Georgia football RB plans transfer. How it impacts Bulldogs as portal window opens

The transfer portal is opening again on Tuesday, and Georgia football has its first entry for the spring period.

Running back Andrew Paul, who scored the only rushing touchdown in Saturday's G-Day game, will enter the portal, he told On3.com in a post on Twitter that the redshirt sophomore reposted himself.

The Bulldogs could just be in the market for another running back themselves now that Paul is seemingly exiting.

Georgia already seems likely to be without Trevor Etienne for the opener against Clemson in Atlanta on Aug. 31 due to his DUI and reckless driving arrest this spring. Etienne rushed for 1,472 yards and 14 touchdowns in two seasons at Florida.

The 5-foot-11, 218-pound Paul, from Dallas, rushed for 192 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries last season in seven games after redshirting in 2022 following knee surgery.

Paul had 44 yards on four carries including a 1-yard touchdown in Saturday’s G-Day game along with two catches for two yards.

Roderick Robinson had 24 yards on four carries. The 6-foot, 240-pounder is a bruiser. On one short pass, he bounced off of cornerback Daylen Everette, linebacker CJ Allen and defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse on a 9 yard-gain.

Robinson rushed for 196 yards and 2 touchdowns last season on 24 carries.

Georgia also should get back Branson Robinson who missed last season after rupturing a pattelar tendon last August. He took part in some warmups Saturday but did not participate. Branson Robinson was poised to have a big role in the backfield along with Daijun Edwards and Kendall Milton prior to his injury.

The Paul news came the day before the 15-day spring transfer portal window opens.

Georgia, coming off a 13-1 season and an Orange Bowl pounding of Florida State, doesn’t look like it has too many holes to fill but there could be additions as well as exits.

“We'll see what happens,” coach Kirby Smart said Saturday. “I can't predict the portal, I won't even try to. I'm worried about our guys and the retention of our players."

The biggest need may be adding another quarterback to compete with Gunner Stockton for the backup job behind Carson Beck. Georgia had just two available scholarship quarterbacks at G-Day due to a knee injury to freshman Ryan Puglisi.

Georgia now is up to 20 scholarship players to enter the portal off last year’s team including linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson and quarterback Brock Vandragriff who went to Kentucky and outside linebacker Marvin Jones Jr who now is at Florida State.

“It's really one of those things of, 'Do you want to be here? Or do you not?'” Smart said after Saturday’s G-Day game. “Because they know how we do things by now. They all know. That was the easiest practice we've had all spring. They enjoyed it thoroughly. Guys want to be somewhere else, I have no control over that."

Georgia is set to have three freshmen at running back this season.

Chauncey Bowens, a three-star, enrolled early and ran for 22 yards on 5 carries Saturday.

Four-star Nate Frazier from Santa Ana, Calif., will arrive this summer. So will three-star Dwight Phillips from Pebblebrook High.

Etienne rushed for 24 yards and 4 carries and had 3 catches for 33 yards Saturday.

It was not a big surprise that transfers made their presence felt Saturday.

The top four in receiving yards for Carson Beck’s team all came to the program as transfers—Dominic Lovett, Rara Thomas, Etienne and Colbie Young from Miami. The leading receiver on the other team was another transfer, Michael Jackson III from Southern Cal.

Two of the co-leaders in tackles for the No. 2 defense were Alabama safety transfer Jake Pope and South Carolina defensive tackle transfer Xzavier McLeod.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: UGA football RB Andrew Paul gets jump on spring transfer portal opening