Backtrack! Illinois Coach Bret Bielema CLARIFIES Georgia Tampering Claims Involving Kirby Smart and RB Josh McCray! Get the Latest Twist!

Josh McCray, Illinois’s best returning rusher, left for another team through the transfer link, which makes coach Bret Bielema confused. After Branson Robinson left in April, Georgia needed help right away in the backfield, which is why McCray signed with them. Yesterday, Bielema asked how McCray got the attention of the Bulldogs and decided so quickly to move to an SEC school. Bielema seemed to imply that Georgia lied to get one of his best players, but he didn’t say it.

“We did lose a guy to Georgia,” Bielema said on the podcast The Triple Option, which came out on Wednesday. “He got to the portal someway, and 12 hours after being there, he was on a plane to Georgia.” It’s crazy that that happened.

After the end of spring practice in April, McCray signed with the Bulldogs as one of 10 transfers that the school added. He has one year to play in Athens, and Georgia was the only school he visited after getting in through the link.

Many people took Bielema’s words to mean that he might have been hinting at possible hacking, which is becoming a more common worry in this age of transfer portals. But after fans criticized what he said on social media, Bielema replied directly Thursday morning to explain the timeline and support McCray’s choice.

“Hi Jon— “He actually went into the portal on April 18 at 12:08 p.m., which we helped him do and told him how to move forward with the process,” Bielema wrote. “Thanks for your time and wrong information. He’s a great kid who is in a great place with great people. “Don’t turn nothing into something.”

In April, Bielema seemed to know that McCray wanted to leave Illinois for his last season.

Bielema told 247Sports, “We’ve talked about it for four years.” “We are so proud of Josh as a child. He should get his degree this spring. He has been a player for four years and done a lot of great things. He was the most valuable player in the bowl game. Josh came in yesterday and said he was interested in getting into the link. Naturally, I told him what I thought we could do and where we stand, but I fully understand that his goal is to get into the link.

The great thing about being his head coach is that he’s leaving here with a degree and having done a lot of great things. The events of yesterday didn’t surprise me, but I know a lot of other people do. “We’re ready for that moment.”

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While sitting out his junior year, McCray ran for 609 yards and 10 touchdowns, which was the most on the team, averaging 5.2 yards per run.

In May, Georgia coach Kirby Smart talked about why his team made McCray a top priority when they were looking to sign a player.

“In a world of a lot of third-and-ones and fourth-and-ones in college football with analytics people going for it, you need short yardage backs,” he said. “We think he gives us potential to do that.”

Georgia had the fifth-worst third-down success rate in the SEC last season, at 39.2%. This was the Bulldogs’ worst offensive mark since 2016, when they led the conference in this number.