In an era where heads are quickly turned by enticing name, image and likeness and revenue-sharing deals, Georgia managed to retain the most talent of any starting lineup in the Southeastern Conference in 2026.
More than half of the Bulldogs' 2025 starting lineup will be suiting up in red and black in the fall, including quarterback Gunner Stockton, both halves of Georgia's dynamic running back tandem, and defensive playmakers like KJ Bolden and Raylen
Wilson.
The fear of a spring transfer portal no longer looms, giving coach Kirby Smart the luxury of spending the spring focused on the season ahead. Approaching his 12th season in Athens, the Georgia coach claims that was his plan all along.
“We didn’t respond or react to it last year,” Smart said about the spring portal window. “There’s not anything we’re doing different … We’re working on building depth, trying to get guys ready, but we were doing the same things last year."
One key returner is Nate Frazier, the rising junior running back that accounted for 1,063 all-purpose yards and seven touchdowns last season. Frazier is a projected 2028 first-rounder, but in an upcoming season when most draft hopeful juniors have much to prove on the field, it’s the intangibles that he's focused on.
“Year three, for a dude that is knowing they have a chance and the opportunity to go to the National Football League, it gets to a point where they’re more selfish and focus on themselves and their goals. My year three, I want to show my teammates and the people around me that I want to be better together as a team,” he said.
The running back said transferring didn’t cross his mind, though rumors certainly made their rounds on social media.
“That’s what social media is, it’s just rumors,” Frazier said. “I just turned off my phone and just got back to work …. I know this is where I’m supposed to be. I love this place. I already know I don’t belong nowhere else.”
The other half of Georgia’s one-two punch running back duo is Chauncey Bowens, who like Frazier, says he wasn’t tempted by offers.
“Not really (tempted) at all, actually. No, I knew I was going to be here for sure. I love being at Georgia, and I love my teammates. I love my offensive line, my coaches, everything,” Bowens said. “That’s the new game of NIL. You know schools are going to come calling.”
While more than half of the SEC teams are bringing in more than 20 transfers, Georgia took a more methodical approach focused on retaining talent and intentionally bolstering position groups.
Four of Georgia's nine incoming transfers are defensive backs, including three-year Clemson starter Khalil Barnes, who is expected to have an immediate impact.
The Bulldogs also brought in Isiah Canion, a 6-foot-4 receiver from Georgia Tech, to help offset the loss of Zachariah Branch’s explosiveness and Colbie Young’s size. Canion will set out to do what Branch achieved the year before, making the jump from transfer receiver to draft prospect.
“Isiah is a guy we knew about in high school,” Smart said. “I remember Coach Bobo going down and watching him practice, and he made a couple really acrobatic catches. He was in the back of our mind all along.”
It’s that kind of long-term evaluation that continues to shape how Georgia builds its roster.
So while much of the SEC sorts through uncertainty and roster churn, Georgia enjoys its spring with a rare sense of clarity, anchored by a core that's already taken the field together at Sanford Stadium.
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