The transfer portal move of receiver Jermaine Burton from Georgia to Alabama raised a few eyebrows.
It angered former Bulldog Mecole Hardman enough to post his disapproval on social media Monday.
“How you go to the team we just beat?” Hardman wrote on an Instagram story. “And leave a team you won the natty with?”
To that, Burton essentially told him to mind his own business in a Monday afternoon Twitter post. But the unsolicited question has a logical answer when emotion is removed from the equation.
Someone like Jameson Williams could likely take a stab at it.
The speedy receiver caught just 15 passes for less than 300 yards in two seasons at Ohio State before transferring to Alabama. He finished with 79 catches and 1,572 receiving yards for a Crimson Tide record 19.9 yards per reception in 2021. Williams went from a rotation guy in Columbus to a Biletnikoff finalist and early exit to the NFL draft in one season in Tuscaloosa.
Of course none of this happens in a vacuum and Williams’ story isn’t a guarantee of Burton’s repeating that success.
But the fact that Williams and top target John Metchie are leaving for the NFL certainly didn’t dissuade Burton from making the jump. In fact, Alabama will be without 73% of its receptions and 74% of its 2021 receiving yards when next season begins.
Who isn’t leaving? Bryce Young.
All he did was rewrite the Alabama record book and win the Heisman Trophy in his first season starting. His intelligence and laser accuracy helped lift the stock of receivers like Williams and Metchie.
Beyond Young’s talent, Alabama also runs a more receiver-friendly offense than Georgia’s. Granted, the Bulldogs were playing from ahead most of the season but Alabama averaged 38.1 passing attempts per game last year compared to 27.1 for Georgia.
Quarterback Stetson Bennett, who announced he’d be back in Athens the same day Burton said he was leaving, doesn’t quite have the same next-level potential as Young. He completed 64.5% of his throws compared to Young’s 66.9% but the Alabama sophomore was trusted to do a little more than his Georgia counterpart.
Like Williams and Ohio State, there’s more of a crowd at Georgia in the pass distribution formula. Burton had the most receiving yards (497 on 26 catches) among wideouts but was behind national freshman of the year, tight end Brock Bowers’ 56 for 882 yards. Two freshmen receivers — Ladd McConkey and Adonai Mitchell — had more receptions at 29 and 27 respectively.
Alabama doesn’t have a wideout returning who had more than Traeshon Holden’s 21 receptions. And that’s in an offense that attempted 164 more passes than Georgia.
It’s doesn’t appear to be personal.
It’s business and that can’t be ignored when you see a receiver like Jameson Williams go from a backup to a potential first-round NFL draft pick in one season with Young.
The mass exodus of Alabama receiving production paired with the prospect of playing with the Heisman-winning quarterback was sure to attract interest on the transfer market.
Burton was just fast enough to strike on that opening.
Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.
