Transfer Tuesday: Can Amaris Williams Change UGA Football's Pass Rush Attack?

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ATHENS - One of the clear areas of improvement that the 2026 Georgia Bulldogs football team needs to work on to get better is tuning up the pass rush. That means that former Auburn edge rusher Amaris Williams could be the most important transfer portal acquisition for Kirby Smart and this program.

Georgia’s challenges on the edge last season were well documented and even telegraphed a year ago during the offseason. The 2024 squad had Jalon Walker, Chaz Chambliss and Mykel Williams leading the charge in getting after the quarterback. The Dawgs were going to deal with a tough transition without them. Good thing former 5-star Damon Wilson is expected to take over as Georgia’s premier pass rusher, right? Wrong. He transferred to Missouri and took his production with him. 

Gabe Harris Jr. and Quintavious Johnson became the primary players on the outside of the defense front for Georgia– both of them a little inexperienced and neither of them are highly touted pass rushers. So, Georgia brought in former Army edge rusher Elo Modozie, who had nice production as the sack leader on that team in 2024. Modozie ended up being a rotation piece for the Dawgs and has now hit the transfer portal again. 

Georgia’s sack production dipped from 37 in 2024 to 20 in 2025. Over half of the sacks last season were accounted for by inside linebackers who can also get after the quarterback. 

This is one of the major red flags that Georgia needs to address this offseason in order to improve. Smart will repeatedly say that sacks are not the only measurement of an effective pass rush. He’s right, but there were important moments throughout the season where Georgia’s inability to put pressure or finish on the quarterback hurt the team. The home loss against Alabama in September is perhaps the biggest example of that. Ty Simpson was rarely ever affected by the Dawgs’ defensive front. 

Now, Georgia’s defense will be a year older. Elijah Griffin, Harris Jr., Johnson, Zayden Walker, Joseph Jonah-Ajonye and others either have important snaps or starting experience under their belts. The natural expectation is that a young defense will get better now that it has had a season of experience. 

There were a few highly touted edge rushers in the transfer portal this last cycle, and Georgia was able to bring in Williams from just a few hours away. The former 5-star recruit from the 2024 class will be expected to come in and compete for important snaps in Georgia’s defensive rotation immediately. ESPN ranked him as a top-30 transfer in the class, and he was considered one of the best edge rushers available. 

At 6’2” and 260 pounds, he is a little on the shorter side but is bulked up. He uses his speed and long arms to beat tackles off of the edge.

Williams registered 14 tackles and two sacks last season, rotating in on a pretty talented Auburn defensive line that gave Georgia plenty of trouble in October. High production isn’t there for him, but he gives Georgia another option to put on the edge in 2026. 

This year’s transfer class for Georgia is not like last year’s. Georgia landed Zachariah Branch in January of 2025. He was one of the crown jewels of the class- a player that you knew was going to come in and improve the team right away. Branch ended up being every bit of that.

Williams was not an overwhelmingly good transfer prospect. He wasn’t Cam Coleman or one of the highly rated quarterbacks, but he does come from pedigree and he was towards the top of the list. 

Modozie was an example of a miss for Georgia through the portal. Many additions have been real contributors. In an area of need, Modozie did not change the Dawgs’ defense in any way in 2025. Georgia finished the season exemplifying the concern many had for it heading into the campaign.

Williams will have higher expectations as a former 5-star and someone who is not transitioning upwards in terms of weekly competition. 

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