ATHENS -- Looking back on it, wide receiver Demetris Robertson could be considered a national trend-setter in college athletics for leaving California in 2018 and securing immediate eligibility to play Georgia in 2018.
Since then, it seems like an almost weekly happening in college football.
“I never looked at it that way because I just wanted to be closer to my family, and my family needed me,” said Robertson, who is the Bulldogs' second-leading receiver this season with six catches for 39 yards. “I never really thought of being a trailblazer. But I’m accepting of it.”
Robertson, a 5-star prospect coming out of Savannah Christian, was named a freshman All-American when he starred for the Bears in 2016. Injuries cut short his sophomore season, and he shocked the Pac-12 when he announced his decision to transfer in the spring of 2018.
Robertson landed with the Bulldogs, who hotly pursued him in recruiting, and had a special-circumstances waiver for immediate eligibility approved that summer.
Just two years later, college athletes are transferring at a greater rate than ever. That has been further underscored in the past two weeks as SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey opened the door to intraconference transfers because of the pandemic.
Among those to be granted immediate eligibility was Cade Mays. He will start at right tackle for Tennessee on Saturday after playing for Georgia the previous two seasons.
“I’m glad student-athletes have the option to go where they wanted to go and be where they need to be,” Robertson said. “For me, it feels great to be back home.”
Two years later, this doesn’t seem quite the coup it did when the Bulldogs landed Robertson. While he has been a regular since landing in Athens, Robertson has yet to stand out in the SEC the way he did in the Pac-12, when he had 767 yards receiving and seven touchdowns as a freshman at Cal.
Robertson was unable to record a catch his first season with the Bulldogs (though he had 109 yards rushing and a 72-yard touchdown). He had 30 catches for 333 yards and three touchdowns last season.
Suffice it to say, the going has been a little tougher in the SEC.
“It was difficult,” said Robertson, who was coming off a groin injury that required surgery when he arrived at UGA. “I took a couple of months off, so me being in shape and coach (Kirby) Smart’s standard of practicing and executing, I wasn’t up to par. But I quickly got up to par and was able to do what he needed me to do.”
Robertson also had some established players in front of him, including Riley Ridley and Mecole Hardman, plus transfer Lawrence Cager.
But, as Robertson made clear, it wasn’t about personal production for him. He came back to Georgia to be closer to his family, which was dealing with a serious illness. He also wanted to play for Smart, who recruited him as an assistant coach at Alabama.
“I just feel like this is where God wanted me to be,” Robertson said. "I think this is the position I’m supposed to be in. Wherever they want me to (play), that’s where I’ll be. I never really looked at the outside and what people are saying. I always stay within the family of the University of Georgia.
“Now I want to win a championship at Georgia, for me and for my teammates.”
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