Georgia secondary getting used to Javon Bullard at safety
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia’s secondary is going to look this season. That’s not only because the Bulldogs lose staples of their backend Christopher Smith and Kelee Ringo, but also because of a position change for defensive back Javon Bullard. Making the move from STAR to safety, Kirby Smart and company hope to replace the All-American Smith with somebody who plays a little bit like him.
“I think that more has been made of that than it is,” Smart said about Bullard’s so-called position change. “He played that position in high school, that’s what we recruited him as. The first tape I remember watching, he was playing the deep part of the field, I call it. The spatial awareness is important back there, the angles are critical, the decision-making is different than at nickel, but when he came here, he hadn’t played nickel. So, the questions were more about nickel or STAR than they were about safety.”
“He’s gotten more reps, I think it was more about learning our terminology, and he’s picked that up,” Smart continued. “Coach Muschamp has done a great job giving him confidence, allowing him to grow, make plays and he continues to get better. In a lot of ways, he reminds me of Chris [Smith] in terms of stature. He plays bigger than he probably is, he’s very intelligent and makes a lot of plays on the ball.”
Making plays on the ball is just about all Bullard did to end last season. In the first half of the National Championship Game against TCU, the sophomore STAR came up with a trio of turnovers (two interceptions, one recovered fumble). He exited the game before the break and spent the second half on the sideline after suffering a shoulder injury, still winning Defensive MVP – his second straight game taking that award home.
In total, Bullard played in 14 games and started 10 last season, finishing fifth on the team in tackles with 46 stops. That included 3.5 sacks and 7.0 tackles for loss.
Top 10
- 1
Phil Longo Fired
Wisconsin announces firing of OC
- 2
Iowa QB out
Ankle injury sidelines Brendan Sullivan
- 3
Peter Boulware chimes in
FSU legend offers Norvell advice
- 4
Paul Finebaum
'Kirby Smart was different'
- 5
AP Poll Shakeup
New Top 25 shows big fallout from Saturday
Bullard’s move to safety has a couple of beneficiaries. Sophomore Malaki Starks who started at the spot next to Chris Smith now gets a veteran Bullard beside him. Then there’s Tykee Smith who split time with Bullard at STAR that’s going to see a lot more playing time as a result.
“Having a guy like him back there with me, him being a vet, it’s good. It gives me confidence,” Starks said. “We’ve been clicking, the whole defense has been clicking and he was one of my mentors when I first got here. Awesome guy, great player, I’m just very honored to be back there with him and all of the other players.”
“I think we’re very similar players,” Smith added on him and Bullard. “I think we kind of helped each other all of last season, basically seeing what we get to go out there and probably seeing things a little different. So taking what each other sees when we’re out there and then just trying to help each other be the best player we can be when we’re out there. So I’m real excited for the way he came on at the end of the season. He played big and was a big part of the success we had at the end of the year.”
Georgia gets its season underway on Saturday ranked No. 1 in the country and taking on the UT-Martin Skyhawks. Kickoff time is set for 6:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+ and SEC Network+.
