Kirby Smart ended the regular season with Georgia’s wide receiver room nearly empty. With Zachariah Branch and others off to the NFL, he quickly turned to the portal and targeted Vanderbilt transfer Tre Richardson as the next piece. Richardson even visited Athens on January 6, 2026. But before Georgia could settle in with some hope, he dropped a major bomb.

On3’s Hayes Fawcett reported that Tre Richardson committed to the University of Louisville.

It stung even more because Georgia had made Richardson a top transfer-portal target heading into the portal, and for good reason. He led Vanderbilt with 46 catches for 806 yards and seven touchdowns. Speed is his biggest weapon, and it’s legit. Tre clocked a 10.73 in the 100 meters back in high school. On top of that, he was Vanderbilt’s go-to kickoff returner.

He brought back 17 kicks for 427 yards, averaging 25.1 yards per return. That ranked second in the SEC behind LSU’s Barion Brown (29.7) and seventh among all Power Conference players. Add in 11 rushing attempts for 62 yards, and Richardson finished the season with 1,295 all-purpose yards.

On the Georgia front, missing out on Richardson means their hunt to replace Zachariah Branch’s production continues. Gunner Stockton leaned heavily on Zachariah Branch this season, who set a school record with 81 catches for 811 yards and six touchdowns before heading to the NFL. While a major part of his production came through screen passes, Branch’s explosiveness gave an extra edge to Georgia’s offense.

There are some names on the roster who could see an increase in their usage next season. Talyn Taylor’s collarbone injury didn’t allow him a breakout season as he only featured in six games, but that can change next year. Even Branch referred to his fellow wide receiver as “coachable” before the Dawgs’ game against Ole Miss.

“Some dudes may try to get through one ear and out the other, but he really takes things in and tries to get better in every aspect. I have a lot of respect for him. He’s gonna be a really great player for us and to the future for sure,” Branch said.

Then, Georgia also has the services of Landon Roldan and CJ Wiley. You add four-star recruits Ryan Mosley and Craig Dandridge to the equation, and the room looks better. However, what it’s missing is proven production.

Georgia’s roster build status

Tre Richardson’s loss stings like anything. But it’s not like Kirby Smart and the Dawgs are sitting around feeling sorry for themselves. On the receiver front, Georgia has already started reloading. The Bulldogs brought in former Georgia Tech wideout Isiah Canion, a Warner Robins native who’s basically coming home. He played high school ball with current Dawgs Isaiah Gibson and Rasean Dinkins, and the trio won two state titles together.

Dinkins even teased on social media that this reunion had been years in the making. Canion showed real growth in his sophomore season at Tech, leading the Yellow Jackets with 480 receiving yards and four touchdowns. With Georgia losing multiple veteran receivers, he’ll have a clear path to early playing time and could quickly become a trusted target for Gunner Stockton.

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And Georgia didn’t stop there. The Dawgs also added former Clemson safety Khalil Barnes, Auburn EDGE Amaris Williams, and USC corner Braylon Conley. Williams logged 14 tackles and two sacks for Auburn in 2025, while Conley appeared in nine games for USC and finished with 14 tackles as a redshirt freshman.