The Georgia Bulldogs lost six offensive players Friday who had remaining eligibility, with freshman quarterback Justin Fields and freshman tight end Luke Ford departing via transfer and with juniors declaring for the NFL draft.
Bypassing their senior seasons in Athens will be running back Elijah Holyfield, tight end Isaac Nauta and receivers Mecole Hardman and Riley Ridley.
“All four of these juniors contributed significantly to our success during the last two seasons,” Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart said in a released statement, “and we look forward to them making the best out of their shot at the NFL.”
Holyfield rushed for 1,018 yards this season for the Bulldogs, who took an 11-2 record into Tuesday night’s Sugar Bowl against Texas but looked uninspired in a 28-21 defeat.
Ridley led the Bulldogs in receiving with 44 catches for 570 yards and nine touchdowns. He is the younger brother of Calvin Ridley, the former Alabama receiver who was a first-round selection of the Atlanta Falcons last April.
“I could not imagine any other program preparing me for the next step the way this one has,” Ridley posted on Twitter. “Thank you to Coach Smart and the entire phenomenal coaching staff for molding me into the athlete I am today. My experience here has been nothing less than amazing.”
Hardman was second on the team with 34 receptions for 532 yards and seven touchdowns, while Nauta was third with 30 catches for 430 yards and three scores. Hardman also was a special-teams standout, averaging 25.0 yards on 35 career kickoff returns and 15.1 yards on 39 career punt returns.
“I truly feel in my heart that this is the best decision for me,” Nauta posted on Twitter, “and I am ready to pursue another life-long dream of mine – playing in the NFL.”
Said Hardman: “This has been a dream of mine since I picked up a football, and now that my dreams are becoming a reality, I could not be more excited.”
Fields visited Ohio State on Friday and announced Friday night that he would be transferring to the Big Ten university. He submitted his name last month into the NCAA’s transfer portal, which allows other schools to contact him.
“I’ll miss my teammates more than they’ll even know, and I wish them all the best as they get ready for another great season,” Fields posted on Twitter. “I hope the bonds we’ve developed this past year will never be broken by where we choose to play football or where we end up after college.”
Fields completed 27 of 39 passes (69.2 percent) for 328 yards and four touchdowns as the backup to sophomore starter Jake Fromm. The five-star signee also rushed 42 times for 266 yards (6.3 per carry) and four touchdowns.
The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder from the Atlanta suburb of Kennesaw played in every game but the 36-17 win over Florida on Oct. 27 and the Sugar Bowl. His final play with the Bulldogs was the failed fake-punt attempt on fourth-and-11 in the waning moments of the Southeastern Conference title game against Alabama.
Smart addressed the possibility of Fields departing last month during the early signing period, when the Bulldogs landed Dwan Mathis of Oak Park, Michigan, and Stetson Bennett of Jones County Junior College in Mississippi.
There were just four games – against Austin Peay, Middle Tennessee State, Vanderbilt and Massachusetts – in which Fields threw more than three passes. His most productive performance was against Massachusetts on Nov. 17, when he was 5-of-8 for 121 yards and two touchdowns and rushed seven times for 100 yards and a score, becoming the first Bulldogs quarterback to rush for 100 yards since Quincy Carter in 1998.
Ohio State’s quarterback this season was Dwayne Haskins, who finished third in the Heisman Trophy balloting to Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray and Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Haskins is a redshirt sophomore and could forgo his remaining eligibility, which would leave current redshirt freshman Tate Martell as the favorite for the job in 2019 if Fields has to sit out a season due to NCAA rules.
Ford, a top-50 national prospect in the 2018 signing class out of Illinois, also submitted his name into the transfer portal. He had one catch in nine games this season, a 4-yard gain against Austin Peay in the season opener.
Also using Twitter as his announcement avenue, Ford said he was transferring to Illinois “due to my grandparents’ deteriorating health and my family’s inability to afford to see me play in person each week.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.