Cornerback Daniel Harris is on the move. After three seasons with the Georgia Bulldogs, Harris has officially transferred to Cal, becoming the first Georgia player from this transfer cycle to find a new home.
Harris entered the portal on November 30, just before the 2025 SEC Championship Game. His departure is part of a broader wave of roster turnover in Athens - he's one of 12 Bulldogs to hit the portal since the end of the regular season, and one of three cornerbacks, alongside Ondre Evans (now at N.C.
State) and Dominick Kelly. Georgia has already reloaded at the position, bringing in Gentry Williams from Oklahoma and Braylon Conley from USC.
Harris’ 2025 campaign started with promise - he opened the season as a starting cornerback. But by Week 5, ahead of the Alabama game, he was out of the starting lineup.
That job went to Ellis Robinson IV, a highly touted young corner who stepped in and held the role the rest of the way. Harris still saw the field in eight games and registered seven tackles, contributing primarily on special teams after the lineup change.
Head coach Kirby Smart addressed Harris’ absence from the starting rotation after the Alabama game, making it clear that the decision was performance-based, not injury-related.
“He’s dealing with a little bit of a groin issue, I think,” Smart said. “But we played the guys that we thought would give us the best opportunity to win.”
This marks the second straight year Georgia has lost a cornerback just before the SEC title game. In 2024, it was Julio Humphrey - another player who started the season in the first unit before sliding into a reserve role. Humphrey announced his transfer ahead of Georgia’s clash with Texas and later landed at Texas A&M.
Ironically, it was Harris who replaced Humphrey in the starting lineup late in the 2024 season, taking over against Tennessee and holding onto the job through the end of the year. That stretch saw Harris post 22 tackles, three pass breakups, and a half-tackle for loss - a solid sophomore campaign that suggested he was on the rise.
His freshman year in 2023 was quieter. Harris appeared in six games and recorded just one tackle, and there was some chatter about a potential transfer even then. He ultimately stayed put, fought his way into the starting lineup as a sophomore, and now, after a junior season that saw his role reduced, he’s opted for a fresh start out West.
For Cal, Harris brings SEC experience and a physical, athletic profile that should help bolster their secondary. For Georgia, it’s another reminder of how quickly the college football landscape can shift - even for a program that’s become synonymous with elite depth and talent development.
The portal era doesn’t wait for anyone. And for players like Harris, it’s a second chance to find the right fit.