Transfer Tuesday: Will Former Clemson Safety Khalil Barnes Start for UGA Football?

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ATHENS - The first player to commit to Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs through the transfer portal this cycle was Khalil Barnes, the former Clemson safety.

For Barnes, this is a homecoming. He spent his high school days at North Oconee, playing at that level just down the road from the University of Georgia. The 6-foot, 200-pound defensive back is coming home to compete for a spot in Georgia’s starting secondary rotation. 

The Dawgs will have questions to answer in the secondary this offseason with the departures of Daylen Everette, JaCorey Thomas, Joenel Aguero, Adrian Maddox and Jaden Harris. Everette, Thomas and Aguero leave three starting spots to fill. All three were starters when healthy, with Everette of course being a three-year starter for Georgia.

KJ Bolden will enter his third season as a starting safety in as many years in 2026. Ellis Robinson IV and Demello Jones will be the top-two cornerbacks for Georgia with Everette headed to the NFL. Georgia plays a lot of nickel sets on defense where there are five defensive backs on the field, so there are two more starting spots to be determined over the course of the next eight months and potentially into the season. 

Barnes earned freshman All-American honors in 2023 and was a key member of Clemson’s secondary over the course of the last three seasons. Over those three years, he totaled 139 tackles, 11 passes defended, one sack, three forced fumbles and seven interceptions. His best season came in 2023 when he earned honors, filling up the stat sheet the most evenly that year. His career high in tackles for a season came as a sophomore in 2024 with 61. 

As Clemson’s team took a dip in 2025, so did Barnes’ stats. He did not force a turnover during the 2025 season. 

Barnes has extensive playing time at both the traditional safety spot and at nickelback (slot coverage). So, he transferred to UGA to compete for a starting spot.

The potential issue or challenge for Barnes will be that Georgia has the bodies to compete with him, despite Aguero’s transfer decision and the graduation of Thomas and Everette. 

Kyron Jones was starting at safety and heavily in the rotation before suffering multiple injuries that ultimately kept him out of the rest of the season after the Auburn game in October. He will be competing for the safety or nickelback spot.

Zion Branch, older brother of Zachariah was one of the three transfer defensive backs that Georgia brought in during last year's offseason. He was the only one out of the three that received significant playing time as the season went on. He primarily was seen at deep safety. 

True freshman Rasean Dinkins got the nod to start at nickelback in the SEC Championship and Sugar Bowl after Aguero suffered a late-season injury. Particularly in the conference championship against Alabama, Dinkins made some plays that could help earn him a bigger role in 2026. 

So, four players and potentially more, including Barnes, could be competing for two starting spots at safety and star. His homecoming will not come without a fight.