When you're as talented as Georgia football, with natural recruiting success and top-3 classes over the last four years, you don't have to rely on the transfer portal as much to build your team's roster. However, when head coach Kirby Smart does take advantage of the portal, it's usually for notable additions.
Although the Bulldogs football team missed out on a three-peat and another national championship in 2023, Smart aims to get Georgia back in contention in 2024, even under a new playoff format. Having the No. 1 recruiting class of 2024 will be a huge help, but there were also significant portal players who could make an impact and potentially help lead Georgia to play in their home state for next year's national title game, which takes place in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
In their 2024 portal class, ranked No. 13, Georgia football has seven incoming players, while losing a whopping 20. What's really impressive about those seven, though, is that five of them are four-star rated transfers from Power Five programs, including three from the SEC.
One of the most notable and sneakiest transfers, however, isn't from the SEC at all. He's from the ACC, in Miami Hurricanes wide receiver Colbie Young.
Wide receiver Colbie Young transfers to Georgia football
As good as Georgia football has been, there has only been one 1,000-yard receiver in the program's history, dating back to Terrence Edwards in 2002, who had 1,004 yards, according to Dawgs Daily. Not even AJ Green or Brock Bowers has achieved that feat.
Speaking of Bowers, as a tight end, he was the Bulldogs' leading receiver in 2023 with 56 receptions, 714 yards, and six touchdowns, despite missing five games due to an ankle injury. Bowers may have surpassed his 2022 season of 63 receptions, 942 yards, and seven touchdowns if not for the injury.
The next closest receiver to him was Dominic Lovett, who had 51 receptions for 575 yards and three touchdowns. With Bowers heading to the NFL, someone will need to step up, which is why Colbie Young's transfer is so important.
Young transfers to Georgia as a four-star transfer ranked No. 48 overall and the No. 8 wide receiver, according to 247sports.
This will actually be Young's second transfer as a three-start juco prospect, first coming from Lackawanna College, a junior college in Scranton, PA. There, he caught 24 passes for 472 yards and nine touchdowns. Then, in his two years at Miami, he totaled 79 receptions for 930 yards at 11.8 yards per catch, with 10 touchdowns. Despite the Hurricanes' passing game being inconsistent in the second half of the season last year due to quarterback injuries and other issues, Young still caught 47 passes for 563 yards, showing improvement from his first season in Coral Gables.
Young should develop a good connection with Georgia quarterback Carson Beck, who had a very under-the-radar season in 2023 in his first year as a starter. While Young may not reach the 1,000-yard mark, he should be a valuable addition to the wide receiver room and further improve the passing game in Athens in 2024.
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