WATCH: South Carolina coach Shane Beamer reflects on Georgia, how portal affects SEC talent gap

“Not that I’ve analyzed Georgia’s roster or Alabama’s roster, but when they’ve utilized the portal it’s been to bring in like immediate contributors that they expect to come in and start,” Beamer said, noting West Virginia transfer Tykee Smith appears to be a penciled-in starter.

“We’d all like to have programs where we develop guys out of the high school ranks, you don’t lose them, and then if you do need to utilize the portal it’s for immediate need, right now.”

The Bulldogs play host to South Carolina in both teams’ SEC opener at 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 16 (TV: CBS). The Gamecocks are the most recent team to beat Georgia in Sanford Stadium, scoring a 20-17 upset in overtime with current UGA assistant Will Muschamp serving as the Gamecocks head coach.

South Carolina obviously benefited with the addition of Oklahoma transfer Spencer Rattler, who was instrumental in the upsets over the Vols and Tigers with 438 yards and 360 yards passing, respectively.

Beamer, however, is not convinced the portal has done much to close the talent gap between Georgia and Alabama and the rest of the SEC.

“I don’t see any of these high school kids not coming to Georgia; they have the No. 1 recruiting class and Alabama is right there with them each and every year, so they are bringing in great players,” Beamer said.

“They might not have as many older guys, but they do a great job of developing the players in their program, you see that in the NFL Draft every year.”

Texas A&M had the No. 1 recruiting class in 2022 — the highest-rated of the modern era — but 31 Aggies have entered the portal since last season, including four of the highest-profile signees.