The Georgia Bulldogs have signed their second offensive player via the transfer portal. Georgia signed big Kentucky Wildcats transfer running back Dante Dowdell, who was also considering the Texas A&M Aggies.
The 6-foot-2, 230-pound running back projects to fill the Josh McCray role in the UGA offense. Dowdell is a physical runner and is tough to bring down at initial contact and is excellent at getting short yardage.
247Sports ranks Dowdell as the No. 28 running back transfer in the country. He’s considered a three-star transfer and is the No. 290 ranked transfer nationally.
Dowdell is a former four-star recruit. Georgia will be his fourth team in four seasons. The Kentucky transfer began his college career at Oregon in 2023 before transferring to Nebraska in 2024. In 2025, Dowdell transferred to Kentucky and had the second-most productive year of his college career.
In 2025 with Kentucky, Dowdell posted 112 carries for 560 rushing yards and three touchdowns. His 2025 numbers did not match his 2024 output at Nebraska, where he recorded 143 carries for 614 yards and 12 touchdowns. Much like Josh McCray, Dowdell is not a big receiving threat. He has just 14 receptions for 51 receiving yards and no receiving touchdowns in his college career.
Dowdell is be projected to be Georgia’s No. 3 running back behind Nate Frazier and Chauncey Bowens, who announced his return. The rising senior will have competition for snaps with incoming true freshman Jae Lamar along with Dwight Phillips and Bo Walker, but he projects to be the most powerful running back that Georgia has.
The Bulldogs are losing running backs Josh McCray and Cash Jones, who are both out of eligibility, along with Roderick Robinson (transfer portal) this offseason. Georgia’s addition of Dowdell improves the Bulldogs’ running back depth, but Georgia fans won’t feel entirely comfortable until Nate Frazier announces his return or the transfer portal closes.
