Kirby Smart May Have Got Exactly What He Wanted for Georgia in the Transfer Portal
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ATHENS - Kirby Smart has repeated himself a handful of times this spring.
He wants players on his team that are passionate, competitive, have the “fire” and love the University of Georgia. Entering his 10th season as the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs, he doesn't want to have to teach that - he wants the players to step foot in Athens already possessing those qualities.
“Somebody said to me the other day, like, ‘Are you a good motivator? Can you motivate players?’ And, I'm like, ‘Well, I'd rather get the ones that I don't have to motivate because they're self-motivated,’” Smart said. “We're trying to find guys that have passion, fire, and, like, it matters to them, you know? Like, they want to compete so hard, it matters to them.”
The Georgia staff sought out the transfer portal to help improve its roster this offseason, and it landed the Branch brothers from USC: Zachariah and Zion. Zachariah Branch was one of the highest rated players in the portal and fills a need that was pretty glaring in 2024 and heading into this season at the wide receiver position.
Listening to Smart, earning a spot on Georgia’s roster is twofold: A player has to have talent, and they have to love football with a lot of passion.
“Well, they both love football, and that's the number one quality you've got to have at Georgia. You better love it and be passionate about it. I do believe that. They love football,” Smart said.
That matters more to Smart than what a player’s star rating in high school was or how fast they can run the 40-yard dash.
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Many of Georgia’s star players from the last few years came from completely different high school backgrounds. Some of them were bonafide 5-star recruits that were tabbed NFL prospects from a young age, like Nolan Smith, who serves as a perfect example of the type of personality Smart wants on his team. Smith was a motivator, a leader and someone who loved the University of Georgia. The same can be said about former 3-stars Ladd McConkey and Javon Bullard, former 4-star Kamari Lassiter or former walk-on Stetson Bennett.
All of those players, along with many others, are pillars and examples for Smart. They wanted to be at Georgia because they were bought into the culture and they wanted to win. Zachariah Branch wants the same thing. He told the media that was the first reason why he chose the Bulldogs.
“The culture that coach Kirby Smart and the coaching staff has established - I feel like it's a real brotherhood, and it’s not just words. Some people say ‘Okay, we have to have the bond’ and things like that to be a great team, but I really do truly believe that they built that into this program,” Branch said.
Branch put up modest numbers in two seasons in Lincoln Riley’s high-powered pass-first offense at USC. He recorded 823 receiving yards and three touchdowns getting the ball thrown to him by former Heisman Trophy winner and top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft Caleb Williams, along with Miller Moss.
The USC football program has not been performing to the standard it was looking to when it brought Riley in a couple of years ago, and has also been headlined with drama, whether that was centered around Riley, Williams or former Georgia player Bear Alexander.
Branch wanted something different, and he felt like the move Georgia was an easy choice to make.
“Just to be surrounded by a lot of like-minded players as well, all trying to get towards the same goal - that’s something that’s really important to me as well, and once I got into that (transfer) portal, it was pretty easy to make my decision from there,” Branch said.
Gunner Stockton, the presumed starting quarterback for the Dawgs, has enjoyed developing chemistry with Branch, but he was quick to say that he and the other transfers are even better people.
Both Branch brothers seem to check that box that is required to play at Georgia. In just a few months, they have been deemed a culture fit. The other box, however, will be judged more harshly by the rest of the college football world, and that is the quality of play on the field.
Zion is in contention for one of the safety jobs, but his playing time is not as clear as Zachariah’s, who is expected to be one of the primary pieces in the Georgia offense.
Georgia’s pass-catchers famously led the country in dropped passes in 2024, and the passing offense lacked a go-to weapon after Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey took their talents to the NFL. Branch’s production was not eye-popping at USC, especially when the offensive scheme out there in Los Angeles is put into consideration, but he has something Georgia lacked last season: explosiveness.
“He has extreme quickness, and he's an explosive playmaker that we've got to find ways to get him the ball,” Smart said.
Arian Smith, Dominic Lovett and Dillon Bell were the starting wide receivers for Georgia in 2024. Lovett and Smith are trying their luck in the NFL Draft. Bell is back and figures to play a role, but may also receive snaps out of the backfield as a running back with Georgia’s lack of depth at that position. Branch, along with fellow transfer Noah Thomas are expected to start or at least play a lot in 2025.
They have made a good impression thus far on people close to and inside the program. Georgia’s star safety KJ Bolden offered up high praise, and he is the one that has to line up against them in practice himself.
“Those guys are monsters,” Bolden said. “I've got to guard Zach (Branch) every day. He’s a great player. He goes 110% every day and always gives you his best.”
Branch was a kick returner in addition to playing wide receiver. He returned both a punt and a kickoff back for a touchdown at USC. Georgia may be able to use him there as the Dawgs’ most recent punt returner Anthony Evans left via the transfer portal a few months ago.
Georgia’s spring football game, G-Day will take place this Saturday, and that will be the first time that fans will get to see Branch and the rest of the newcomers in the red and black. Georgia fans are craving a star offensive player, and perhaps the Dawgs need that. Branch might be that player, but only time will tell. What he wants the fans to see at the spring game is not his ability on the field, however, but the intangibles that helped bring him to Athens in the first place.
This is what he said when he was asked what he wants to show the fans this coming Saturday:
“I wouldn’t even say just how I play, I would just say my mentality. Every time I am out there, I try to just be the best version of myself for the team and try to give 100% effort because you never know when your last play is,” Branch said. “So, I just try to treat everything like a blessing. I get the opportunity to go out here everyday and do something that I love, so I just try to bring that fire and passion into the sport that I try to bring into the receiver group.”
No matter how good of a player he turns out to be for Georgia, that is exactly what Smart is looking for.