QB D’Wan Mathis to transfer. UGA ‘going to help him every way’ with his transition
Georgia’s football season has reached its originally scheduled conclusion.
Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt (4 p.m., SEC Network) doesn’t mark the actual end of the season, as the Bulldogs still have a postponed game with Missouri to make up. Still, it does mark the final home game for the team’s departing seniors and any underclassmen who might leave early for the NFL.
Here’s what Georgia head coach Kirby Smart had to say in the leadup to Saturday afternoon’s home finale.
D’Wan Mathis officially enters the transfer portal
The information that began to circulate Saturday night became official on Monday. Redshirt freshman quarterback D’Wan Mathis is in the NCAA’s transfer portal.
Mathis started the season opener against Arkansas, and he also saw extensive action in the second half of the Florida game. Overall in four contests this season, he completed 12-of-30 passes for 89 yards with three interceptions to just one touchdown.
“He has handled everything first class,” Smart said on Monday. “Every conversation he’s had with me has been the right way. He didn’t want to be a distraction for the team, and he was very hurt and disappointed that things came out before the game about that.”
Junior Stetson Bennett eventually took over the starting job from Mathis, and now Southern Cal transfer J.T. Daniels seems to have cemented himself as the starter. With both those players potentially returning next year, along with current freshman Carson Beck and incoming five-star prospect Brock Vandagriff, it’s not a surprise to see Mathis go.
Still, Smart said the staff encouraged Mathis to stay in Athens. They also plan to assist him in finding a new home.
“I also respect that that’s his decision, and we are going to help him every way we can with a transition,” Smart said. “I think he’s got a bright future.”
Smart shares respect for Sarah Fuller
History occurred in last Saturday’s Vanderbilt-Missouri game. Sarah Fuller became the first woman to appear in a Power 5 football game when she kicked off for the Commodores to begin the second half.
Fuller, who is also the goalkeeper for the school’s women’s soccer team, appears in line to kick for Vanderbilt again this Saturday in Athens. On the other sideline will be a coach in Smart who has a unique perspective.
“So many hopes and dreams of so many young girls hang on that,” Smart said. “I’ve got a daughter that absolutely loves sports. She loves basketball because her mom played basketball. She’s gotten that opportunity because of people like Teresa Edwards and all of the people who came out and played basketball for so long and made it OK to compete hard, to sweat, to dive, to be physical, to be aggressive, to be competitors.”
Fuller, Smart said, carries on that tradition. There are more opportunities for women to compete now that ever before, but for Smart it’s still not enough.
“(She’s) not worried about what somebody is going to say,” Smart said. “If she’s got a chance to help the team or contribute, then by all means go do it.”
UGA departure conversations waiting until after the season
The final weeks of the season also bring speculation on which players will and won’t be returning to campus next season.
This season ramps that up with the NCAA decision to grant all players a free season of eligibility. Seniors in a normal season would be seeing their careers draw to a close — now they have the choice to return for one last shot at glory.
Smart said he hasn’t had many of those conversations with his seniors, saying each player is in a different position with regards to the decision. There also haven’t been many talks with potential underclassmen who could leave.
The staff plans to follow the same process as usual when helping players decide whether to stay or leave.
“We’re going to give you the information to make the best decision possible,” Smart said. “Ultimately, you have to make the best decision possible. What value do you put on a degree? What value do you put on preparation?”
The preparation for the next level might be the most important factor. Smart, who spent 2006 on the Miami Dolphins coaching staff, said there is very little development occurring at the NFL level. Once players get there, they either cut it or they don’t.
“We can still develop players, and every general manager, every scout you talk to says, ‘If you’re going to have someone grow and get better, they’re much better doing it in your organization than ours,’ because they don’t have the freedom to get them better,” Smart said.