Breaking Down UGA Football's Most Impactful Transfer Portal Additions
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ATHENS - After a disastrous 2024 season for the Georgia Bulldog wide receivers, Kirby Smart and James Coley knew they had to rebuild the room in 2025.
It was a problem they couldn’t ignore and they addressed it iimmediately in the transfer portal with the additions of Zachariah Branch and Noah Thomas.
Those two are expected to make an instant impact in Athens this fall and have the potential to be two of Kirby Smart’s biggest wins in the transfer portal.
Who has made the biggest impact for the Dawgs out of the portal over the years? Let’s take a trip down memory lane...
Safety Tykee Smith
A playmaking defensive back transfer from West Virginia, Smith transferred to Georgia for the 2021 season, giving a elite Bulldog defense added depth in the secondary. He played in 14 games during the following 2022 season, making 28 tackles, three TFLs and two sacks. He took his game to another level in 2023 as he became one of Georgia’s most dependable defenders. In his final season, Smith made 70 tackles, nine TFLs, two sacks and four interceptions. He left Athens with 101 career tackles, four sacks and four INTs. If we’re ranking some of Georgia’s most impactful transfers over the years, Smith has to be towards the top.
Running back Trevor Etienne
Georgia’s run game took a step backwards in 2024, but the Florida Gator transfer still made a big impact in his one and only season in Athens. Battling through injuries throughout the season, Etienne still managed to rush for 609 yards and nine touchdowns in 10 games. He crushed the Texas Longhorns, rushing for 181 yards and five touchdowns in two games against the Horns. He also scored the game-winning touchdown to secure Georgia’s 2024 SEC Championship. Georgia fans may have expected more, but Etienne still made his mark as a Bulldog this past season.
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Cornerback Derion Kendrick
The former 5-star defensive back signed with the Clemson Tigers out of high school, but Kendrick became a big-play cornerback for the Bulldogs during their 2021 national championship season. One of Georgia’s starting cornerbacks that season, Kendrick was a 2nd-team All-SEC selection after making 41 tackles and picking off four passes with two two of them coming against Michigan in the Orange Bowl. He only played one season in Athens, but Kendrick left a national champion and was a giant addition that year out of the transfer portal.
Wide receiver Dom Lovett
The Missouri transfer had an up and down 2024 season for the Dawgs last fall, but overall, Lovett put up respectable numbers over his two-year career at Georgia. The 2023 transfer hauled in 113 total passes during his time in Athens for 1,220 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also caught two big touchdown passes against Georgia Tech in 2024. He was far from perfect but still found a way to make an impact out of the portal.
Quarterback JT Daniels
Like it or not, adding JT Daniels was a big deal for the Bulldogs when it happened. After taking over for an injured Stetson Bennett in 2020, Daniels led Georgia to wins over Mississippi State, South Carolina, Missouri, and Cincinnati to end the shortened Covid season. He started the 2021 season opener against Clemson, but after battling through injuries, lost the job to Stetson Bennett. It was the correct move by Kirby Smart and Todd Monken, and it led to Georgia’s first national championship since 1980. The JT Daniels era was a short one, but it did allow the Dawgs to end the 2020 season on a high note.
Wide Receiver Lawrence Cager
A major wide receiver transfer out of Miami for the 2019 season, Cager was a reliable weapon for Jake Fromm that season, catching 33 passes for 476 yards and four touchdowns. He scored big touchdowns against Florida, Tennessee, and Auburn that season, making some of the biggest plays from any offensive player that year. His biggest game came against the Gators where he caught seven passes for 132 yards and one long touchdown pass.