Kirby Smart explains how he knew Kamari Lassiter was locked in vs Oregon

As Kirby Smart looks to replace some of his best talent after most of his title-winning defense took their talents to the NFL, he’s going to be asking more out of some new faces. One of those players Smart has turned to is defensive back Kamari Lassiter, who made a start for the Bulldogs against Oregon in Week 1.

Evidently, Smart has been impressed with Lassiter leading up to the 2022 season, as he explained how he knew the defensive back was laser focused for last Saturday’s matchup.

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“He’s very mature. He’s very intelligent. He was dialed in,” began Smart. “Sent me a text a couple of nights before the game, said, ‘Coach, I’m really locked in.’ I could see it in meetings by the questions he asked. You know when somebody’s ready to play because of the way they practice. He was very intentional about his practices. When you looked at him, his eyes were in the right spot. He asked the right questions.

“Kamari’s a kid you’re going to have to just beat, because he’s not going to beat himself. He’s a great kid.”

As you can see, taking on a bigger role within Georgia’s defense won’t be a problem for Kamari Lassiter. The Bulldogs defense is in good hands, despite the loss of talent to the NFL.

Kirby Smart on young wide receivers: Riding them hard because I have high expectations

Heading into Week 2 versus Samford, Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart emphasized the need to develop his young receivers so they can contribute at some point this season. Smart referenced 2022 signees De’Nylon Morrissette, C.J. Smith and Dillon Bell as wideouts that he’s “riding hard” this season.

“They do a little of both (scout and reps),” Smart said. “(Smith and Morrisette) missed all of camp. I’m riding them really hard because I have high expectations for them. They can help us. They each have really good attributes and they both really want to help our team. They’re great young men, do everything right off the field, everything they’re supposed to do and work really hard.

“Dillon has gotten a lot of reps and should be able to help us. He’s probably further along than those two, only because he wasn’t injured. We’re trying to bring (Smith) back slowly because he’s had some knee issues and then De’Nylon’s had a couple of good practices. We need to bring those guys along to get the depth we need to support this offense.”

Morrissette, Smith and Bell were part of Smart’s No. 3-ranked 2022 signing class. Of the group, Morrissette, out of Snellville, Georgia, was the highest-ranked coming out of high school at No. 203 overall in the nation, according to the On3 Consensus.