Kirby Smart assesses Georgia transfer receivers early in spring

ATHENS, Ga. — We’re not even a third of the way into spring practice, but Kirby Smart is already being asked to assess his transfer portal pickups at the wide receiver position. Georgia’s got three new pass catchers on campus this spring – London Humphreys (Vanderbilt), Colbie Young (Miami), Michael Jackson III (USC) – and all eyes are on them. The head coach however knows its a process to get them acclimated and that there’s development that has to be done, even in the case of players that have prior collegiate experience.

“Well, they’ve been a little banged up,” Smart said when asked about the transfers on Tuesday. “Colbie’s been a little banged up. He’s had an ankle, happened right before we started, or right before we went on break. He’s been able to practice some and do some things. He’s actually gotten better with each practice, probably did the least with any of his practices his first practice. He did a little more the third practice, and then hoping today he’s able to do some more. He’s very bright, transitions smoothly. Michael Jackson’s showed up and made some plays, and so has London.”

“London is really in his second year of college football. I think a lot of times you take a guy in the portal and think of immediate — RaRa, Dom, those guys had played in our conference a lot — London had played in our conference, but probably a young player that’s developing,” he continued. “The other two guys are a little bit older, but very pleased with all three of those guys.”

Smart’s comments come just a week after he was initially asked about the trio and joked that he hadn’t seen them do anything but “run around in circles, touch a cone, and lift a bar.” He was confident though that each of them fit into Georgia’s culture, something that the coaching staff had to determine during the recruiting process and something that they’ve seen play out in just a matter of months.

“I can tell you the research we’ve done to bring them into our program was, do they care more about the team than themselves, do they believe in culture? They all checked those boxes,” Smart said to open spring. “I’ll find out a lot more as the spring goes and as they grow. I’m excited about their addition to the wide receiver room.”

“I don’t sit here and put expectations on top of people of having super high expectations,” he added a week later. “I want them to fit into our culture and buy-in to special teams and practice hard and learn how to practice in the spring. And then come fall, they should be conditioned and smarter and be able to benefit us more. Each one of them’s done that.”

Humphreys was the first of the three to commit to Georgia. He did so officially just prior to National Signing Day, announcing his decision to leave Vanderbilt and head to Athens. The Nashville, Tenn. native spent just one season with the Commodores but proved himself to be an impact player in the SEC. Included on the Freshman All-SEC team, Humphreys played in all 12 games as a true freshman, hauling in 22 passes for 439 yards and four touchdowns including a 49-yard score against Georgia. Humphreys’ biggest games came against Wake Forest and UNLV as he topped the 100-yard mark in back to back weeks, finding the end zone in each outing.

Next came Young who joins Georgia from Miami. A big-bodied target listed by the Hurricanes at 6-foot-5, 215 pounds, Young finished third on the team in all three major receiving categories this past season with 47 catches, 563 yards and five touchdowns. He topped 50 yards in four of the first five games for the Hurricanes – three times going for 70+ and a score. All this came just one year after a 2022 campaign that saw a pair of 100-yard days for Young, going for 127 and two touchdowns against Duke just one week after having 110 on a career-high nine catches versus Virginia Tech.

Last but not least was Jackson, who might’ve been a bit of a surprise at the time of his announcement. Just when it seemed Georgia was done at the receiver position, the Las Vegas, Nev. native came soaring in with a commitment after having spent time in an exciting USC offense. Jackson dealt with injuries during his time with the Trojans but managed to total 17 catches in each of the past two seasons, combining for five touchdowns and 382 yards in 17 games. His best career outing came against Cal with five catches for 115 yards and two scores including a long of 59. Jackson also contributed as a punt returner.

Georgia’s three receiver transfers – along with the three others at different positions: RB Trevor Etienne (Florida), DL Xzavier McLeod (South Carolina), DB Jake Pope (Alabama) – will have a few more weeks to get their feet under them this spring. The Bulldogs will hold their fifth practice on Thursday, leaving 10 to go including a trio of scrimmages with the final on April 13th acting as the annual G-Day spring game (1:00 p.m. ET, SECN+).