beat out in Wilson’s high school recruitment, to be a factor with Wilson.

Seven of the players who have entered the transfer portal did so before to Georgia’s College Football Playoff loss to Notre Dame. The four who waited until the conclusion of Georgia’s season were quarterback Jaden Rashada, wide receiver Anthony Evans, Wilson and defensive back Collin Gill. Evans was Georgia’s punt returner this past season. Rashada and Gill both elected to transfer out after spending only a single season in Athens.

Georgia football 2025 players in the transfer portal

But the transfer portal has not just been one-way traffic for Georgia. The Bulldogs have added five players via the transfer portal thus far: wide receiver Zachariah Branch, safety Zion Branch, safety Jaden Harris, safety Adrian Maddox and wide receiver Noah Thomas.

The Branch brothers both come from USC and committed to Georgia on Sunday. Both have two seasons of eligibility remaining. Harris, Maddox and Thomas all committed to Georgia on Tuesday. Harris is from Miami and has two seasons of eligibility left, while Thomas is from A&M and Maddox comes from Alabama-Birmingham after initially committing to Florida. Maddox and Thomas each have one season of eligibility remaining.

That all five additions come at two positions isn’t a surprise. Georgia will see starting safeties Malaki Starks and Dan Jackson depart for the NFL. While the Bulldogs bring back freshman KJ Bolden, Georgia clearly saw the need to add capable bodies at safety. Harris started for Miami this past season as did Maddox for UAB. Zion Branch appeared in 12 games for USC.

As for wide receiver, Kirby Smart made it clear Georgia needed more talent at the position following the team’s loss to Notre Dame.

“There’s a lot of things we can do better to help our offense, but we certainly have to play better and do better,” Smart said. “And a lot of that has to do with health and the schedule we play and having some playmakers that can make some plays, too.”

Zachariah Branch was a former 5-star recruit and won the Jet Award as the nation’s top return specialist in 2023. He should, at a minimum, fill Evans’ role. As for Thomas, he caught eight touchdown passes for Texas A&M this season, and his 6-foot-6 frame gives Georgia an outside threat it did not have for much of this season.

Georgia players added via the transfer portal

Georgia still can add more players via the transfer portal, but Georgia players, because they were in the playoff, had only five days after their final game to enter the portal. Given that Ohio State, Texas, Penn State and Notre Dame are still playing, expect the portal to remain busy for the rest of the month.

There also is a spring portal window, which will open April 16 and close April 25. Players will be able to enter the transfer portal once again during that window. Georgia has not announced its spring practice schedule, but traditionally it has concluded before those dates.