Georgia's 2025 season has been nothing short of dominant. A 12-1 record, an SEC Championship in hand, and now a spot in the College Football Playoff. The Bulldogs once again find themselves in the thick of the national title hunt-and they’re doing it their way.
While most of the playoff field has leaned heavily on the Transfer Portal to build out their rosters, Georgia is marching to a different beat. In an era where player movement is constant and roster turnover is the new normal, Kirby Smart’s program has stayed rooted in tradition: recruit elite talent out of high school, develop them in-house, and build a culture that keeps them around.
The numbers back it up. Of Georgia’s starting lineup this season, only 10 percent came via the transfer route.
That’s not just low-it’s the lowest among all 12 College Football Playoff teams. For comparison, Ohio State-the next closest in transfer reliance-has nearly 30 percent of its starters coming from the portal.
And on the other end of the spectrum, programs like Ole Miss and Indiana are pushing 70 percent.
This isn’t to say Georgia ignores the portal entirely. They’ve made strategic additions, like wide receiver Zachariah Branch, who’s made a noticeable impact. But Smart’s approach is clear: the Transfer Portal is a supplement, not the foundation.
That philosophy sets Georgia apart in today’s college football landscape. The portal has become a lifeline for programs looking to fill gaps, flip rosters, or make instant upgrades.
But Georgia is proving that you don’t need to overhaul your roster with transfers to compete at the highest level. When you recruit at an elite level year after year-and more importantly, develop and retain that talent-you can build a powerhouse the old-fashioned way.
Of course, the question now becomes sustainability. Can Georgia keep this up in a sport that’s constantly evolving?
So far, the answer looks like a resounding yes. As long as the Bulldogs continue to stack top-tier recruiting classes and keep their core players from jumping ship, there’s little reason to believe this model can’t keep producing championship-caliber teams.
Kirby Smart isn’t just winning games-he’s challenging the notion that the Transfer Portal is the only path to success in modern college football. And as Georgia enters the playoff with eyes on another national title, they’re doing it with a roster built the hard way: from the ground up.