Georgia DBs young and old stepping up to challenge of creating depth in secondary

Georgia’s depth in the secondary was limited coming into the season. A hamstring injury to Nyland Green that’s kept him out of the last two games did a number to that too. And now, the departure of William Poole from the program is going to take a toll. But according to Kirby Smart and Christopher Smith, the Bulldogs are ready.

“We’ve kind of been chugging along. I mean, to be honest, we have Tykee (Smith) at STAR and (Javon) Bullard at STAR. The entire fall camp, Poole played some there in the third down situations against Oregon. But he was working more at corner,” Smart said. “But we have the guys we have, and we have to get the guys we have better to go where we want to go.”

Among those guys that they have are freshmen cornerbacks Jaheim Singletary and Julian “Julio” Humphrey. Last week Smart spoke about their fellow freshman Daylen Everette, who’s ahead of them on the depth chart due in large part to the fact that he was on campus this spring. As for Singletary and Humphrey, they’re first look in live action not in the spring game like Everette did, but in actual games. Both played made their collegiate debuts against Samford, made the trip to South Carolina on Saturday and got in the game against the Gamecocks.

“Experience, confidence, executing in big moments. They both have gotten a little bit of playing time but both of them can improve from when they have gone in the game,” Smart said. “They have to do a good job of performing better when they get out there.”

“With the kind of defense we have, you have to get used to it (the checks and calls). It takes a little bit of time, but those guys have done a great job of attacking our game plan,” Georgia safety Christopher Smith said on the young defensive backs, not just Singletary and Humphrey but also Everette and the safeties/STARs Malaki Starks, JaCorey Thomas and Marcus Washington Jr. “Each week they are continuing to get better. Everything takes time, even for me it took a little bit of time to learn the defense. Just freshman woes.”

Money Mob, Extra Incentive

Of course the young guys aren’t the only ones that factor into creating depth. The guys out on the field certainly do too, and so far this season, the defensive backs have been doing their job excellently. Kelee Ringo and Kamari Lassiter have held down the starting spots at corner without much trouble. Javon Bullard and Tykee Smith have stepped up at STAR. And at safety, Starks has a team-high two interceptions while Christopher Smith and Dan Jackson each have one. Jackson also forced a fumble against Samford, another turnover that the secondary had a hand in. Maybe a little bit of credit should go to Fran Brown and the addition of the ‘Money Mob’ necklace for the extra juice out of the defensive backs.

“That came from him. He had that when he got here, and he just let us know, each week the best DB, they’re going to get to wear it,” Smith said on Brown and the necklace. “That’s just a little bit extra incentive to be the best DB out of the week. It’s changed hands three times since the season started, so a lot of DBs have been eating lately … I love getting to be able to wear it. It’s just an extra incentive from Coach Fran for us to be able to do good as a defensive back core, and I think that helps us build a competitiveness in our team.”

It was a tough decision, but in the end, $Mobb! DB of the week is ⁦@StarksMalaki⁩ . As always he dominated in the classroom and on the field! That $Mobb! Chain looks good on you $tarks!
(More Opportunity Building Brand) pic.twitter.com/YIJJa2Qh5q

— Fran Brown (@FranBrownUGA) September 17, 2022

So far this season, the necklace has gone to three safeties. Smith won it Week One. Jackson got it Week Two. And on Saturday, Starks got to make the trip back from Columbia with the bling around his neck. So, for as much credit goes to Brown for the extra motivation, maybe some should be going to Will Muschamp too for his work with those safeties.

“I love Coach Muschamp. He pours so much into us, including the young guys. He rubs off on us very well,” Smith said. “He’s very wise, knows a lot of football. I’ve taken a lot from him ever since he’s been here, and I feel like he’s made me a better play. As he continues to work with us, we’re going to continue to get better.”

“It’s definitely good. Coach Boom, Coach Muschamp has been putting in a lot of work with us,” Smith added on the safeties’ dominance over the Money Mobb necklace. “We’re going to continue to work. We know the job’s not finished. We have a good opponent coming up ahead of us. We went to the doctor today and are going to fix up a lot of things we had. Hopefully another safety can win it.”

Georgia takes on Kent State this Saturday in what’s likely another opportunity to develop some of that depth in the secondary. The Bulldogs opened as 41-point favorites over the Golden Flashes according to Vegas Insider. Kickoff time for Saturday’s game at Sanford Stadium is set for 12:00 p.m. ET, streaming on SEC Network+.