Georgia’s premature exit from the College Football Playoff wasn’t the conclusion any of us wanted for the 2025 season. For a third straight year, the Bulldogs will miss the national semifinals.

That qualifies as a bit of a slide for a program that previously won back-to-back national championships.

How does UGA prevent further regression? I think the remaining teams in the College Football Playoff provide clues.

Ole Miss, which beat UGA in the Sugar Bowl, is arguably the SEC’s most aggressive team when it comes to the transfer portal. It’s also been a prodigious NIL fundraiser. Given those facts, it’s probably not a coincidence the Rebels are having their best season in modern history.

Same goes for two of the other remaining CFP teams — Miami and Oregon, each of whom have become well-known in the NIL era for outbidding the competition for top players. Some say they’re trying to buy their way to a championship, but whatever they’re doing is working.

And when it comes to winning national championships, which is always the goal at Georgia, whatever the Bulldogs are doing isn’t working as well as it used to.

Would Kirby Smart consider marshaling the forces around UGA to be as aggressive with NIL and the transfer portal as some of the teams still alive for a national championship? We may be about to find out.

Check out the rest of our coverage below.

Trivia time

How many times has Georgia basketball scored at least 100 points this season?

Answer is at the bottom of the newsletter.

Georgia lands first transfer portal commitment

Georgia has made an addition to the 2026 roster, adding safety Khalil Barnes via the transfer portal.

Barnes took a visit to Georgia on Saturday. He will have one year of eligibility remaining.

The Clemson transfer was a multiyear starter for the Tigers. What’s more, Barnes played at North Oconee High School in Bogart. The Bulldogs have signed wide receiver Landon Roldan and outside linebacker Khamari Brooks in recent classes.

In three seasons at Clemson, Barnes notched 139 tackles, 7 interceptions and 6.5 tackles for loss. Ole Miss was the other program vying to sign Barnes in the transfer portal.

Georgia will see safety JaCorey Thomas move on to the NFL after this season. The Bulldogs also saw safety Kyron Jones miss the final eight games of the 2025 season because of a foot injury.

The Bulldogs bring back sophomore safety KJ Bolden. Georgia signed six defensive backs as a part of the 2026 recruiting cycle, with Jordan Smith, Zech Fort and Blake Stewart projecting as safeties.

Georgia football 2026 roster tracker

Committed from transfer portal

Entered transfer portal

Declared for NFL Draft

Season-long strengths play key role in ending Georgia’s season

From a statistical standpoint, the two things Georgia did best were convert on fourth down and score touchdowns in the red zone. Entering the Ole Miss game, the Bulldogs ranked first nationally in the former category and second in the latter.

But those two areas would go on to play a large role in ending Georgia’s season in the 39-34 loss to the Rebels.

The decision to go for it when facing a fourth-and-2 from its own 33-yard line in the fourth quarter was a disaster.

Center Malachi Toliver snapped the ball after the offense had rushed on the field to replace the Georgia punt team. It was a play that Georgia had run multiple times this season, including successfully against Mississippi State and Texas.

One key difference, though, was that Drew Bobo was the center in those wins. Toliver was starting in place of Bobo after the All-SEC center suffered a foot injury against Georgia Tech.

“The ball was not supposed to be snapped in that situation,” Smart said. “But that was on us as coaches. It was on me and our guys. It’s not on the players. And Gunner (Stockton) and those guys did a nice job executing it. But we did feel like we had lost momentum at that point, and the book says we needed to go for it.

Photo of the day

Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton (center) passes under pressure from Ole Miss linebacker Princewill Umanmielen. (Mathew Hinton/Associated Press Photo Stream)

Quote of the day

Smart on the Sugar Bowl:

“It was an incredible college football game. It’s what the CFP was built for, to have battles like that.”

Georgia basketball validates hot start with SEC-opening OT win over Auburn

Georgia basketball dunked on its doubters by taking down Auburn 104-100 in overtime Saturday.

The No. 23-ranked Bulldogs improved to 13-1 overall with the win in the SEC opener against a battle-tested Auburn team.

But even more, Georgia validated the up-tempo style coach Mike White has shifted to this season, and the transfer players he brought in to run it.

White, in his fourth season as UGA’s head coach, said as much about a game he said he’ll “remember forever.”

Georgia won’t have to wait long to have a shot at topping it and earning more validation, as a trip to play defending national champion Florida (7 p.m., Tuesday) is on deck.

The Bulldogs will travel to Gainesville with an edge; winning the SEC opener against an Auburn program that had beaten UGA five times in a row and eight of the past 10 carries weight.

Trivia answer

Seven

Since the transfer portal opened last week, there has been plenty of wheeling and dealing between teams and agents.

Now that schools can pay players directly, as a result of the House v. NCAA settlement, general managers work feverishly to manage eight-figure payrolls (in the Power 4, or seven-figure roster budgets at most Group of 5 schools) to construct winning teams. That usually means spending significant money on transfers, who can provide a more immediate impact than a high school recruit. Look at the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza — a transfer from Cal — as a perfect example of why programs mine the portal.

Third-party name, image and likeness (NIL) deals, which were the primary method of compensating players from 2021 through mid-2025, still play a role, especially as the most well-resourced schools push the envelope and send roster budgets skyward, above the $20.5 million cap that was initially established last summer.

But what do transfers cost? Exact compensation numbers are hard to come by because of confidentiality agreements in contracts and schools’ desires to keep them close to the vest for a competitive advantage. To get an idea of what this year’s portal market looks like, The Athletic surveyed industry experts, including general managers, personnel staffers and agents, on the ranges of compensation that transfers receive. All subjects were granted anonymity for their candor.

General managers stress that transfers are more expensive than traditionally recruited and developed players because of the immediate impact they provide. High school recruits typically receive much less compensation, according to a recent survey by The Athletic, and front office staffers say retention is often more cost-effective than going into the portal.

The ranges below represent what teams expect to pay for what they consider good, solid Power 4 starters in the transfer market, but values vary depending on a team’s roster budget, the player’s role, the scarcity of the position in the market and how a team values positions. And there are always outliers on both ends of the spectrum.

Here’s what we learned.

QBs still get the most, and the market may be going up

• QB range: $1 million to $4 million, but potentially higher for the top players

For the most part, Power 4 starting quarterbacks were the highest-paid players on a roster in 2025. In the previous portal cycle, the floor for a Power 4 starter was around $750,000, while the top of the market reached as much as $3.5 million annually, for quarterbacks like Duke’s Darian Mensah and Miami’s Carson Beck. But most of the known 2025 quarterback contract figures ranged from the high six figures to around $2 million. Basically, for $1 million or a little bit more, a team could sign a good, solid Power 4 starting quarterback.

This portal cycle, it appears prices are going up. The floor for a Power 4 starter, in most cases, is $1 million. “If you don’t spend a million, you ain’t getting ’em,” one Power 4 GM said. There will be some exceptions, especially for mid-tier Power 4 programs that don’t go over the cap and sign G5 or FCS transfers. Those players are likely to get upper six figures.

But the top end of the market is growing. The most desirable QBs in the portal, like Cincinnati’s Brendan Sorsby and Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt, are expected to draw offers of $4 million or more. A second Power 4 GM said he suspects offers could reach $5 million for those two. One Power 4 personnel director called the top end of the QB market “insane.”

Drew Mestemaker, the North Texas transfer who led the FBS in passing yardage and committed to Oklahoma State Saturday, is receiving a two-year, $7.5 million contract, according to the Tulsa World. Mestemaker is expected to make $3.5 million in 2026 and $4 million in 2027, according to that report.

Beyond the top five or six quarterbacks in the portal, the next tier figures to fall into a range anywhere from $1.5 million to around $3 million.

Drew Mestemaker committed to Oklahoma State on Sunday and will earn a reported $3.5 million next season. (Danny Wild / Imagn Images)

Offensive tackles and defensive linemen also cost a premium

• OT range: $600,000 to $1.3 million
• Edge rushers: $500,000 to $2 million
• Interior DL: $500,000 to $1.5 million

The positions that protect and affect the quarterback are in the next tier of costs, just like in the NFL.

The men who protect the quarterback are highly valued and their numbers are also going up this portal cycle. A Power 4 GM who is in the market for tackles said that it’s difficult to get a good one for $500,000 and placed the floor around $600,000 to $650,000.

“Good offensive tackles, you’re looking at a minimum of $750,000,” said a Power 4 front office staffer. The top-tier tackles are likely to clear seven figures and approach $1.2 or $1.3 million.

Transfer edge rushers can get pricey, too. Good starting pass rushers usually range anywhere between $500,000 and $1.5 million, though there have been a few outliers who have been higher than that. Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey, who led the FBS in pressures this year, was believed to have received more than $2 million in 2025.

South Carolina edge rusher Dylan Stewart decided to return to the Gamecocks, but had he entered the portal, it’s believed he could have drawn offers of $2 million or more. A general manager at a school who is losing a top-tier pass rusher expects that his departing star will get above $2 million from his next school.

There are starting defensive ends who could go for as low as $250,000, though those are typically going to be more for starters in name only who rotate frequently and don’t play the volume of snaps that some of the top pass rushers do.

Solid interior defensive linemen typically start around half a million and can quickly get into the upper six figures, “but the elite guys can get around $1.5 (million),” an agent said, citing two top defensive tackles who received $1.6 million in 2025.

Offensive skill positions vary widely

• RB range: $400,000 to $900,000
• WR range: $500,000 to $1 million
• TE range: $300,000 to $900,000

NFL teams typically spend less on running backs than on any other non-specialist position group, but that’s not the case in college football. Teams value running backs more, and it appears the ceiling for running backs is rising in this portal cycle. Some of the top backs who intend to enter the portal, like NC State’s Hollywood Smothers or North Texas’ Caleb Hawkins, are expected to receive high six-figure offers.

“There’s 136 FBS teams, and if everyone is using two backs regularly, that means people are trying to find 272 good running backs,” a Group of 5 GM said. “I’m not sure there are as many good backs as teams are looking for, so schools are willing to pay more.”

Starting backs who rotate more cost less and can even be below $400,000

Receivers are the most expensive of a quarterback’s skill-position supporting cast, but compensation varies depending on role. A transfer expected to be a team’s No. 1 receiver is likely to get high six figures. Elite transfer receivers can get seven-figure offers.

Auburn’s Cam Coleman, the top receiver in the portal and arguably the best available player regardless of position, could get expensive quickly, especially since the teams hosting him for official visits — Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and USC — are all deep-pocketed programs. The Power 4 front office staffer suggested Coleman’s baseline offers may start at $2 million and go up from there based on the teams involved.

A transfer expected to be a team’s No. 2 receiver who has proven production is likely to get paid closer to $500,000.

Tight ends have largely remained consistent with the range of the previous cycle. Many will cost under $500,000, and some P4 teams were able to get solid ones last year for less than $200,000. How a tight end is utilized, and their importance in the offense, play a role in how teams value them. Some teams would rather not spend a ton for one if they can justify it. But TEs who are athletic, dynamic pass catchers and are attractive draft prospects can get above $700,000 and push close to seven figures.

Defensive backs have similar floors but varying ceilings

• Cornerbacks: $250,000 to $1 million
• Safeties: $250,000 to $900,000

The compensation ranges for defensive backs can vary quite a bit because of how differently they can be used in defensive schemes. Across the board, top-tier boundary cornerbacks (who line up against outside receivers) are highly valued and, in this portal cycle, are seeing numbers as high as the upper six figures. “The really good ones will get $1 million, but the majority will fall in the $300,000 to $800,000 range,” a Power 4 GM said.

A good quality starter can get mid-six figures. From there, it can vary. “It’s a pretty wide range for corners just because of how many teams use it,” a player agent said.

Is your nickel back more of a true third cornerback or a hybrid safety/outside linebacker who plays on the edge of the box? That factors into what a team will spend on the position. Nickel backs are considered more affordable and are on the low end of the cornerback range. A hybrid safety/outside linebacker, if he’s a true impact player, can get high six figures.

Safety is a place where some front offices spend less, unless it’s an elite top-end player. There are a few top safeties whose deals surpassed $800,000 this year, but for the most part, teams have looked to spend a little less than what they have for corners.

Linebackers and interior offensive linemen tend to be the most affordable

• Linebackers: $200,000 to $750,000
• Interior OL: $200,000 to $700,000

In last year’s cycle, linebackers were the most affordable position to obtain a starter in the portal, with the floor being around $150,000 and the ceiling usually falling just below $500,000.

Those rates have ticked up going into this year’s cycle. The floor is closer to $200,000 or $250,000. The ceiling varies. One Power 4 GM said a linebacker “has to be elite to get more than $500,000,” while another GM said some are going for as high as $700,000. Having a pair of starting linebackers between $300,000 and $500,000 isn’t unusual.

The baseline for starting interior offensive linemen is usually between $200,000 and $300,000, with the higher end usually topping out at around $500,000 or $600,000. Scheme plays a role here, too. If it’s a run-heavy team that asks a lot of its guards, that could push the value up into the $700,000 or $800,000 range for top-end players. And the ceiling for centers is considered to be around $600,000 or $650,000.

What are Group of 5 programs paying transfers?

The rates for transfers who sign with Group of 5 schools are much lower because roster budgets are much smaller than at their Power 4 counterparts. While Power 4 programs’ football roster budgets can range from $13 million up to $30 million, G5 schools mostly ranged between $1 million and $10 million in 2025.

The vast majority of Group of 5 schools have roster budgets below $5 million, with a few exceptions. The top spending schools in the American, like USF, Memphis and Tulane, are believed to be above that.

Because of those budgets, you won’t find seven-figure players at G5 schools. Quarterbacks get the most, usually topping out around $500,000 or $600,000. One Group of 5 GM, whose school will have roughly a $3 million roster budget, said he expects to pay between $300,000 and $400,000 for his top quarterback transfer target this cycle.

Typical starting running backs and tight ends will top out around $200,000 to $250,000. High-end receivers can be a little bit more, around $300,000. The top going rate for G5 offensive tackles is around $300,000 to $400,000.

The ceiling for defensive linemen is around $250,000 to $300,000. For linebackers and defensive backs, the ceiling tops out around $150,000 to $200,000.

While those are high-end rates, the floor for most players in the Group of 5 is in the five figures.

It’s harder to find a consensus because Group of 5 roster budgets vary so much. Teams in the American usually have bigger budgets than those in Conference USA or the MAC, where five-figure player compensation rates are more the norm.

And though most Power 4 players receive some form of revenue sharing or NIL money, that’s not the case at the Group of 5 level, where some are paying extra — above and beyond a scholarship — to only a portion of their roster.

Cincinnati transfer quarterback Brendan Sorsby has committed to Texas Tech, CBS Sports’ Chris Hummer and Matt Zenitz report, choosing the Red Raiders after a quick visit schedule that also included LSU.

Sorsby is rated as the No. 2 quarterback and the No. 2 overall transfer prospect in this cycle in the 247Sports transfer rankings.

Sorsby’s decision keeps him in the Big 12 and gives Texas Tech an experienced option at quarterback after a season that ended with lingering questions at the position. The Red Raiders won the Big 12 Championship for their first out-right conference title since 1955 but struggled offensively in their College Football Playoff quarterfinal loss to Oregon at the Orange Bowl, where Behren Morton was unable to generate much production in a 23-0 shutout.

Drew Mestemaker commits to Oklahoma State: Former North Texas QB joins coach Eric Morris in Stillwater

Cody Nagel

Texas Tech has already demonstrated a willingness to be aggressive in the transfer portal, using resources and NIL opportunities to target impact players at positions of need. Sorsby’s addition signals that the Red Raiders are prepared to continue that approach, blending proven experience with a roster built to compete at the highest level of the conference.

How Sorsby fits with Texas Tech 

Sorsby joins a room that includes rising sophomore Will Hammond, who suffered a torn ACL this season. While he could be ready for the start of 2026, Sorsby provides immediate experience and the option for Hammond to gain more experience in a backup role before taking over the reins in 2027.

When Sorsby initially made his decision to enter the transfer portal, there was speculation he could also explore the NFL Draft after a breakout season that put him on the radar as a potential early-round pick. Instead, he appears ready to return to college for a final year, giving him an opportunity to further refine his game and improve his draft stock.

Sorsby will arrive at Texas Tech with three years of starting experience and a track record of production at the Power Four level, though team success has varied. He is 13-17 (.433) as a starter in his career, including a 1-6 mark at Indiana as a redshirt freshman in 2023. After that season, he transferred to Cincinnati ahead of the 2024 campaign and went on to establish himself as one of the Big 12’s more efficient passers across two seasons with the Bearcats.

Sorsby does it with arm, legs

During his time at Cincinnati, Sorsby passed for 5,613 yards and 45 touchdowns, completing 62.9% of his passes. He led the Big 12 in yards per completion (13.5) this season. He showed consistent command of the offense early in the season, including a seven-game stretch without an interception. Sorsby matched a career-low with only five picks in 12 games this season. He earned second-team All-Big 12 honors.

Sorsby also adds value as a runner, becoming more involved in the ground game as his career progressed. He finished this year at Cincinnati with a career-high 580 rushing yards on 100 carries and nine rushing touchdowns, matching his total from the previous season. While Cincinnati closed the year with four straight losses and his passing efficiency dipped late, his overall body of work made him one of the most sought-after quarterbacks in the portal.

Wisconsin transfer safety Preston Zachman is headed to Indiana according to multiple Sunday reports.

The 6-foot-1 and 212-pound Zachman will be entering his seventh and final season of college football in 2026.

He has played in 35 career games (20 starts, nearly 1,500 snaps), all with Wisconsin, and has 130 tackles and seven interceptions.

Zachman will help fill the void to be left by starters Louis Moore and Devan Boykin.

In 2025 Zachman played in three games and had 12 tackles and two interceptions. He missed the final nine games of 2025 due to a leg injury. Both of the takeaways came in the second half of the season opener against Miami (Ohio).  Zachman was named Big Ten defensive player of the week.

Zachman is seeking a medical hardship waiver to play the seventh season in 2026.  After only playing three games, he should qualify.

In 2024 he started all 12 games at safety for the Badgers and made a career-high 58 tackles (39 solos), two interceptions, three TFLs and four pass breakups.

In 2023 Zachman played in all 13 games, making five starts.  He totaled 49 tackles and two interceptions.

In 2022 Zachman played in six games before missing the rest of the season due to injury.  He had 11 tackles and 0.5 TFLs, and grabbed his first career interception in the season opener vs. Illinois State.

In the 2020 season that did not count against eligibility, Zachman played one game.  He didn’t play at all in 2021 and took a redshirt season.

Out of Southern Columbia H.S. in Elysburg, Pa., Zachman was a three-star high school recruit by 247 Sports, ESPN and Rivals in the class of 2020.

More transfer portal information:

For complete coverage of IU football recruiting, GO HERE.

The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”

Related

Following this weekend’s Under Armour All-America Game, the brand announced its first “Click Clack” NIL class. Under Armour signed six highly rated recruits to NIL deals.

Notre Dame safety signee Joey O’Brien, BYU quarterback signee Ryder Lyons, Maryland EDGE signee Zion Elee and Alabama safety signee Jireh Edwards are all part of the group, Under Armour announced Sunday. Two touted 2027 recruits – Texas wide receiver commit Easton Royal and four-star wide receiver Eric McFarland – are also on board.

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All six players competed in the Under Armour All-America Game on Saturday. O’Brien and Royal were two of Rivals’ top performers in the game, which took place at Spec Martin Stadium in Orlando, Fla.

“I think you hear us coming,” Under Armour wrote in its Instagram post. “Meet the inaugural Click-Clack Class — Under Armour’s first NIL squad.”

Under Armour capitalizing on star power

Ryder Lyons previously announced an NIL deal with Under Armour in September 2025 after committing to BYU. The four-star quarterback signed with BYU, but will embark on a one-year mission and will not enroll at school until the following January. He is the No. 5-ranked quarterback from the 2026 cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking.

As a whole, Under Armour’s Click-Clack NIL class features four of the top 50 players in the nation out of the 2026 cycle. With Easton Royal and Eric McFarland, the brand also has two of the top 25 prospects in 2027.

The group includes some of the highest-profile high school football players, as well. Zion Elee’s $687,000 On3 NIL Valuation is the highest of the group and ranks No. 11 in the high school football NIL rankings. Lyons also sits at No. 13 with a $656,000 On3 NIL Valuation.

The On3 NIL Valuation is calculated by combining Roster Value and personal NIL. Roster value is the value an athlete has by being a member of his or her team at his or her school, which factors into the role of NIL collectives. NIL in an athlete’s name, image and likeness and the value it could bring to regional and national brands.