ATHENS — Turns out, there was no portal chaos in the spring window.

The NCAA’s spring transfer portal window closed on Tuesday. The portal opened for 15 days, giving teams a chance to further reshape their rosters. Players can still end up committing to new schools now that the deadline to enter has passed, but teams likely won’t be losing any more players to the portal.

Georgia saw just two players elect to depart the program. Wide receiver Tyler Williams has found a new home in Minnesota while running back Andrew Paul has yet to announce what his next plans are following his decision to enter the portal. Offensive lineman Chad Lindberg, who entered the transfer portal as a graduate transfer prior to spring practice, announced he would be transferring to Rice.

While the Bulldogs did only lose two plays in this window, the team did make an addition in the form of quarterback Jaden Rashada.

Head coach Kirby Smart had long stated a desire to get to four scholarship quarterbacks. While Rashada isn’t expected to usurp the starting job from Carson Beck, Georgia did land a player with starting experience and plenty of upside. Rashada has four years of eligibility remaining and will compete with Gunner Stockton and Ryan Puglisi.

The addition of Rashada gives Georgia eight transfers this year. Rashada and Stanford tight end Benjamin Yurosek will arrive later this summer, joining Trevor Etienne, Colbie Young, London Humphreys, Michael Jackson III, Xzavier McLeod and Jake Pope.

Of course, perhaps the most interesting subplot of the spring window was who Georgia retained. Defensive tackle Christen Miller publicly announced his plans to enter the transfer portal, only to reverse course and announce the next day that he would be staying.

At a place like Georgia, the Miller drama illustrates why retention is far more important as opposed to going out and making additions to the roster.

Thanks to the way Georgia recruits, the Bulldogs consistently have one of the most loaded rosters in the country. Playing time is a finite resource at Georgia and there are not enough snaps to satisfy every player. Add NIL into the mix, you can see why it is easier than ever to entice players to transfer.

But just because you may not earn playing time at Georgia does not mean you are a bad player. Consider that of the 21 Georgia players who entered the transfer portal in both windows, 19 of them have ended up playing for other Power 4 programs. Lindberg is the lone exception so far, while Paul has yet to formally find a new home.

After Miller announced his plans to enter the transfer portal, USC and Florida State emerged as possible suitors for the defensive tackle. Just a year ago, Georgia saw defensive tackle Bear Alexander exit the program and land with USC.

Miller isn’t the first Georgia player to announce he is entering the transfer portal, only to remain at Georgia. Cornerbacks Julio Humphrey and Daniel Harris both did so during the December portal window, while offensive tackle Amarius Mims did the same in the spring of 2021.

“It’s really one of those things of, ‘do you want to be here? Or do you not?’ Because they know how we do things by now,” Smart said. “They all know. That was the easier practice we’ve had all spring. They enjoyed it thoroughly. Guys want to be somewhere else, I have no control over that.”

In total, Georgia saw 21 scholarship players from its 2023 roster depart the program via the transfer portal. It added eight players from the transfer portal.

It is no longer just a one-way street when it comes to the transfer portal for Georgia. With so much roster turnover every year, it can’t be.

For the spring window in particular, it seems that things will be far less chaotic for Georgia. It might have one or two unaddressed needs — like backup quarterback in this cycle — that need feeling.

But the 15-day spring transfer window showed that most of the work in terms of additions and exits will happen immediately after the season.