Nitro Tuggle announces entry to transfer portal

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia has its first transfer portal entry on its official opening day, and third overall. Freshman wide receiver Nitro Tuggle tells On3’s Hayes Fawcett he plans to enter the portal after appearing in six games this season with the Bulldogs. Tuggle joins redshirt sophomore cornerback Julian Humphrey and former USC transfer wide receiver Michael Jackson III in doing so.

A four-star prospect out of Indiana, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Tuggle enrolled at Georgia in the spring and played in six games for the Bulldogs. He recorded three catches in total with two for 25 yards in UGA’s win over Tennessee.

“Nitro’s responded well. He’s worked hard. He had a good practice today,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said when asked about Tuggle and how he handled a taste of game action versus the Volunteers. “I think he gained some confidence from that because he went against a really good defense and he did some nice things. But, I mean, he goes against a good defense every day in practice, and there’s times that he’s been frustrated. I mean, he would tell you openly that he wants to play. He wants to help. All freshmen want to play.

“He’s a real good player. He really is a fun player to compete against. He probably has one of the best releases, so that also helps me because I know what to look for and try to stay patient,” Georgia cornerback Daylen Everette added about the freshman pass catcher. “Iron sharpening iron, he’s getting better, I’m getting better. It’s just fun to go against him. And I see him, he’s getting better, just like I said earlier. Everybody’s getting better.”

More on the transfer portal…

The NCAA student-athlete transfer portal launched in 2018. It marked a change from when student-athletes had to get a release from their school to transfer to another and they could be limited as to where they transferred. The portal allows student athletes to simply notify their current school and its compliance department that they intend to move on to another program.

Last season, Georgia lost 21 scholarship players to the portal, watching several end up at power conference programs around the country. The Bulldogs did add to their talent however, as they’ve done before. Adding to the likes of Lawrence Cager, Tre McKitty, Derion Kendrick, Tykee Smith, Dominic Lovett and others that have joined the program in the past, UGA brought in Trevor Etienne, Colbie Young, London Humphreys, Ben Yurosek, Xzavier McLeod and others that have had an impact on the Bulldogs’ 2024 campaign.

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