Much of the intrigue this offseason regarding the players that Georgia pulled out of the transfer portal comes from its most recent additions.

The Bulldogs added 10 players via the winter and spring transfer portal windows. Wide receiver Noah Thomas and running back Joshua McCray are two of the more notable newcomers, even if they will only have one year in Athens.

Seven of the 10 new additions though have multiple years of eligibility remaining. Most notably wide receiver Zachariah Branch and outside linebacker Elo Modozie. While one great season could propel them into the NFL, there is also the very real world where they end up back in Athens for a second season.

Georgia has a handful of players on its roster for this upcoming season that fit that mold. Four of the 11 total transfers that Georgia added prior to the 2024 season are back for another year in the program.

Beau Gardner is likely to be Georgia’s starting long snapper. He became a key piece in Georgia’s special teams units following his arrival from UCLA.

On the defensive line, Xzavier McLeod has positioned himself for a massive role in 2025. McLeod, who transferred to Georgia after one season at South Carolina, became a valuable depth piece in his first year at Georgia.

He appeared in 11 games, finishing with 13 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss and 2 pass breakups. Even though he’s in only his second season at Georgia, only Christen Miller and Jordan Hall have spent more time in the Georgia program.

And unlike those two, McLeod doesn’t enter the 2025 season with the same level of injury concerns.

Two players who fall into the same boat as McLeod are wide receivers London Humphreys and Colbie Young. Their return to Georgia is part of the reason there’s greater optimism with this position group entering the 2025 season.

Based on how these two played in the season-opening game against Clemson, they seemed poised to be difference-makers for Georgia. Both caught touchdowns in the win, looking like comfortable targets for then-quarterback Carson Beck.

But Humphreys battled an early-season illness and later on a hand injury. His next touchdown didn’t come until the final game of the regular season. He finished with 15 receptions for 244 yards on the year.

“It was unfortunate, maybe got unlucky with certain things, getting sick,” Humpherys said at a press conference in April. “It’s not something that you wish to happen to anyone. But just part of it, and I was able to play and had a quick turnaround with being sick and hand injury, whatever it was. It’s just part of the game.”

Humphreys was never going to be a one-and-done player at Georgia. He, like McLeod, transferred from one SEC to Georgia after just one year at his previous stop, Vanderbilt.

He knew things would be hard. He wanted to push himself and show that he could be a contributing piece on a top-tier SEC team.

Following a promising spring game that saw him finish 85 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns, he looks to be an even bigger part of Georgia’s receiver room in 2025.

“When he came, he wanted to be developed, he wanted to learn this offense,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said after G-Day. “He understands that he can play multiple positions. He’s probably the only guy, he and Dillon Bell that can play all three. Coach Coley did a great job of teaching those guys all three positions. And that’s a little bit of a product today of playing the multiple positions. Becaue he can go out there, somebody goes down and jump out there and play.”

“And London’s very smart. He doesn’t have a lot of anxiety. He’s very mature, and he’s good for those kids in that room. Because he works really hard.”

Young’s story last season was different. He came to Georgia originally believing he would spend only one year in Athens. He was indefinitely suspended following an October arrest and the legal process dragged through the conclusion of Georgia’s season. Young ultimately reached a plea deal where he pled no contest to a disorderly conduct charge in January.

While the legal process played out, Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Paiva won a preliminary injunction that allowed him to gain eligibility that had been previously used while he was playing in the junior college ranks. That result gave Young an extra year of eligibility, as he spent one season playing for Lackawanna College in 2021.

Georgia badly missed a player with Young’s physical attributes on offense last season. In 2025, it may have two of them as Young and Thomas bring real size to the wide receiver room.

Young, like Humpherys, also turned heads during Georgia’s spring game. He caught only 1 of his 4 targets but that lone catch was a 17-yard touchdown.

Coaches will often say players make their biggest leap from game one to game two. It’s not unreasonable to expect players to make an equal jump from year one to year two in a college program.

Gardner, McLeod, Humpherys and Young all have the ability to do that in 2025. They all found ways to contribute fresh out of the transfer portal a season ago.

Now as veterans, Georgia will expect even more from this group. It’s a big reason why Smart coveted McLeod and Humphreys in the first place.

It’s not a guarantee that they top what they did a season ago — wide receivers Rara Thomas and Dominic Lovett did not top their statistical production in 2024 after transferring into the program for the 2023 season — but Smart has seen all of those players put in the work.

A season ago, they played out of necessity. Smart previously only went into the transfer portal on a basis of need.

In 2025, they’ll be able to help because of their improved ability.