Georgia Football: OLB Jaleel Laguins to leave UGA

Georgia Football is seeing another player transfer away. This time it’s outside linebacker Jaleel Laguins who will be looking to play elsewhere.

We all knew this was coming. With Spring practice now over and the depth charts starting to take shape, roster attrition is starting to kick in for the Dawgs. Yesterday it was offensive lineman Pat Allen who decided to move on. Today it is one of Kirby Smarts first recruits Jaleel Laguins who will be transferring.

Laguins was a part of the 2016 class that Smart brought in after arriving from Alabama. A former 4-star at OLB, Laguins was the 10th highest ranked player at his position that year. The Georgia native arrived in Athens hoping to win a spot after the likes of Davin Bellamy and Lorenzo Carter moved on.

But OLB has become one of Georgia’s most stacked positions. Recent recruiting successes meant that highly ranked freshmen Brenton Cox and Robert Beal are still fighting to earn playing time. They will be joined this summer by Adam Anderson and BJ Ojulari and the depth keeps on improving. Nolan Smith is the top-ranked player at this position in 2019 and he’s committed to Georgia.

In short, Laguins was recruited over and he doesn’t have much of a chance to play in Athens. Going elsewhere should give him a better chance to get on the field and actually get some playing time. It’s something we’re going to see more and more going forward with Kirby Smart. He demands this level of competition because it forces his players to get better.

Next: Profiles for all UGA players in this draft class

Laguins will have 2 seasons of eligibility left wherever he lands. We wish him all the best and hope he finds a good fit to finish off his college football career.