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Former Georgia wideout speaks about Alabama transfer decision

Palmber-Thombsby:Palmer Thombs•08/15/22•

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Photo courtesy of Alabama Athletics

Former Georgia wide receiver Jermaine Burton met with Alabama media members – his first interview availability in college – on Monday and shared some insight as to why he decided to leave Georgia. Burton, who played in 24 career games at Georgia, entering the transfer portal after the National Championship Game, one that saw Georgia beat Alabama 33-18 to end a 41-year drought.

“The way these guys have treated me coming into the program, I can’t thank them enough. Regardless of the outcome of last year’s game and me being on the other side of the ball, I’m here now,” Burton told Alabama media members. “I think that’s what I really need to focus on, focusing on this team and what we can do this year.”

“I’m just trying to make the best decision that I can for me and my family,” Burton continued when asked why it was that he decided to leave Georgia. “Like I said, again, I can’t thank this program enough for the way they welcomed me and brought me in and treated me like one of their own. From this point on, I’m just focused on this team and what we can do better.”

Last season at Georgia, Jermaine Burton hauled in 26 passes for 497 yards and five touchdowns, pacing the team with 19.1 yards per catch and having the most touchdowns among wide receivers. That included two catches for 28 yards in the National Championship Game win over Alabama. In 10 games the year before, he caught 27 passes for 404 yards and three touchdowns. All in all, Georgia and Alabama played three times during his career in Athens, so he was plenty familiar with the Crimson Tide.

“It definitely was. It honestly went the way I didn’t think it would go. I honestly thought there were going to be some guys that still felt some kind of way about the game or some guys who had some kind of envy or animosity,” Burton said about the reaction from Alabama players when he arrived in Tuscaloosa for practice this spring. “Like I said, this team brought me in with unbelievable arms and welcomed me. Honestly, we didn’t have any sort of issue about that. I got more congratulations than anything. The guys just brought me in, wanted me to work with them. I honestly forgot about that game. I just want to win one with this team.”

Georgia and Alabama are not scheduled to play this season during the regular season, but the two teams are certainly favorites to make it out of their respective divisions and meet in Atlanta for the SEC Championship come December. Despite only having been on the regular season slate once during Kirby Smart’s time at Georgia, the Bulldogs have played the Crimson Tide five times in total (2018 CFP Championship Game, 2018 SEC Championship Game, 2020 regular season, 2021 SEC Championship Game and 2022 CFP Championship Game).

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