Georgia quarterback D’Wan Mathis, who started the season opener and played in three other games, has entered the NCAA transfer portal, Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart confirmed on Monday.
Mathis, a redshirt freshman from Oak Park, Michigan, completed 8 of 17 passes for 55 yards with one interception in a 37-10 win at Arkansas on Sept. 26. He was benched in favor of former walk-on Stetson Bennett, who started the next five games.
Former USC transfer JT Daniels has started the last two games at quarterback for the No. 9 Bulldogs.
Mathis had fallen to the No. 4 quarterback, behind Daniels, Bennett and freshman Carson Beck, and Mathis didn’t travel to South Carolina for Saturday night’s 45-16 victory over the Gamecocks.
“As far as D’Wan goes, he’s handled everything first class. He didn’t want to be a distraction for the team,” Smart said. “He was hurt and disappointed things came out before the game. He wanted to handle it the right way and have it come out [Monday] when he entered the portal. I’m excited about his future.” Smart said he tried to persuade Mathis to remain with the team. “We want him to stay here,” Smart said. “We’re going to help him every way we can with the transition, and we think he’s got a bright future.”
The Bulldogs also have a commitment from Brock Vandagriff of Prince Avenue Christian School in Bogart, Georgia, the No. 5 pocket passer and No. 34 player overall in the 2021 ESPN 300.
Mathis, who will have four years of eligibility remaining, had emergency surgery to remove a brain cyst in May 2019. He flipped his commitment from Ohio State to Georgia during the early signing period in 2019, after former Bulldogs quarterback Justin Fields transferred to OSU.
Smart said senior safety Richard LeCounte, who suffered a concussion and other injuries in a motorcycle accident on Oct. 31, has been working out and might be able to play in Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt (4 p.m. ET/SEC Network).