Transfer Tuesday: Georgia Added Defensive Back Depth with Former Trojan Braylon Conley
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ATHENS - The Georgia Bulldogs lost eight defensive backs from the 2025 team to the transfer portal and the NFL Draft. Of those eight, four of them were starters in multiple games last season, and two of them were potential young starters for this upcoming season.
In reaction, Kirby Smart and his defensive staff recruited four players to help replenish the lost depth in the secondary. Former USC cornerback Braylon Conley was the second defensive back to commit to Georgia during this transfer portal cycle.
The coaching staff will have a major question to answer about this upcoming 2026 secondary: Who will be the third cornerback?
Last season, Daniel Harris got the start alongside senior Daylen Everette. He was eventually phased out of the lineup before leaving the team with the intention to transfer before the conclusion of the season. Promising second-year players Ellis Robinson IV and Demello Jones ended up rounding out UGA’s cornerback trio.
With Harris out the door to Cal and Everette trying his luck in the pros, Georgia does not have an obvious answer as to who will be the third cornerback that comes in to rotate with Robinson IV and Jones.
The question for Conley, now entering his third season, is whether or not he can be the third corner. Georgia brought in safety Khalil Barnes, who was the first to be highlighted in Transfer Tuesday and two other cornerbacks, so he will face stiff competition to become a rotational player in this defense.
Conley redshirted his freshman year in 2024 after only seeing action in one game at cornerback. As a redshirt freshman this past season, he appeared in the majority of the Trojans’ games and saw starts in his first full year. He posted 14 tackles, a forced fumble and a pass deflection in 2025.
At six-foot and almost 200 pounds, Conley has the necessary size to play at Georgia and has some familiarity with the staff in Athens. UGA defensive backs coach Donte Williams was in the same role at USC when Conley committed to the Trojans during the summer of 2023.
As seen last season, being brought in through the portal at Georgia is not a guarantee that you are going to play. Adrian Maddox and Jaden Harris, two of Georgia’s three secondary transfer portal acquisitions from a year ago, saw very limited playing time. The staff went with a more homegrown and experienced approach with JaCorey Thomas and Joenel Aguero starting over them. Perhaps the staff will make that decision again with the late-season emergence of true freshman Rasean Dinkins at nickelback.
That combined with the potential that his three-star status could be true would mean that there will be an uphill battle for Conley to get on the field this season. But, if the last few years at Georgia have taught us anything it is that high school ratings or roles on old teams don’t matter.
Javon Bullard was a three-star recruit, and he is a national champion and one of the best young safeties in the NFL. Ladd McConkey was a three-star recruit, and he is a national champion and one of the best young wide receivers in the NFL. Zachariah Branch was hardly used at USC compared to the role he carved out at Georgia last year.
If Conley is good enough, he’ll beat out what looks to be staunch competition to be a secondary start for Georgia this year. If not, he will serve as a depth piece and a potential future starter with three years of eligibility remaining.
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