Report: Wide receiver/special teams standout returns to Georgia for 5th season

Georgia football coach Kirby Smart left the door open earlier this month for adding a player who gained another season of eligibility this summer. A special teams standout who played wide receiver reportedly has returned to the Bulldogs to play a fifth season. Cole Speer is back with the Bulldogs, according to UGASports’s Rusty Mansell who reports Speer was at practice Monday and will go through the NCAA acclimation period. Reached Monday afternoon, Georgia has yet to confirm Speer is now on the roster. Speer fits into class of 2022 players who were given a fifth year of eligibility under a preliminary injunction by a Colorado District Judge. The NCAA is appealing the ruling. The NCAA approved a five-for-five eligibility rule in June, but that did not include those 2022 athletes. Speer would be allowed to return to Georgia, but not transfer elsewhere. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Speer did not latch on with any NFL team after he went undrafted this spring. Speer had 5 catches for 56 yards during his four seasons and eight tackles as a special teamer. Speer’s biggest play as a Bulldog was a blocked punt against Alabama in the SEC championship win last season. Coach Kirby Smart said Georgia would consider bringing back a player if the team had room on the 105-player roster limit. "We’re always open to bringing on a new player if we have room," he said. "If we don’t have room, we can’t do that and we’re stuck at it.” This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Report: Wide receiver/special teams standout returns to Georgia for 5th season