Ranking the Bulldogs’ top five transfers with Smart as coach
Before his team finished up spring practice Saturday, UGA football coach Kirby Smart chatted on the Sanford Stadium sideline with Maurice Smith who made an impact in his one Bulldog season on that field in 2016.
Not far away from where they were standing, a few hours later Demetris Robertson scored on a 59-yard pass from JT Daniels for the Red team’s final touchdown in the G-day game.
All three of those players were transfers under Smart.
The latest transfer, defensive back Tykee Smith from West Virginia, was in town this weekend for Georgia’s spring game to see firsthand a defense he figures to play a key role in at nickel back.
By the time, the Bulldogs crank up preseason practices in August, there just might be another transfer or two added to the roster.
Cornerback and perhaps wide receiver are areas of needs.
Smart has landed players who have made major contributions after relocating to Athens to resume their college careers.
Here are our top five transfers under Smart during his first five seasons at Georgia in descending order:
5. Cameron Nizialek, 2017
Who says punters don’t get love? After earning a degree in economics from Columbia University, Nizialek went from leading the Ivy League in punting to averaging 45.0 yards per punt — ninth nationally — for a team that won the SEC and the Rose Bowl and nearly won the national championship. He arrived as a walk-on grad transfer and left with the second-best single-season net punting average in program history.
4. Lawrence Cager, 2019
Georgia’s top wide receiver during its run to a third straight trip to the SEC championship game was a favorite Jake Fromm target when he was on the field, but shoulder, rib and ultimately an ankle injury limited him to just nine games. The Miami graduate transfer led the Bulldogs with 33 catches for 476 yards and had four touchdowns. He came up big in two marquee games with seven catches for 132 yards and a touchdown against Florida and five for 82 yards and a touchdown against Notre Dame.
3. Maurice Smith, 2016
Kirby Smart and the Alabama defensive back reunited in Smart’s first Georgia season after the SEC granted a waiver to allow him to play without sitting out after Nick Saban blocked the move to another conference school at first. Smith started at the Star nickel back position for Mel Tucker, who also coached him at Alabama. A starter in 11 games, Smith had 50 tackles, two forced fumbles and two interceptions including one he returned 34 yards for a touchdown against Auburn in a home win. He was voted one of four permanent captains of the 2016 team.
2. JT Daniels 2020-present
It says something about what a difference maker Daniels was to the offense in the four games he played at the end of last season that he’s No. 2 already on here. By October, he could easily move to the top of this list. That’s what giving Georgia a vertical passing threat will do. The Southern Cal transfer returned from a torn ACL the previous year to threw for 401 yards against Mississippi State, 392 versus Cincinnati and 299 against Missouri while going 4-0 as a starter and throwing 10 touchdowns. He stabilized a position that had three starters last season and is the clear No. 1 for 2021.
1. J.R. Reed 2017-2019
The Texas native’s decision to transfer from Tulsa in 2016 drew notice as much for his family connection — his cousin is former five-star recruit Deangelo Gibbs who ended up signing with UGA — as it did for what he would add to the program. It turned out the son of former NFL wide receiver Jake Reed was a good get in his own right. Reed was lightly recruited after sustaining an ACL tear in high school but started 42 games with 199 tackles and five interceptions in three seasons. As a senior, he was an AllAmerican and a finalist for the Thorpe Award for nation’s top defensive back and for the Bronko Nagurski Award for top defensive player for a unit that ranked in the top five in scoring defense and total defense.