With the college football season coming to an end for Georgia, now is the time for Kirby Smart and his staff to put their best foot forward in the transfer portal recruiting department. One of the key players who has ties to the region is now available to be had in former Clemson Tigers safety Khalil Barnes. He played his high school football locally for North Oconee just down the road in Bogart, Georgia.
Hayes Fawcett of Rivals and On3 shared Barnes will be visiting Georgia on Jan. 3, and then Ole Miss...
NEWS: Clemson transfer Safety Khalil Barnes has locked in visits to Georgia and Ole Miss, his agent tells @On3Sports
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) January 2, 2026
He’ll visit Georgia January 3rd and Ole Miss the 4th-5th
Repped by @ShawnODare of @rosenhaussports https://t.co/RlUbB6Fk7q https://t.co/vk4lHlFV4P pic.twitter.com/p3uwQh6YUA
Barnes was a three-year starter at Clemson, and was a Freshman All-American for the Tigers. While he was not heavily recruited by Georgia coming out of high school, the chances of him sticking with the Dawgs this time around seems much higher. Georgia really needs some boost on defense from a player with plenty of experience. Of course, he will visit Georgia right before he has to go to Ole Miss.
It would be another tough loss for Georgia to lose a player who grew up locally to a team it just fell to...
Georgia Bulldogs will battle with Ole Miss for Khalil Barnes' commitment
It is interesting that Ole Miss is the other team of note vying for Barnes' final year of eligibility. This will be a new-look Ole Miss team next season with Pete Golding taking over full-time as head coach. His coaching staff will look drastically different, but Ole Miss could potentially have staying power near the top of the SEC, despite all of its upcoming offseason changes. Will that still have Barnes' intrigue?
Overall, stability and proximity to home may be things that Barnes covets above all else with his next college football team. Even though the season ended far sooner than some in Dawg Nation were hoping for, we have to remind ourselves how green this year's team was. Many of the best players from it will be back next year, hoping to avenge its latest loss to an underdog team in New Orleans.
Right now, Georgia has to be incredibly impressive to put itself in the best position to land Barnes out of Clemson by way of the portal. Ole Miss has all the momentum in the world right now. Depending on how the Fiesta Bowl goes, they could be playing for a national title with somewhat of a makeshift staff. The other thing that stands out here is Barnes will be making a two-day visit to Ole Miss here...
That may have more to do with travel than anything, but that is certainly something to keep in mind.