ATHENS — Kirby Smart had a different goal when it comes to the transfer portal compared to his contemporaries.

At Georgia, he wants to make sure the Bulldogs do a better job of keeping their players out of the transfer portal, rather than just turning over the roster every year.

Based on what Georgia did in the most recent portal, Smart feels his team accomplished its objective.

“We had a goal of, you know, keeping the players on our roster that we could, and we went through agents, players, parents, meeting after meeting after meeting after meeting to try to retain our roster, which I think we won that battle,” Smart said in an interview with Jeff Dantzler of Glory Glory. “You know, we were able to keep a lot of players we wanted to keep here. We ‘Ve got the best retention rate in the playoff of the playoff teams. We’ve got the best retention rate in the SEC, so our guys want to be here and we have to learn to want to be here.”

Georgia had 14 players depart the program via the transfer portal, though that number is really 12 when you consider Pearce Spurlin and KJ Smith didn’t play for Georgia in 2025 after having previously medically retired.

Of the teams that made the College Football Playoff last season, Indiana actually ranks first with the fewest transfers. Curt Cignetti’s team lost just 10 players to the transfer portal from last year’s championship team.

Smart is correct that no SEC team lost fewer players to the transfer portal than Georgia. Texas A&M also saw 14 players depart this offseason.

Transfers from each College Football Playoff team

Georgia did see some departures to the NFL draft, with Christen Miller, Zachariah Branch, Monroe Freeling and CJ Allen all moving on despite having eligibility remaining.

But Smart pointed out that the Bulldogs were able to bring back several key contributors who could’ve gone pro.

“I think your culture creates whether your guys want to stay or not, right? So that was a big deal for us to be able to get guys that want to return,” Smart said. “Raylen Wilson, Gabe Harris. These guys call and say, ‘Coach, I’m staying. I want to be here. I want to have another great year next year. What do we have to do?’ Lawson Luckie [also].”

Georgia did make considerable efforts to go out and bring in new talent. The Bulldogs signed the No. 6 recruiting class in the country while bringing in nine transfers via the portal. Among College Football Playoff teams, Georgia imported the fewest number of transfers.

Smart doesn’t want to build a transactional program, with players simply stopping in on their way to the next paycheck.

The Georgia coach has always spoken about a desire to build something that will last. Through player retention, he believes his program is accomplishing that.

Georgia is the only team to earn a top-four seed in each of the last two College Football Playoffs. The Bulldogs have yet to win a game in the 12-team format but Smart believes it is only a matter of time before his team gets over that hump.

“We have a good nucleus here, a great culture that encourages kids to stay here, graduate, and you can achieve all your goals by staying here and being a starter, being a good player,” Smart said.