It took just 12 hours. That’s all the time it took for Josh McCray, a bruising 240-pound running back from Illinois Fighting Illini, to go from entering the transfer portal to reportedly boarding a flight to Athens, Georgia. In the era of free movement and backchannel whispers, that type of speed is eyebrow-raising, especially when it’s followed by your former coach, Bret Bielema, attempting to throw your current coach, Kirby Smart, under the bus for lighting the match.
“We did lose a guy to Georgia,” said Illinois’ Bret Bielema. “Somehow, he found his way into the portal, and 12 hours after being in the portal, he was on a flight to Georgia. I don’t know how that happened, but it’s crazy. I wish Josh all the best; he took advantage of that opportunity.” Bielema never directly accused Kirby Smart or his staff of tampering, but in today’s landscape, the implications don’t have to be shouted to be heard.
Then came the response from The Ruffino & Joe Show, where the hosts tried to parse the mess. “There was a video that was published in December when McCray entered the portal,” Blake noted. “That Bret Bielema had stated that he had knew all season, halfway through the season, that McCray told him that he was interested in entering the portal and that we knew this day was already happening.” Joe added nuance, saying, “Not everything’s tampering… but at the same time, it doesn’t mean it’s not tampering.”
The real confusion came from the timeline, with Blake pointing out, “How can you have a season conversation with him and be quoting, anticipating the day coming, and then act shocked when he ends up at Georgia?” It’s a tangle of messaging. On one hand, Bret Bielema says he saw it coming. On the other hand, he’s framing the rapid Georgia move as suspicious. Joe drove it home: “Is it because he went to Georgia? No. He’s talking about the reference… that he’s suddenly 12 hours later on a plane flying to Georgia.” Even the analysts couldn’t fully square the timeline with the outrage.
Now, why would UGA jump so fast? Because Josh McCray is a valuable get. The 6-foot-1 power back totaled 1,370 rushing yards on 291 carries over four years in Champaign — good for a 4.7 yards-per-carry average — with 14 rushing touchdowns. In 2023, he set career highs with 609 yards and 10 rushing scores, adding 13 catches for 116 yards and a touchdown. He’s a violent downhill runner with enough vision and burst to thrive in SEC traffic.
September 20, 2024 Lincoln, NE. U.S. – Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema walks off the field after a injury in action during a NCAA, College League, USA Division 1 football game between 24 Illinois Fighting Illini and the 22 Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, NE..Illinois won 31-24.Attendance: 86,936.400th consecutive sellout. /Cal Media Lincoln United States of America – ZUMAc04_ 20240920_zma_c04_044 Copyright: xMichaelxSpomerx
Kirby Smart clearly saw a plug-and-play option in a year where they’re retooling the backfield. And if they had early signals from McCray’s camp — whether directly or via whispers — that he was looking to move, the “12-hour flight” suddenly feels more like a head start than a heist.
Illinois, meanwhile, isn’t left empty-handed. With McCray gone, the Fighting Illini still have Aidan Laughery and Kaden Feagin — their second and third-leading rushers from last season — ready for expanded roles. Both showed flashes, and Feagin in particular has the physicality to absorb RB1 duties in Bielema’s run-heavy system.
At the end of the day, what’s really on trial here isn’t Georgia’s aggressiveness — it’s the murky etiquette of portal dealings. Was it tampering? Was it preparation? Or was it just a savvy move made legal by the chaos of the current college football calendar?
Bret Bielema isn’t the first one to accuse someone of tampering
In today’s Wild West transfer portal era, tampering accusations aren’t new. So it was no shock when Bret Bielema raised eyebrows after Josh McCray’s lightning-fast move to Georgia. Losing your top back to a national powerhouse overnight? Yeah, that’ll sting — especially when your entire offensive identity is built on downhill, between-the-tackles bruisers.
But if Bielema’s frustration felt veiled, it wasn’t unprecedented — and it definitely wasn’t the loudest shot fired in recent months. Former Boise State OC Dirk Koetter flat-out claimed Oregon tampered with one of his star defenders. He even dropped a number on it, suggesting a deal had already been pitched before the player hit the portal. Meanwhile, East Carolina head coach Cliff Godwin didn’t mince words either, saying he had proof of power conference schools texting his players before they were officially available.
In that context, Bielema’s line feels more like a shrug than a smoking gun. Sure, he lost a workhorse. But Bielema wasn’t panicking. In fact, he seemed confident in the rest of the RB room, highlighting positives and trusting his next men up. After all, in the transfer age, coaches can either gripe or adjust.
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