Len'Neth Whitehead addition another example of Georgia's thought-out transfer portal approach

Kirby Smart and Georgia went to the transfer portal on Monday to add depth to its running back room. Former four-star Len’Neth Whitehead, who spent his first three seasons at Tennessee and joins the Bulldogs as a walk-on, announced his commitment to UGA, a move that brings Whitehead back to his hometown of Athens.

Whitehead started his career as a linebacker before being moved to running back. In 2021, he carried the ball 32 times for the Vols, totaling 207 yards and two touchdowns while battling injuries. He earned SEC Co-Freshman of the Week for a performance against Missouri that season.

“The culture, the traditions, and I want to be coached by some of the best minds in college football,” Whitehead told DawgsHQ. “I feel like Coach (Dell) McGee and Coach Kirby (Smart) can get me to the best player I can be.”

“Unbelievable, I day dream about it every day honestly,” he added about the opportunity. “I turned down other places to have that experience of being a Georgia Bulldog.”

Whitehead’s transfer says a lot about where Georgia’s running back room was at. The Bulldogs have five backs on scholarship but saw just how thin things could get this spring when just two of them were available to play in the spring game – one of whom was still limited.

Kendall Milton has battled injuries throughout his career and missed the majority of spring with a hamstring problem. Andrew Paul is coming off of an ACL tear last fall and Branson Robinson suffered a foot/ankle injury late that put him in a boot for G-Day. Yes, Georgia is confident in Daijun Edwards, Roderick Robinson and even Cash Jones, but you never want to run the risk of not having enough players at a position where injuries are prevalent.

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The Whitehead transfer is also another example of Kirby Smart’s policy with the transfer portal. Sure, he wants to add players that are incredibly talented. Whitehead being a former four-star and top-200 player in the country for the Class of 2020 fits that mold. However, he also wants to make sure that they are a cultural fit. Players they recruited out of high school and are familiar with from then are even better.

“It’s based on need, it’s based on fit, it’s based on who we knew coming out,” Smart recently said during an interview with Greg McElroy and Cole Cubelic on their Alabama-based radio show. “We’re not just doing a shotgun approach where we spray it out there.”

“Number one, we think the players we get out of high school are the higher quality,” Smart continued. “Then we say, ‘Okay, how can we develop them and keep them in our program?’ Ultimately, if we have a spot available, we want to take somebody that we knew something about beforehand, we had them on an official visit or had them workout in camp, there was a common bond there so that they understand what they are getting into because it’s a little different at our place. We try to sell it that way. Sometimes that works out, sometimes it doesn’t.”

Think about who the Bulldogs have brought in as of late. In this class alone, Smoke Bouie was a one-time Georgia commit and somebody Kirby Smart knew being from his hometown. Dominic Lovett and Rara Thomas were both players the coaching staff in Athens were familiar with having scouted against them just last season. Whitehead fits that mold too.

Smart is in a position where he can be selective – both at the high school and transfer portal recruiting ranks. He knows he’s got talented players on the roster getting developed every day by one of the best coaching staffs in the country. If Georgia has a hole on its roster to fill, oftentimes that can happen from within. However, if he doesn’t feel that’s possible, it comes time to dip into the portal, but not without going through all the proper channels to make sure the players they are adding will fit right in when they arrive in Athens.