Kirby Smart’s approach to the Transfer Portal is about to get a bigger spotlight than ever.
Across college football, the portal has become impossible to ignore. Some programs lean on it to remake their roster year after year, while others, like Georgia, use it more selectively.
Smart has clearly chosen the second path, and this offseason was no different. The Bulldogs brought in 15 transfers, the fewest in the SEC for the 2026 season.
That number stands out even more because of how Georgia has built itself under Smart. Since the portal opened, he has never treated it like the foundation of the program.
Georgia’s formula has been to keep as many players in Athens as possible and only go shopping when there’s a clear need. That approach has already produced multiple National and SEC Championships.
Now the Bulldogs are entering a season where their portal activity will be under a microscope. For a lot of fans and analysts, championship teams need to be aggressive in the portal.
Georgia has pushed back against that idea for years, and this roster might be the strongest argument yet for Smart’s method. The Bulldogs bring back the fifth-most returning production in the country from a team that just won the SEC, and they also have the easiest schedule in the conference this season.
That combination gives Georgia a real chance to chase a third straight SEC title. Whether they do it is another matter, but the setup is there.
There’s also a bigger conversation hanging over all of this. The portal has become a central part of college football, but the way it’s being used now is not what many people expected when it first arrived. Too many players are switching schools every offseason, and programs often feel forced to follow that trend.
If Georgia can win big again while adding only 15 transfers, it could become a model for other schools. A title run from a team that doesn’t live in the portal would send a clear message: keeping a roster together can still be the better path. And while plenty of fans may not be eager to see Georgia keep piling up wins, the Bulldogs are in position to show the sport that elite teams do not have to be built through constant turnover.
In Other News...
Oklahoma's Coach Just Said What Georgia Fans Already Believe
Brent Venables did not exactly hide his respect for Georgia when asked about the Bulldogs, and the Oklahoma coachs praise fit the broader reality around Kirby Smarts program. Georgia has become the standard others measure themselves against, especially at home, where the Bulldogs have turned Sanford Stadium into one of the sports toughest stops and made consistency look routine.
The timing only adds more intrigue, because Georgia and Oklahoma are set to meet again in week four of the upcoming season after having played just once before. Their only previous matchup came in the 2018 Rose Bowl, a game Georgia won, and now the Sooners will get another crack at a program Venables clearly views as the benchmark. [Read more 🡒]
Kirby Smarts Son Is Suddenly Becoming A Real Recruiting Battle
Recruiting has already found its way to Kirby Smarts family tree, and it is happening earlier than anyone might have expected. Andrew Smart, still just a high school freshman prospect, is beginning to draw scholarship attention, with Georgia Tech among the schools that have already stepped into the picture. For Georgia fans, the storyline is obvious: when the coachs son starts getting real looks, every offer carries a little extra weight.
Syracuse coach Fran Brown, who previously worked with Kirby Smart, has also made clear he likes what he sees and intends to get involved. Browns interest adds another layer to a situation that is already unusually personal, because any future offer would come with a conversation that goes beyond standard recruiting. The bigger question now is how Andrew will navigate all of it as the list grows, especially with the family connection to Georgia looming over every step. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Can Only Watch As Damon Wilson Becomes What It Still Needs
Damon Wilsons path since leaving Athens has only made the old what-if feel sharper for Georgia. After transferring to Missouri and then moving on to Miami, the former Bulldogs edge rusher has kept climbing, and his preseason All-ACC First Team nod is a reminder of the kind of pass-rush talent Georgia has spent the past couple of seasons trying to replace.
For Georgia, the frustration is not just about losing a player who could help on the edge, but watching him become exactly the sort of disruptive defender the Bulldogs still need. Wilsons legal fight with the program over an NIL buyout remains unresolved, adding another layer to a separation that already carried plenty of sting for a defense that has had to keep adjusting without him. [Read more 🡒]