Georgia coaching makes NFL-bound DBs hard to evaluate
There’s few places in the country – if any – that you’re better set up to get coached by the best when it comes to defensive backs than Georgia. Head coach Kirby Smart made his name working with the position. The same goes for former Will Muschamp, who also has experience as a head coach and defensive coordinator, while Fran Brown was hired as a head coach from the spot he held in Athens because of the promise he’s already shown.
That’s the kind of staff that’s been guiding Georgia defensive backs the past two seasons, and it’s the reason why ESPN’s Matt Miller says Bulldogs at cornerback, STAR and safety are tough to judge when it comes to the NFL Draft.
“As far as the defensive backs, they’re hard to evaluate because they’re so well coached,” he said, only half jokingly. “I feel like this used to be a thing at Alabama as well. When you watch a Kirby Smart defensive back, you know they’re coached up well. I don’t want to say ‘maxed out’ but they’ve been coached so well for 3,4,5 years, you kind of wonder how much better can they get?”
“I saw that at the Senior Bowl especially with Bullard,” he continued. “That’s the first day of practices and he’s already the leader of the secondary. He’s getting guys lined up right, he’s communicating with the coaches like he’s been with them for two years instead of one day.”
Georgia has three defensive backs available in this year’s NFL Draft: Javon Bullard, Kamari Lassiter and Tykee Smith. As mentioned by Miller, Bullard was impressive at the Senior Bowl, earning the nod as the best safety that week in Mobile. Smith was also present, and he too walked away with hardware – earning Defensive MVP honors in the actual game. Then there’s Lassiter, who didn’t participate in any All-Star game as an underclassman but is the highest rated of them all.
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Miller said he’s got Lassiter likely as a top 50 selection, projecting him at No. 41 overall to the Green Bay Packers in his most recent mock draft. As for Bullard and Smith, they’re a little bit lower with Bullard off the board at No. 62 to the Baltimore Ravens and Smith in the fourth or fifth round – dropped in part because of his usage as a box safety.
All three put together impressive campaigns at Georgia, otherwise they wouldn’t be in a position to get drafted. Lassiter started each of UGA’s 29 games at cornerback over the past two seasons where he totaled 75 tackles including 8.5 for loss. Bullard split time over the course of his career between STAR and safety, eventually moving into a starting spot on the back end – thus opening the door for Smith to become a full-time starter too. Bullard earned Defensive MVP honors of both the Peach Bowl and National Championship Game in 2022 as he forced a trio of turnovers while Smith finished as the team’s leading tackler in 2023 with 70 stops. He also was first among all Bulldogs with four interceptions.
Bullard, Lassiter and Smith are part of a Georgia group to be featured next week at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. In total, 11 Bulldogs will participate including their teammates Brock Bowers, Daijun Edwards, Zion Logue, Ladd McConkey, Kendall Milton, Amarius Mims, Marcus Rosmey-Jacksaint and Sedrick Van Pran.
