ATHENS — Amaris Williams was one of Georgia’s top transfer additions this offseason.

But Georgia will have to wait a considerable amount of time for Williams to see the field after he suffered a serious knee injury at the end of Tuesday’s practice, according to multiple reports.

The severity of the injury and a possible recovery timeline are not known at this point in time.

Williams arrived after transferring in from Auburn. He had two years of eligibility remaining and had not used his redshirt during his two years at Auburn.

Williams was expected to provide a boost to the Georgia pass rush, which had only 20 sacks last season.

With Williams out, more falls on the plate of Georgia’s other outside linebackers.

Gabe Harris was limited this spring as he recovers from toe surgery. Quintavius Johnson returns for the Bulldogs after a strong 2025 season. Johnson is viewed as one of the key leaders for Georgia and was instrumental in Georgia landing Williams out of the transfer portal.

Georgia will lean even more heavily on its young players at the outside linebacker position. Chase Linton, Isaiah Gibson and Darren Ikinnagbon are all entering their second seasons in Athens.

“With Gabe (Harris) out, it’s gonna open a door for a lot of guys to get reps and grow and play,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said at the start of fall camp. “And I kinda wanna see what they can do. Khamari (Brooks)’s here, he’s a mid-year freshman. So we wanna see the growth in that room and see those guys continue to get better.”

Linton has had a strong spring for the Bulldogs and will look to emerge as a pass rusher. Gibson has played multiple positions for the Bulldogs this spring.

The Bulldogs signed just one outside linebacker in the 2026 recruiting class, as it landed Khamari Brooks out of North Oconee High School in Bogart. Brooks was rated as the No. 166 overall player in the 2026 recruiting class.

Williams was one of just nine transfer players Georgia added via the transfer portal this spring. That was the fewest of any team in the SEC.

Georgia will not have the opportunity to add to its roster as there is no spring transfer portal.

Smart knows any improvements will have to come through internal development.

That is now especially true at the outside linebacker position after the Bulldogs lost their top offseason addition.

“Now that you’re fixed, it puts a little more pressure on,” Smart said in a recent interview with 680 The Fan. “Can you get your roster better than their roster? Can you improve your kids more than they improve their kids because you can’t go out and change kids now. So you gotta take your roster and develop them.”