Kirby Smart analyzes Georgia's wide receiver room after Rara Thomas' dismissal

Rara Thomas, Georgia’s second-leading returning receiver, was dismissed from the program on Thursday following his arrest and subsequent suspension earlier this week. That now obviously changes the dynamics of what the pass-catching corps looks like for the Bulldogs as they open fall camp in Athens.

Kirby Smart broke down the position in that context after removing Thomas during that press conference on Thursday. He said that he isn’t too concerned about the possibilities and options considering how many they still have. It just wouldn’t hurt to find one or two more that they can rely on during the fall.

“Well we’ve got a lot of guys that are pass catchers back,” Smart said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that have played with Dillon Bell, Arian (Smith). Colbie (Young) for another team has played, Dom (Lovett) has been very successful and got a lot of catches. So we have depth at the top.

“I think we’ve got to find more guys that can contribute in that room. Maybe they haven’t had their opportunity, maybe their talented and pick things up quickly,” added Smart. “You know, we have several guys that came in from the portal with Mike Jackson and London (Humphreys).”

Lovett is the leading returning receiver for the ‘Dawgs after posting 54 receptions for 613 yards and four touchdowns as a junior after transferring in. Bell is also a decent option back after he had 29 catches for 355 yards and a pair of scores as a sophomore. Smith will have a chance too as he enters his fifth season after catching 20 passes for 539 yards and four touchdowns in total over the previous four.

That’s when you get Young, Humphreys, and Jackson III as portal pickups at receiver. Young and Humphreys were the higher-rated ones at Top-175 overall and as the No. 5 and No. 33 WRs respectively. That’s per On3’s 2024 Transfer Portal Top Players.

Young was the most prolific with 79 receptions for 930 yards and 10 touchdowns in two years at Miami. Jackson is the next most experienced with 46 catches for 498 and five scores in three seasons at USC. Finally, Humphreys had a quality freshman season at Vanderbilt after catching 22 for 439 yards and four touchdowns.

All that and it doesn’t even include a collection of tight ends. Although that position lost a stud in Brock Bowers, it brings back Oscar Delp and adds Ben Yurosek (Stanford), the No. 273 transfer and the No. 14 TE. Delp caught 24 passes for 284 yards and three scores last year as a sophomore. Yurosek then comes in after receiving 108 for 1,342 yards and five scores in his last three years.

A very bad situation involving Thomas has shifted much for the Georgia offense over the past week. Still, it now makes way and provides opportunity for someone else to represent them in the pass game.

“I’m looking forward to see the opportunity each one gets to grow and get better,” said Smart. “It really starts today but I’m fired up about that group because we’ve got a good group of protectors around them, a good quarterback to get them the ball, and a good group of tight ends.”