Georgia football DB Lovasea Carroll enters transfer portal

Georgia Bulldogs freshman defensive back Lovasea Carroll has entered the NCAA transfer portal.

Georgia Bulldogs freshman defensive back Lovasea Carroll has entered the NCAA transfer portal. Carroll changed positions during his first year on campus with Georgia.

The 6-foot-1, 195-pound product from Warrenton, Georgia, enrolled early at Georgia after being ranked as four-star running back recruit out of high school powerhouse IMG Academy.

Lovasea Carroll played in four games as a freshman this season, so he will be able use this year as a redshirt season. Carroll will have four years of college football eligibility wherever he elects to play next.  Carroll finished with three tackles and a pass deflection in 2021.

Will Lovasea Carroll play running back at his new college football home? Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean

Kirby Smart and UGA felt that Carroll had a better chance to make an impact as a freshman defensive back. Carroll converted to the position during spring drills.

Georgia entered the season no longer as desperate at the defensive back position, but the Bulldogs did not play Carroll at running back.

Carroll played Warren County High School before attending IMG Academy.

[listicle id=62784]

[vertical-gallery id=60902]

 

 

Georgia football player card: DB Lovasea Carroll

Georgia Bulldogs defensive back Lovasea Carroll changed positions during his first year on campus with Georgia

Lovasea Carroll, Defensive Back (No. 12):

Class: Freshman

Height: 6-1

Weight: 195 pounds

Hometown: Warrenton, Georgia

High School: IMG Academy

Georgia Bulldogs defensive back Lovasea Carroll changed positions during his first year on campus with Georgia. Carroll enrolled early at Georgia after being a highly touted four-star running back recruit out of high school powerhouse IMG Academy.

IMG Academy’s Xavier Terrell (5) runs in a touchdown against Ravenwood next to Lovasea Carroll (6) during the second half at Ravenwood High School in Brentwood, Tenn., Friday, Sept. 25, 2020. Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean

Carroll will have a good mentor to help him with the difficulties he will face with his position change. Incoming Clemson transfer Derion Kendrick is a former five-star recruit that began his college football career at wide receiver. Kendrick seamlessly transitioned to cornerback as a sophomore at Clemson and is a top prospect for the 2022 NFL draft.

Georgia started Ameer Speed and Jalen Kimber in the spring game, but the secondary will look much different to open the season.

Kirby Smart brought in additional competition at defensive back, including Clemson transfer Derion Kendrick, Alabama transfer Brandon Turnage, and West Virgnia transfer Tykee Smith. Former five-star recruit Kelee Ringo figures to compete for playing time as well.

Georgia is no longer as desperate at the defensive back position. The Bulldogs could play Carroll at running back in the future. It will be a storyline to watch over Carroll’s career

The Warrenton, Georgia, product played Warren County High School before attending IMG Academy.

[listicle id=42933]

 

Georgia football RB Lovasea Carroll makes positional switch to CB

Georgia football freshman RB Lovasea Carroll has made an ‘experimental’ positional switch to cornerback says Dawgs head coach Kirby Smart.

News has come out of Athens that freshman Georgia Bulldogs running back Lovasea Carroll has been making a position switch to play cornerback, per Chip Towers of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Carroll is a 4-star recruit out of IMG Academy in Florida.  He stands at 6-foot-1, 195 pounds and committed to UGA as the 247Sports Composite No. 6 running back recruit in the 2021 class.

“It’s experimental,” said Georgia head coach Kirby Smart after the team’s second full spring practice this Thursday. “We recruited him as a running back. We’re really deep at the running-back position. He’s probably going to be a factor on special teams because he’s really fast.”

The Bulldogs might need to make some of these experimental moves after getting blindsided and losing almost its entire defensive backfield.  Tyson Campbell, DJ Daniel and Eric Stokes all decided to enter the 2021 NFL Draft as juniors.  Safety Richard LeCounte is entering as a senior and former Georgia defensive back Tyrique Stevenson transferred to Miami this offseason.  Needless to say there is a big void to fill on the Georgia defense that Carroll could impact positively.

“I’ve had running backs I’ve recruited at other places I was who said, ‘Man, I wish I’d played corner because of how much those guys were getting paid and how many of them were getting paid in the NFL,” Smart said. “The shelf-life of a corner is much longer than a (running) back, and there are a lot more corners in the NFL than there are (running) backs. So, you look at the case of those three guys that worked out yesterday, LC comes in with a lot of the same length and speed parameters. He has a lot of the same qualities that those guys have. What he doesn’t have is experience.”

Hopefully this spring will be enough experience for Carroll, as his athleticism and talent aren’t what are at question here.  Carroll essentially has no experience playing as a defensive back but the Georgia recruiting staff saw something in his athleticism that could potentially end up paying dividends for the Dawgs’ secondary this season.

“I would not say that it’s permanent,” Smart said, making this very clear. “I would say it’s a spring experiment, and we’ll go from there.”

It will be interesting to see how this situation with Carroll and the whole Georgia secondary plays out as the 2021 season gets closer.

Highlights: Georgia football signee RB Lovasea Carroll

Four-star running back Lovasea Carroll signed with the University of Georgia. Check out his highlights.

Four-star running back Lovasea Carroll signed with the University of Georgia in December. This year, he will look to earn playing time behind James Cook, Zamir White, Kendall Milton and Kenny McIntosh.

The Georgia Bulldogs have a stacked running back room again, but Carroll will find a way to earn playing time next season.

Carroll is a talented prospect out of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.  He ranks as the nation’s No. 116 recruit and No. 6 running back in the class of 2021. Carroll is from Warrenton, Georgia.

Check out Carroll’s highlights from his junior season at IMG Academy:

Carroll played against stout competition during his time at IMG Academy. Carroll’s biggest strengths are his speed and agility. He may be Georgia’s fastest running back on the roster next season.

[vertical-gallery id=39554]

Georgia RB commit Lovasea Carroll re-affirms commitment

Georgia Bulldogs running back commitment Lovasea Carroll considered flipping to the Florida Gators.

4-star running back Lovasea Carroll has been committed to the University of Georgia since April, but recently considered backing off his commitment to the Bulldogs.

Carroll tweeted on Friday that a “business decision is coming,” which caused many to believe that he was on the verge of announcing a decommitment from UGA.

Carroll set the record straight in an open and honest manner:

It’s great news for Georgia Bulldogs fans that Carroll is looking to stick with his commitment to UGA. Carroll admits that he considered flipping to Florida for more playing time, but he’s looking at the big picture and thinks he’d be better off in Athens.

It’s not a bad idea for Carroll, who could save valuable wear and tear on his body if he ends up behind talented backs at Georgia. Running backs tend to have some of the shortest NFL careers. Much of this is due to the injuries that commonly mount up at the position.

Carroll, out of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, ranks as the nation’s No. 103 prospect and No. 6 running back in the class of 2021. Carroll is a Warrenton, Georgia native.

Carroll chose Georgia over South Carolina, Florida, Auburn and Ohio State. At The Opening Regional in March of 2019, Carroll ran a 4.56 40-time and recorded a 36.3 inch vertical.

Georgia’s gain in Carroll is Florida’s loss. The Gators desperately need a running back recruit:

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

Watch: Highlights of 2021 Georgia football RB commit Lovasea Carroll

Watch 2021 4-star Georgia football running back commit Lovasea Carroll’s junior year highlight reel.

Georgia received a commitment from four-star running back Lovasea Carroll earlier in April.

Carroll, a Warrenton, Georgia native, now plays high school ball at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

The 6-foot, 190-pounder chose Georgia over Ohio State, Florida, Auburn and South Carolina.

The 6-foot, 190-pounder ranks as the nation’s No. 8 running back, No. 122 overall player in his class and as the state of Florida’s No. 17 prospect.

At The Opening Regional in March of 2019, Carroll ran a 4.56 40-time and recorded a 36.3 inch vertical.

The Bulldogs currently have seven commitments in the class of 2021 and the ninth ranked class according to 247Sports.

You can catch some of Carroll’s junior year highlights here:

 

Georgia football lands two 4-stars in 24 hours: Twitter reacts

Georgia football fans reacted on Twitter to UGA recruiting landing two 4-stars: Micah Morris and Lovasea Carroll.

Wednesday night and Thursday morning were kind to The University of Georgia football program.

Things started on Wednesday night when the Bulldogs landed a commitment from 4-star offensive tackle Micah Morris. Later that evening, the nation’s No. 1 ranked cornerback, 5-star Tony Grimes, included UGA in his final eight.

And then late Thursday morning, 4-star running back Lovasea Carroll announced his commitment to Georgia.

That’s two 4-stars committing to UGA in a little over a span of 12 hours. Georgia went from the No. 15 2021 class to the No. 8 ranked class.

Here’s how Twitter has been reacting:

Two Kirby Smart tweets of course