Georgia defensive lineman Bill Norton announced Wednesday that he will be entering the NCAA student transfer portal. He becomes the first Bulldog to leave the program in 2022.
Norton, a 6-foot-6 and 300-pound defensive lineman, played as a reserve for Georgia this past season. He saw action in 13 games, recording three tackles and a quarterback pressure in 2022. Norton has two years of eligibility left due to the NCAA’s Covid-19 rule.
Norton spent the last four seasons in Athens as a Bulldogs and played in 26 total games, although he never started a game at Georgia. He recorded 12 total tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss during his career at UGA. Norton also played special teams for the Bulldogs.
The Memphis native signed with Georgia as a part of the nation’s No. 2 overall recruiting class in 2019. He was tabbed as a four-star prospect coming out of high school and was rated the No. 4 overall player in his home state of Tennessee. Norton was also the nation’s No. 9 strong-side defensive end, according to the 247Sports Composite.
“We try to build it where they want to be part of our program. If they don't, then I certainly acknowledge that it's an opportunity,” UGA head coach Kirby Smart said about the transfer portal on Sunday. “I think you're asking also about I guess maybe evaluating kids in the portal. We went a year where we didn't take one. So you're always going to look, and people try to reach out once they go into the portal. It's there.
They have people on staff at Ohio State, and we've got people on our staff that is going to be constantly looking through there and watching tape, evaluating it, but the focus is on our team. It wouldn't be fair to all the guys playing if you weren't focused on your team. So you can't put a ton of focus and attention into looking for kids in the portal and things like that. For us, it's really about who we know. Who do we trust? Who do we think fits our culture? And find the right people, but our focus will be on ourselves.”
Georgia didn’t take a single player out of the NCAA student transfer portal this past season. However, the Bulldogs did lose 13 guys during the offseason to the portal in 2021.