Mississippi State lands punter out of transfer portal

The Mississippi State Bulldogs landed a new addition for the specialist unit Sunday in grad transfer punter George Georgopoulos. Georgopoulos spent the last four years with the UMass Minutemen and had his best season in 2021 before opting to transfer. He announced his decision Sunday night on Twitter.

The former UMass punter averaged 44.8 yards per punt, which placed him inside the top 50 players at his position last season. His longest punt, kicked versus Liberty in 2020, went for 73 yards. He also had 21 punts downed inside the 20-yard line and 12 inside the 10.

Georgopoulos has one year of eligibility remaining and can play for the Bulldogs right away in 2022. He visited Mississippi State over the weekend before deciding to make things official with Mike Leach.

Blessed to announce that I have committed to play my final year at Mississippi State University! #HailState pic.twitter.com/3egccof1Bs

— George Georgopoulos (@georgeg939) April 10, 2022

The 6-foot-2, 225-pound punter is a native of Greenville, South Carolina. He went to J.L. Mann High School where he was a 4.5-star recruit, according to Kohl’s rankings.

Georgopoulos announced that he was entering the transfer portal on Jan. 26. Mike Leach made finding a new punter a priority after signing day but it took a while for the Bulldogs to find the right fit. Mississippi State returns junior punter Archer Trafford and redshirt freshman Marshall Nichols. In 2021, Trafford had a 42.4-yard average per punt.

The graduate transfer will have his work cut out for him to secure his starting role with Mississippi State this season. He will join the team this summer.