LOOK: Georgia transfer target enjoys visit to Athens
Georgia hosted Mississippi State wide receiver transfer Rara Thomas over the weekend. From the look of things, the former – and potentially future – Bulldog enjoyed his time in the Classic City.
DawgsHQ’s Jake Rowe reported on Tuesday that he was hearing things went well on Thomas’ visit, a player he called a “massive target” for the Bulldogs. Thomas’ trip was not an official visit so he could still take one on the school’s dime if he were to choose to do so. A decision is expected before Christmas.
Thomas, a former three-star prospect from Eufaula, Ala., was Mississippi State’s leading receiver in 2022 as he hauled in 44 passes for 626 yards and seven touchdowns.
Georgia isn’t the only SEC team targeting Thomas. He took an official visit to Ole Miss and has visits lined up to Auburn and Tennessee too. However, Georgia certainly has plenty to offer with a wide receiver room that hasn’t quite been the focal point of the passing game this season. Of Georgia’s top four leading pass catchers, only one is a receiver indicating a need to bring in players from the portal at that position.
If it’s not Thomas that Georgia lands as far as a portal pass catcher, odds are that the Bulldogs will be looking for somebody else. Names like Missouri’s Dominic Lovett and a pair of Kent State wide receivers, Dante Cephas and Devontez Walker, are also on their radar while Georgia Tech’s Nate McCollum certainly could be.
“You’re always going to look, and people try to reach out once they go in the portal. It’s there,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said during a College Football Playoff press conference about the transfer portal and his program’s approach. “They have people on staff at Ohio State, and we’ve got people on our staff that are going to be constantly looking through there and watching tape, evaluating it. But the focus is on our team. It wouldn’t be fair to all the guys playing if you weren’t focused on your team.”
“You can’t put a ton of focus and attention to looking for kids in the portal and things like that,” he added. “For us, it’s really about who do we know? Who do we trust? Who do we think fits our culture? And find the right people. But our focus will be on ourselves.”
Georgia has taken players out of the portal before but not every season. This past offseason, the Bulldogs went after transfer portal targets but did not land any. However, the year before they landed three (Derion Kendrick, Arik Gilbert and Tykee Smith). Other transfers in the portal era include Tre’ McKitty, JT Daniels, Jamie Newman, Lawerence Cager and Eli Wolf.
