Julian Humphrey explains factors that kept him at Georgia after flirting with transfer portal

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia cornerback Julian Humphrey flirted with the transfer portal during the offseason. It created a couple of tense days in Athens as the Bulldogs did their best to convince him to stay. Ultimately, their efforts paid off, and instead of entering the portal and looking elsewhere for his redshirt sophomore season, Humphrey will be suiting up in red and black this fall with hopes of using the opportunity for development to get him to the next level.

Humphrey, a native of Houston, Texas better known as ‘Julio’ by his coaches and teammates, told reporters on Tuesday that when thinking about entering the portal, homesickness played a part. After games, he would see teammates from the state of Georgia spending time with family. Headed back to The Lone Star State and having that same kind of opportunity certainly seemed like an attractive option.

Humphrey weighed his options, and at one point, posted a message that he was entering. His name never officially appeared – a process of entering information that schools have 48 hours to handle on their end – and after meeting with Georgia’s coaches, he was convinced that UGA was where he was meant to be.

“Me going back home, we had like a week off after the bowl game and it kind of hit me. I’m back at home, I barely get to see my people. It was just like, ‘Okay, now it’s time for me to go in if I wanted to make that kind of decision to be close to my family.’ Or I could stay up here (Georgia) and keep doing what I was doing,” Humphrey said. “So when I went in the portal, of course the coaches were calling me, texting me. We spoke and everything, sat down and talked about the bigger picture besides just me going back to be close to home. I could be up here and get the best training I need to make it to the next level.”

“I talked to Kirby and Muschamp and Coach Donte, and they were saying this is a big year for me, this could be my year to come out and have a good year. I thought about it, and I wanted to be developed rather than just be down there for one year to say I’m close to my family,” he added. “I stuck it out here because the development part is one of a kind compared to other schools.”

Humphrey saw action in nine games during the 2023 season. He made 11 stops including nine solo tackles and was coming on strong as he gained more experience and confidence. A particular impressive outing against Missouri boosted that belief to an all-time high, however, an injury sent him right back down to the ground.

“The week leading up to the Mizzou game we had this new formation going in, and I knew I was going to play that game. So that whole week, I was locked in and getting ready to play. Whenever they called it, I went in. Like I said, practices are harder than the games so I knew if I was doing good in practice, when the game would come, it wouldn’t be a huge difference. I just went out there and did what I did, trusted my technique and it was good,” Humphrey recalled. “Then, the following week after that, Ole Miss game, I knew I was going to be a big piece of the team to go into that game. After that play happened, I was hoping it wasn’t anything major but went in, got an x-ray and it came back different. It was a bummer.”

Humphrey suffered what Georgia would never quite confirm as a broken collarbone, sending him to the sidelines with just two games to go in the regular season. While he did everything possible to try and get back for the SEC Championship Game against Alabama, the return wasn’t in the cards, and the injury ended his season.

Turning the page to 2024, Humphrey is being circled as a potential starter for the Bulldogs this fall with an opening at cornerback thanks to the departure of Kamari Lassiter to the NFL Draft. Daylen Everette has one spot seemingly locked down while it’s Humphrey and Daniel Harris competing to play opposite of him.

“If everybody understands Kamari’s situation last year, he could only practice 30-40 percent of the practices during the season. There was a lot of available reps for Julian. He did a great job. He worked hard. He picked things up,” Smart said of Humphrey on Tuesday. “He had to increase his toughness. He has always been able to run. He has always been able to cover. His issues came from knowing exactly what to do in motion, things change. I thought last year he did a great job at that.”

“He has had a good spring practice so far. I hope that continues. He’s hungry,” Smart continued. “We have good competition going on at corner. We don’t look at it as two corners. We look at it as if there are four corners that can play, one of them is going to also play STAR. They will all play. The more winning football players we can have at corner, the better off our team can be.”

The effort of Smart and the staff to keep Humphrey around shows the kind of player they think he can be. It’s also just another day in the life of a college football coach in 2024. While he wouldn’t go as far as to say that Humphrey was tampered with, the head coach knows what’s out there and what causes his players to think the way they do oftentimes when entering the portal.

“I think kids get confused. I think kids, a lot of times, we try to communicate with our kids really well, be up front with our kids. That is the nature of the beast. They turn on their phones and see other people doing it. It becomes a trend,” Smart said. “It is like anything else in social media. ‘If he is doing it then why shouldn’t I be doing it? Is the grass greener on the other side?’ Sometimes they don’t know. Sometimes they are getting reached out to by other places. Maybe they shouldn’t be, but that is just the nature of the beast.”

“Ultimately, he is here. That is the only thing I am concerned with,” Smart continued. “I don’t think that is a story, that he was thinking of going in and going back. It is just the day in age that we live in. The most important thing is that he chose to be here and compete. He has a great family. They have sacrificed a lot for Julio to be in the position he is in. They support their son. They want him here because they know how we coach. The thing I like about Julio’s parents is that they appreciate the toughness that we coach him with.” 

As for Humphrey, he appreciates the Georgia approach too. While a little further from home than he might want, he’s got teammates and coaches that support him in what’s the best place for him at this point in his football career.

“Why leave the best school that can give you everything you need to get to the next level? Just to leave because a few bucks from another school that they can offer me,” Humphrey said. “I was just like, it’s important for me to stay here and get the development. Georgia gets you ready for the NFL, and it’s been proven. I want to be a part of that.”