Jalen Kimber would 'be excited' for potential Penn State matchup with former team Georgia

The latest College Football Playoff rankings have led to some interesting hypothetical matchups in the first round. That includes a bracket that, if the season ended today, would see Georgia travel to Happy Valley to take on Penn State.

For Penn State defensive back Jalen Kimber, the current potential matchups are not at the forefront of his mind. However, as a transfer who has played both for and against Georgia in his career, there would be some added motivation when playing the Bulldogs for Kimber.

“Hey, I would be excited for that,” Jalen Kimber said. “I’m ready for that. You know, I played Georgia two times while I was at Florida. So, it would be exciting to see some of my old brothers that I used to be with. We’ll be ready for that.”

Now in his first season at Penn State, Kimber spent time in the SEC, playing for both Georgia and Florida. Initially, he would go to Georgia as a four-star recruit in the Class of 2020, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. He was the 10th-ranked corner overall in that recruiting cycle.

Kimber would spend two seasons playing for Georgia, playing in one game during the 2020 season and only two games in 2021 before he missed the rest of that season with an injury. He then transferred to Florida where he played in 25 games over the next two seasons. That included starting 11 games during the 2023 season for the Gators before he once again transferred.

In 10 games this season, Kimber has made 16 total tackles and broken up three passes. While at Florida, he played Georgia twice, losing both of those games.

The idea that Penn State would host Georgia in the first round of the College Football Playoff is, for the time being, still hypothetical. Both teams still have two more regular season games to play and with that, there is plenty of room for the rankings to get shaken up.

Some at Georgia have been frustrated about their team’s ranking, which currently has the Bulldogs 10th in the country and in line for the 11th seed. In particular, head coach Kirby Smart has been frustrated with the criteria being used.

“It’s a hard one because I don’t know what they’re looking for,” Smart said. “They can’t define that. It’s not simple, either. I mean, anybody can be on that committee and say, ‘This is what we’re looking for. This is our criteria and there’s so much that it overlaps things and everybody debates it and I don’t have time to really waste energy on it.”

With two games remaining in the season, Penn State still has two Big Ten opponents on the schedule. Georgia, meanwhile, finishes with two non-conference games.