Notes From the Trail: Latest Portal Intel

UGA is active in the portal. Here is the latest look at UGAs approach.

Connor Jackson | Dec 16, 2022

While Georgia gets prepared for their playoff battle with Ohio State, there is another battle that is raging on in the CFB world. The transfer portal. Schools are flocking to the portal to add some veteran commodities to their teams, and UGA is no different.

Here is the latest intel from the portal.

Two-Team Battle Brewing for Rara Thomas...

As we have reported from the beginning, UGA is pushing for Mississippi State WR transfer Rara Thomas. The Dawgs have offered and got him on campus. By all accounts, he enjoyed his visit to Athens and UGA is making him feel like a priority. However, there is one other team that is firmly in the picture, Auburn.

Thomas visited Auburn last week, and will reportedly be in Auburn again this weekend. There is clear mutual interest here. In fact, some people at Auburn like their chances. There are a few things working in Auburn's favor. One, Thomas is an Alabama native. Two, he would step in and immediately be the guy in a depleted Auburn WR room.

However, as long as Thomas is taking visits to Athens and the Dawgs continue to push, UGA could be the team to beat. Tennessee and Ole Miss remain in the picture as well, both schools could land visits from Thomas.

Other WR Targets...

Missouri WR Dominic Lovett and Kent State WR Donte Cephas remain top portal targets for UGA. In fact, both of them are expected to visit UGA in the near future. As of now, we believe UGA will add 2 WRs from the portal.

Other potential names to watch include Oregon's Dont'e Thornton, Arizona's Dorian Singer, and West Virginia's Kaden Prather. However, we believe Thomas, Lovett, and Cephas are at the top of the board for the Dawgs.

On Smoke Bouie...

Former UGA DB commit and Bainbridge native Smoke Bouie recently entered the portal. Bouie played sparingly as a freshman for Texas A&M and still has a few years of eligibility left. We believe there is serious mutual interest. Here is what we wrote on Bouie yesterday.

Other Positions to Monitor...

As of now, UGA is not pursuing any QBs out of the portal. There are several high-caliber QBs like Devin Leary and Grayson McCall in the portal, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of interest from UGAs side. This leads me to believe the Dawgs are confident with their roster headed into next year. However, if UGA loses a QB to the portal, which is always a possibility, we would expect the Dawgs to start shopping. As of today, this seems like a post-spring question.

Now that Jusitce Haynes has shut his recruitment down, It's growing increasingly likely that UGA will pursue an RB out of the portal. There are several productive SEC RBs in the portal right now like South Carolina's Marshawn Lloyd and Mississippi State's Dillon Johnson.

If a difference-maker at the IDL and EDGE spots enters the portal, there is reason to believe UGA could get involved. The Dawgs have quality depth at these spots, but a proven veteran at these spots would certainly make the Dawgs more comfortable headed into next season.

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