There was a point last April when Georgia was not on the mind of Amarius Mims.

Concerned his upcoming sophomore campaign might not include many playing opportunities, Mims placed his name in the NCAA transfer portal with every intention of seeking his football fortune elsewhere.

Florida State was one of the first schools to reach out.

Interest was mutual.

In the tweet below, you can see Mims exit an SUV, where he is greeted by FSU head coach Mike Norvell, along with other Seminole assistants.

The garnet and gold put their best foot forward to try and persuade the former five-star to come to Tallahassee, before Mims ultimately decided he wasn’t going anywhere, much to the delight of Kirby Smart and the rest of the Bulldogs.

Monday, Mims met with the media for the first time, and offered his take on what happened.

“As a freshman, I came in highly recruited, and I just wanted to play,” Mims said. “But I matured mentally from my freshman to sophomore year, and I realized that going to Florida State wasn’t the best idea for me. So, coming back for my sophomore year, I felt Georgia was the best place for me.”

Although coaches might not have been particularly happy, Mims was given his space.

“They said, 'We’re going to give you time, we don’t want to force anything on you, but we want you here still,'” Mims said. “That was definitely important. I definitely went in and experienced the portal, but there’s nothing like Georgia, so I came back.”

Ultimately, Mims said the decision to return was an easy one.

Although it was nice to feel wanted, the former five-star realized that if he’d just remain patient, his time would come.

“The hardest part for me was the mental part of it, was this really what I wanted to do,” Mims said. “I’d be moving to a different state; I’m from the state of Georgia. That right there at the time was too much. I just came to realize if I stayed here, and listened to Coach Smart, I’d be good.”

That’s exactly what’s happened.

Although he’s yet to start, Mims has received extensive playing time at right tackle in each of Georgia’s first three games.

“From a mental standpoint, I’m out there with the ones, so when I come in, there shouldn’t be no falloff,” Mims said. “That’s helped me a lot. If we can keep this rotation going right now, it will be even better.”

The fact that playing time came during Georgia’s fourth offensive series in the opener against Oregon truly gave Mims reason to smile.

“That felt good,” he said. “Coach Smart knew I was going to do the right thing, and with the help of my teammates telling me I’ve got it gave me all the confidence in the world.”

Smart said Mims can expect plenty more playing time going forward.

“I think he has more confidence going into the game in more meaningful moments. You know, he's extremely athletic and talented, and we really stressed to him how much he can improve in terms of his run game and his pass game and his knowledge of the game,” Smart said. “The only way you get better at that point is to go play. He's gotten to play quite a bit in the last three games. So, we want him to continue to do that. And, really, the conditioning level of these games outside of the heat has allowed us to play three guys and stay fresh at the position.”

Mims made it clear that any additional name, image, and likeness benefits played absolutely no role in his deciding to return.

“It didn’t factor into it at all,” Mims said. “It was all about me maturing and realizing this was the best place for me.”

Although NIL did not factor, the opportunity to continue learning from left tackle Broderick Jones and Warren McClendon did.

Mims said he considers McClendon his big brother, who along with junior guard Xavier Truss, were two of the biggest reasons he came to Georgia to begin with.

“I knew Warren and Broderick were probably going to be the starters, so I just thought that coming back and learning from them would be the most important thing,” Mims said. “Now, with me getting playing time and them still being there for me—the relationship we’ve got— playing time was important, but right now I’m playing, and the relationship I’ve got with those guys is just great.”

The fact he’s now receiving the action he so covets, that’s made his decision to return all the more worthwhile.

“I’ve definitely played a bigger role, and it’s been giving me more learning experiences,” Mims said. “My great teammates have been pushing me, telling me to just go out there and have no worries, and have just encouraged me to go out and play well for our team.”