No matter how hard Kirby Smart tries, chaos keeps circling him. After missing out on the playoffs, losing against Ole Miss with a close 34-39 record, Georgia’s head coach didn’t get a single moment to breathe. The Bulldogs now face the possibility of losing their most important running back before the portal closes on January 16th.

As per UGA insider Rusty Mansell, Nate Frazier has not signed a contract with his team, and he might enter the portal, as there’s a little buzz around his move to Ohio State gaining momentum. Georgia still awaits Frazier’s 2026 season intent of either declaring for the draft or entering the portal. Until now, he hasn’t made a portal move, so only a return or NFL move was expected.

Smart’s running back room sits among the nation’s elite, but it may be on the verge of breaking down. With the addition of Kentucky’s Dante Dowdell and the return of Chauncey Bowens for the next season, Kirby Smart had nothing to worry about. But now one of his major veteran players, Frazier’s return, hangs on a thin thread, and that’s just intensifying the pressure.

The hype around his name makes sense, knowing his excellence, and his resume. In the 2025 season, he recorded 947 yards for 16 receptions with six touchdowns. So, getting a player like him on board will cost big time. And that’s where Ohio State can show its NIL power and grab him.

“A really good back can cost you a million,” one SEC coach told Dawg Post. “Depends on who wants him.”

Frazier currently has a valuation of $730,000 and is the ninth-highest-paid running back to play with that NIL amount. But in today’s modern era of the transfer portal, teams are ready to give out crazy amounts to players. Just take Bryce Underwood’s example, who’s earning $10.5 million with Michigan as a freshman.

Apart from money, Ohio State’s playoff potential can also be an attractive point. But one thing can be a major red flag if Frazier plans to move to Ohio State: their running game didn’t do much for them in the 2025 season. Early struggles against teams like Illinois and Wisconsin exposed their weakness, as the team rushed just 65 times for 204 yards, averaging only 3.1 yards per carry.

So betting on that room against Georgia, which went 4.4 yards per carry last season, will be a risky gamble.

Kirby Smart faces tough portal loss

Transfer portal chaos continues to shake up college football, but it takes a major hit at Georgia’s wide receiver position. Kirby Smart lost top transfer portal target Tre Richardson to the Louisville Cardinals. Despite his visit to Athens on January 6, the team’s playoff berth and No. 3 status couldn’t keep him from going to the Cardinals. He was Smart’s hope to replace Zachariah Branch and other receivers who are heading to the NFL.

Losing him is a big blow for the team, as his resume speaks to his excellence on the field. Richardson recorded 46 catches for 806 yards and seven touchdowns at Vanderbilt. He also excelled as a kickoff returner, bringing back 17 kicks for 427 yards, ranking second in the SEC and seventh among all Power Four players.

Now, Kirby Smart has to look for Branch’s replacement aggressively. It’s not like Georgia doesn’t have WRs after all. There’s Talyn Taylor on the team, who played six games in the 2025 season. Because of his collarbone injury, his season was cut short.

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Then there are two others, Landon Roldan and CJ Wiley, whom Georgia retained, and added four-star Ryan Mosley and Craig Dandridge into the receiving room. But they all lack experience and production, which Georgia needs the most. Now, Isiah Canion has seen some time in the field playing for Georgia Tech, but even that doesn’t promise consistency.

Now, let’s wait and see if Kirby Smart goes in with this roster or eyes other top portal receivers to make things better for the Bulldogs in the 2026 season.