Darris Smith becomes first Georgia Bulldog to enter transfer portal

The transfer portal has struck Athens, Ga. as sophomore outside linebacker Darris Smith plans to enter the portal according to On3. The Appling County product has been away from the team since mid-October with Kirby Smart not providing many details on his absence.

Smith saw action for Georgia in the first five games of the season, totaling three tackles including one for loss against UAB. As a freshman, the 6-foot-5, 240-pound outside linebacker played in 11 of 15 games, recording one tackle in four games (Vanderbilt, Florida, Ohio State, TCU).

Smith was viewed as a bit of a project in the recruiting world when Georgia signed him out of Appling County. Possessing the length and size, the potential was absolutely there. It’s why he shot up rankings late in the cycle, coming in at No. 81 overall according to the On300.

“Darris Smith is a kid we’re excited about, we’ve loved. He’s got a great work ethic,” Smart said about Smith after his signing. “He’s from a rural town down there, and he’s done a wonderful job every time he’s been up here of competing, working out … He’s got a lot of growth potential. He’s long. He runs well. Kids that are that size that run well tend to do well in our system. He played at receiver at times. He’s running track right now, and he’s one of the fastest track kids in that area, so we’re certainly excited about him.”

Georgia lost 16 players to the transfer portal last season. The Bulldogs have five scholarship outside linebackers on their roster (Chaz Chambliss, Marvin Jones Jr., CJ Madden, Damon Wilson and Sam M’Pemba), all with eligibility still remaining after this season with multiple for all but Chambliss. Wilson and M’Pemba’s fellow freshman Gabe Harris was recruited as an outside linebacker but has seen the majority of his action to this point on the defensive line. Jalon Walker has also been used as an outside linebacker at times, practicing with the position group late last season.

“I’ve been pleased with those guys. They’re really hard workers,” Smart said about the outside linebackers ahead of the regular-season finale. “It’s been tough because early in the season we didn’t get a whole lot of opportunities for those guys. They’ve done a good job of being really physical at the point of attack. We ask them to do a lot of different things. In the game against Tennessee, we were in a three-down front a lot of the time and they were dropping in space and rushing some. You’ve got to be a jack of all trades to do that. We stack them back and make them play inside ‘backer some. They’ve done a lot of things, and I’ve been pleased with those guys.”

The transfer portal window does not officially open until December 4th, closing 30 days later on January 2nd. A second window exists in the spring, however, for transfer within the SEC, a player must enter during the first window.

“Yeah, I don’t know anyone that has a good handle on it because you don’t know what the truth is. You don’t know where the truth lies. We communicate, we try to keep open lines of communication, we meet with our players periodically. We have an open-door policy to come talk about things. We’d rather be in the know than in the dark,” Smart said of Georgia’s roster management. “Sometimes we’re in the dark, sometimes we’re in the know. All you can do is be as transparent as you can and try to find out. Are you asking if we have a grasp on it or a handle on it? I don’t think anybody has a handle on it. I think you prepare the best you can and you try to have plan A, B, C, D, E and you put them in motion when the time comes.” 

Georgia takes on Alabama for the SEC Championship Game this Saturday with a spot in the College Football Playoffs on the line. Kickoff time is slated for 4:00 p.m. ET on CBS.