This just comes with the territory that is the wonderful world of the transfer portal. With the transfer portal window having come to a close, some of the familiar faces associated with Georgia teams from yesteryear are on the way out of the door. While there will be new players to root for coming in, you always hate to see a player have more success somewhere else. These are always bound to happen.
Although not all transfer portal classes are created equally, teams like Georgia usually end up in a better spot than when the portal first opens. This is because many of the players on the way out were either disgruntled with their lack of playing time, or were just not getting all that much to begin with... Conversely, incoming players arrive with a great bit of intrigue to take their new teams over the top.
So what we are going to do today is look at a handful of players who are leaving the Georgia football program for presumably greener pastures, in their eyes. Not all, but some of these players will end up having a great next act post-Georgia. That being said, there are a few players going elsewhere in the portal that could come back to haunt Georgia in the worst way possible. Some do feel quite obvious...
Without further ado, here are three outgoing transfer Georgia fans will hate to see in another uniform.
3. Safety Joenel Aguero (Committed to Ole Miss Rebels)
This one had Georgia fans' heads spinning when it happened. Safety Joenel Aguero had been a starter in the back of Glenn Schumann's defense for years prior to hitting the portal. This may have come in the wake of UGA landing former Clemson star Khalil Barnes, as well as Rasean Dinkins rise to prominence down the stretch. To see Aguero transfer to the team that ended UGA in Ole Miss is rich.
Aguero will now play for recently promoted head coach Pete Golding in Oxford for his last season of college eligibility. Ole Miss could potentially have staying power in the SEC, but the Rebels feel like the biggest regression candidate of any team in the league that just made the playoff. Again, he may have lost his starting role at Georgia to some combination of Barnes and Dinkins, but this is not great.
With injuries being part of the game, Georgia could come to regret letting Aguero leave for Ole Miss.
2. Cornerback Dominick Kelly (Committed to Ohio State Buckeyes)
In terms of the one outgoing player that could make Georgia pay for years to come, it would have to be defensive back Dominick Kelly. He entered the transfer portal after only one season with Georgia. He chose to take his remaining eligibility over to, you guessed it? ... Ohio State... While Ohio State has long been one of the biggest players in college football, they never seem to have a lack of resources.
Again, this triggers a certain memory of former local high school product Caleb Downs looking at apartments in Athens the day he decided to transfer from Alabama to Ohio State. Until proven otherwise, Ohio State remains the biggest annual threat to Georgia out of the Big Ten. To lose a player of Kelly's caliber to the Buckeyes this soon into his college career cannot be sitting well with Georgia.
If there is any saving grace, at least he did not transfer to a major rival of the Bulldogs over in the SEC.
1. Offensive tackle Jamal Meriweather (Uncommitted)
Jamal Meriweather hitting the portal is not as much about him leaving, but as much as what it represents. The rotational offensive tackle spent his entire college career with Georgia out of Brunswick. He is the type of player you always hope spends his entire time with the program. Instead, he decided to move onto greener pastures for himself. He is supposedly looking pretty hard at Miami.
The other big aspect here is Georgia's starting left tackle from this past season in Monroe Freeling has decided to turn pro prematurely. He may be a top-40 prospect, but he does leave a gaping void along the offensive line. Meriweather would have, in theory, been one of the guys best equipped to replace him. Either something is coming down the pipeline, or Georgia is a turnstile at tackle now...
At this time, offensive tackle feels like the one area where Georgia may not have a solution for 2026...