Georgia and Kirby Smart land first transfer portal commit and it's a major get

This is what Georgia fans are talking about. While hearts remain broken over the College Football Playoff loss to Ole Miss earlier this week, Kirby Smart has flushed things and shifted his focus to the transfer portal. And, commit No. 1 is officially on the board.

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Moments ago, news broke that standout Clemson safety transfer Khalil Barnes has quickly shut down his recruitment and let Smart know that he's going to be Athens-bound for next season. The veteran defensive back was on campus this weekend for a visit and he saw everything he needed to in order to lock in a final decision:

Former Clemson safety Khalil Barnes has committed to Georgia and Kirby Smart

As noted by Hayes Fawcett, Barnes posted more than 130 tackles with the Tigers during three seasons with the team, while adding seven interceptions and 18 pass deflections. He took home freshman All-American honors, which had people thinking he'd be a superstar for Clemson for the rest of his college career.

However, he made the difficult decision to enter the portal and Georgia quickly came calling. The Bulldogs are losing multiple defensive backs next season, but making a quick move here for Barnes is of course great news for everyone closely following the program.

Yes, the 2025 season didn't go to plan for the Bulldogs, as UGA was a couple of plays away from taking down the Rebels and moving one step closer to reaching the CFP title game. Despite that, Smart appears motivated to right the wrongs for the 2026 campaign.

Barnes may be commit No. 1 from the transfer portal, but he's certainly not going to be the last. With the portal open until Jan. 16, you can fully expect Georgia and Smart to work overtime in continuing to add more players to the '26 roster with plenty of experience.