Georgia football: One quick thing about the transfer portal
Once again, the Georgia football program is losing players to the transfer portal. But fear not, it can be a good thing.
I see a lot of Georgia football fans getting their guts tied in a knot every time another player enters the transfer portal, especially when it’s a fan favorite like Dominick Blaylock. It’s truthfully better to take a more positive view when this happens.
The first thing to remember is that every school gets hit with players entering the portal. It’s inevitable. Yes, even mighty Alabama has players leave. This year alone, the Crimson Tide have had 14 players enter the portal. Fourteen.
It’s important to also consider that players want to transfer for all sorts of different reasons, and not just because they are necessarily unhappy where they are. Some want more starting snaps, some need to be closer to family, and some just feel a change of scenery will help them perform. The coaches don’t take it personally and neither should the fans.
The biggest takeaway fans should have about the portal is that it’s all still so new. Players are getting advice from all sorts of different places and there’s a lot of misunderstood information floating around. Everyone is still figuring this thing out and feeling their way in the dark on both sides — players and coaches.
JT Daniels is a perfect example. A five-star recruit who went to USC, played pretty well, and then got injured. Didn’t see his starting spot reopening once he recovered so he transferred to Georgia. A combination of behind-the-scenes issues and more injuries saw him lose his starting spot again, so he transfers to West Virginia.
Now, after struggling late in the season and losing his starting spot again, he’s entered the portal and will be headed to his fourth school in as many years.
This isn’t a failure of coaches at any of the schools or the programs in general. Daniels has his own reasoning (whether we understand it or not) for doing what he does. If anything, it’s a poor reflection on him, not the schools he’s attending.
So the next time your favorite player announces he’s entering the portal, simply wish him well and cheer for him as long as he’s not playing against the Bulldogs. It’s a sure thing Kirby Smart has a lot of players lined up waiting for his spot.
Next-man-up mentality is the best defense against the portal and the attrition that it causes at programs that are unprepared.
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