This offseason saw 11 scholarship players depart from Georgia via the transfer portal. Much of the attention this offseason has been on the six players the Bulldogs added via the portal, as well as the incoming players from the No. 2 ranked recruiting class, but some of the biggest roster victories were the ones retained. Over 2,000 players have found new homes via the portal during the winter window, so ESPN attempted to name the top player kept from the transfer portal for each college football program in its way-too-early Top 25 for the 2025 season. For Georgia, ESPN chose two-time returning starting cornerback Daylen Everette.
Everette, a 28-game starter and third-team All-SEC performer, is coming back for his senior season and will have every opportunity to prove he’s an early-round draft pick. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound corner earned MVP honors in the SEC championship victory over Texas after picking off Quinn Ewers twice, and he finished the season with 58 tackles, 5 pass breakups and just 2 passing touchdowns allowed on 459 snaps in coverage, according to ESPN Research. Everette and defensive lineman Christen Miller bypassing the draft for one more season in Athens was big for the Bulldogs’ defense going into 2025.
A Coaches Third Team All-SEC selection in 2024, Everette started in all 14 games, making 58 tackles, a sack, and a team-leading three interceptions, along with tying for the team lead with two forced fumbles, and six pass breakups. He started in all 14 games during the 2023 season as well. Everette made appearances in 14 games in all three of his seasons at Georgia, totaling a 42-game career as a Bulldog. He recorded 100 tackles, five tackles for loss, one 15-yard sack, four interceptions, 13 pass deflections, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery throughout his three-year campaign.
Everette’s last year in Athens marked a complete change in performance and recognition. Everette’s 2023 season put him in the impossible position of being the cornerback opposite of now-Houston Texans standout rookie Kamari Lassiter. That resulted in many teams having no choice but to pick on Everette when possible during his first season starting as a sophomore. Everette never let that get in the way of his developmental path in Athens. That showed up throughout his junior season for the Bulldogs. Everette’s cornerstone turning point: the Texas game in October in Austin.
He was the defensive player of the game in that win. He recorded an interception, one that Kirby Smart has since joked should’ve been pick-sixed. Everette also had a strip-sack that forced a fumble that he recovered himself.
“Well, he did some good things. He also had some plays that he probably wished he could have over. You know, he had a pick that I thought should have been a pick six, but he caught the ball,” Smart said. “So that’s an accomplishment for us. But he did tackle well. Schumann helped those guys and did some good things to mix things up. And we changed things up defensively that I think helped us.”
Everette’s season-long dominance of Texas didn’t stop there.
In the SEC Championship Game, Everette created two more turnovers, this time in the form of two interceptions. That was the only time ever a Georgia Bulldogs has done that in a conference championship game. That outing earned Everette SEC Championship Game MVP honors.
A 5-star recruit from IMG Academy — originally from Norfolk, Va. — Everette arrived at Georgia after a late flip from Clemson when Brent Venables left for Oklahoma. Everette saw action on special teams and reserve defensive roles right away.
Dawgs247’s Benjamin Wolk contributed to this article.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
