Georgia has only 10 four-year players in the program, and linebacker Raylen Wilson is one of them. He confirmed in early January that he would return for the upcoming season, even though he was eligible for the 2026 NFL Draft.
Reason Why Raylen Wilson Said No to the NFL and Yes to One More Season at Georgia
Wilson joined Georgia as part of the Bulldogs’ 2023 recruiting class and quickly made his mark by earning a starting role on the team’s defense. He has become one of the central leaders in Georgia’s locker room over the years, and his return for another year instead of going to the NFL has one key motto.
“Let’s just say that I had some goals that I wanted to achieve in college that I hadn’t yet,” Wilson said on Tuesday. “The main goal is really, coming out of high school, I always wanted to get a national championship.”
Kirby Smart added plenty of new faces from the transfer portal or the 2026 signing class, giving Wilson a lot of new teammates to meet. Wilson is already known for his approachable and team-oriented personality, and he makes it a point to introduce himself to anyone he hasn’t met in the Georgia facility.
“I don’t pass anybody I don’t know,” Wilson said via Dawg Nation. “So I make sure I introduce myself when I know everybody I pass in the facility. So it’s like, yeah, just getting to know everybody throughout the facility. It’s connection, that’s one of our main pieces in this team, like a DNA trait. So we help them out a lot with everybody being connected.”
Optimism still runs high for the Bulldogs in 2026 after Georgia’s 2025 season ended in heartbreak with the College Football Playoff loss to the Ole Miss Rebels in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. With All-SEC linebacker CJ Allen entering the NFL draft, Wilson is projected to be Georgia’s top linebacker next season. The responsibility comes with added leadership duties as one of the most experienced players in the room, but he and the defense are focused on refining their impact on the field.
“Our main goal on defense this spring is really getting better at creating havoc in the backfield,” Wilson said.
Wilson started in all 14 games for Georgia in the 2025 season, recording 74 tackles (30 solo tackles), 6.5 tackles for loss for 22 yards, 2.5 sacks for 19 yards, and one pass break-up. His magnificent performance came on the road against Tennessee on Sept. 13, where he tallied a career-best nine tackles, including one solo. He finished the season with a 73 score in the PFSN College Football LB Impact Metric.
