The first Wednesday in February used to be a time for diehard Georgia football fans who follow every twist and turn of a 17 or 18-year old's recruiting path to check websites for updates on where the blue-chip prospect was headed.
Or maybe for Bulldogs fans even to go by the Blind Pig Tavern and then the Butts-Mehre building to hear comments directly from Kirby Smart or Mark Richt before him.
Now most of Georgia's 28-member class that all signed in the December early signing period —which became part of the recruiting calendar in 2017—have been in class at UGA for weeks now as early enrollees.
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Many practiced with the Bulldogs on campus and in Miami for the Orange Bowl.
They attended a Classic City Collective fan event last month and are taking part with the team in offseason workouts.
Smart has been busy as usual on what's become known as the Kirby Copter, but that's mostly been laying the ground work for the 2025 and 2026 class.
He watched the Georgia basketball game Saturday with quarterback Juju Lewis from Carrollton, the Southern Cal commitment and five-star prospect for the 2025 class
Chances are good his most impactful newcomers for 2024 won't be from the signing class but out of the transfer portal where the Bulldogs landed six additions.
That includes Florida running back Trevor Ettiene, Vanderbilt wide receiver London Humphreys and South Carolina defensive lineman Xzavier McLeod.
Humphreys practiced with the team for the bowl game.
"He looks super smooth," quarterback Carson Beck said. "Definitely excited to continue to work with him."
Beck also checked out clips of Miami 6-5, 215-pound transfer wide receiver Colbie Young .
"Having size like that and being able to move the way he does from what I've seen, it's definitely something I'm excited about," Beck said.
Running backs coach Dell McGee lost top rushers Daijun Edwards and Kendall Milton but Ettiene has rushed for 1,472 yards and 15 touchdowns in the SEC in two seasons with the Gators.
"It just provides leadership," McGee said. "He's played in this league. He's been very productive. Ya'll watched the tape. He's a very good player."
Georgia's class includes six top 50 prospects and five players rated 5-star prospects by the 247 Sports Composite.
The headliner is cornerback Ellis Robinson, the No. 2 overall player who played at powerhouse IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
Georgia lost starting cornerback Kamari Lassiter and nickel back Tykee Smith to the NFL.
"It's definitely a big jump, even from IMG," Lassiter said after seeing Robinson in bowl practices. "He's a young guy, hard worker. He takes coaching very well. He wants to get better super fast. Sometimes you almost kind of got to slow him down because he wants to get better so fast. You gotta be like it's a marathon, not a sprint. He's a young guy, can be very good."
Georgia's class includes a pair of five-star players—linebacker Justin Williams and defensive end Joseph Jonah-Ajone--who were high school teammates at Oak Ridge High in Conroe, Texas.
"We've gone two years without signing a solid, like, D-ends," Smart said. "He and Justin Greene are two solid what we call ends, big ends. …We need some help there. Both those two guys are going to help us fill a role."
Many of the early enrollees—Georgia lists 22 on their updated roster—got a taste of college practices where they mostly helped out on the scout team in bowl prep.
"There hasn't been a guy that walked in and you're like, dang, this isn't the kid we thought he was," defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann said near the end of Orange Bowl practices. "They're the kids we think they are. They can run and that's a premium we place in recruiting across all positions."
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia football transfers boost roster with No. 1 recruiting class
