What the spring transfer portal window tells us about Georgia football

The NCAA’s spring transfer portal window closed on Tuesday. The portal opened for 15 days, giving teams a chance to further reshape their rosters. Players can still end up committing to new schools now that the deadline to enter has passed, but teams likely won’t be losing any more players to the portal.

Georgia saw just two players elect to depart the program. Wide receiver Tyler Williams has found a new home in Minnesota while running back Andrew Paul has yet to announce what his next plans are following his decision to enter the portal. Offensive lineman Chad Lindberg, who entered the transfer portal as a graduate transfer prior to spring practice, announced he would be transferring to Rice.

While the Bulldogs did only lose two plays in this window, the team did make an addition in the form of quarterback Jaden Rashada.

Head coach Kirby Smart had long stated a desire to get to four scholarship quarterbacks. While Rashada isn’t expected to usurp the starting job from Carson Beck, Georgia did land a player with starting experience and plenty of upside. Rashada has four years of eligibility remaining and will compete with Gunner Stockton and Ryan Puglisi.

The addition of Rashada gives Georgia eight transfers this year. Rashada and Stanford tight end Benjamin Yurosek will arrive later this summer, joining Trevor Etienne, Colbie Young, London Humphreys, Michael Jackson III, Xzavier McLeod and Jake Pope.

Of course, perhaps the most interesting subplot of the spring window was who Georgia retained. Defensive tackle Christen Miller publicly announced his plans to enter the transfer portal, only to reverse course and announce the next day that he would be staying.

At a place like Georgia, the Miller drama illustrates why retention is far more important as opposed to going out and making additions to the roster.