Kirby Smart notes Georgia's 21 mid-year enrollees have popped in spring practice

From 18 true freshmen enrolling early to a trio of transfers already with Georgia for the spring semester, Kirby Smart has been impressed with the additions to the Bulldogs roster since winning a second-straight national championship. He got to delve into during the Georgia spring game on Saturday afternoon.

Speaking with ESPN’s Alyssa Lang on the field during the second half, Smart was reluctant to single anybody out, but did say the whole crop of newcomers were impressing. He did eventually note that two transfer wideouts — Rara Thomas from Mississippi State and Dominic Lovett from Missouri — were having strong springs.

“Well, we’ve had several guys jump out. I don’t like singling anybody out, but we’ve got — that group of 21 young players has been incredible. They have worked so hard, practicing. A couple guys we’ve got out of the portal. Rara’s made some plays in the springs and so has Dom Lovett. They’ve done a really good job for us. There’s a bunch of guys and today’s a chance to showcase that,” Smart said.

One top of Thomas, Lovett and third mid-year in-transfer Smoke Bouie, the Bulldogs have 18 players from their 26-man 2023 signing class already enrolled. And the top of the Georgia recruiting class is well-represented, with all 10 of the Top 10 rated players in the class enrolling early. That includes four players with five-star ratings according to the On3 Industry Ranking: EDGE Damon Wilson (No. 20 nationally), DL Jordan Hall (No. 25), LB Raylen Wilson (No. 29) and OT Monroe Freeling (No. 32).

One mid-year enrollee who Smart praised was tight end Lawson Luckie. He noted that Luckie enrolled in December and joined the Bulldogs for practices during the College Football Playoff, giving him a notable leg up.

“He’s one of the toughest guys I’ve been around, as far as playing football. He does a really good job on that. So it’s fun to be around him. I’ll tell you, he’s a kid that took advantage of, he didn’t go play in all these all-star games. He just said, ‘I’ll stay here and practice with the Georgia Bulldogs.’ So he had 15 to 20 practices of semifinals, and the finals game that he practiced with our team. So he’s so much further ahead,” Smart said.

Even during the winter, Luckie was showing a lot of promise, Smart said.

“He was a really good, good player during that time, too,” Smart said. “He was a scout team tight end and all the older players were like, ‘Dang, who is this dude?'”

And for Smart, it’s cool to see players who were just months ago playing high school football get a chance to get reps in live action in Sanford Stadium.

“There’s 21 mid-years out here. So it’s really cool to watch a kid play his high school season and he’s out here playing at Sanford Stadium three, four months later,” Smart said.