Javon Bullard embracing position change, willing to do whatever for the team

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia’s roster doesn’t designate between safeties, cornerbacks and STARs. Instead, all players at those positions are listed simply as “defensive backs.” Never has there been a better example of why that is than Javon Bullard.

Listed as a corner coming out of high school before settling in at STAR early in his career at Georgia, Bullard now seems to have made the move to safety. With the Bulldogs losing All-American Christopher Smith at the position and the coaching staff feeling more confident in its experience at nickelback, it’s a move that was made with the goal of getting Georgia’s best 11 players on the field at one time. Bullard, according to head coach Kirby Smart, is safely in that mix.

“You don’t always weigh it based on what Bullard’s best position for the team is. It’s who can play the positions around him,” Smart said last week as Georgia opened fall camp.

“We’re weighing that option,” he said about moving Bullard to safety. “We feel like he’s a very experienced STAR. He spent the majority of his development as a football player at STAR since being here. So we have really tried to push the safety issue in order to create more depth there and then figure out who’s the best around him. I think Javon is one of our best 11 football players, but who is No. 10 and 11 and where do they fit, and all that should play out in camp.”

Ask Bullard about the potential position change, and it’s one that he’s embraced.

“It’s really all on the plans of the coaching staff. I play whatever position they put me at. That’s my love for the game, and I embrace it,” Bullard said. “We pride ourselves on versatility. We come in here, and you don’t just think you’re playing one position. The more versatile you are, the more value you’re adding to yourself. I take pride in that, learning more positions. I would try to learn linebacker if I could. Really just embracing that and taking on that role, it’s not about you. It’s about the team, so whatever the team needs at that moment, at that game, I feel free to step in and fit wherever I see.”

Bullard spent the spring at safety. He started there for the first-team defense on G-Day next to Freshman All-American Malaki Starks. Meanwhile, senior Tykee Smith was at STAR. After finishing fifth on the team in tackles last year with 46 stops – earning Defensive MVP in both of Georgia’s College Football Playoff contests – Bullard says he’s starting to get the hang of it at safety.

“I feel like I’ve come pretty far, actually. Like I said, I’m under great leadership with Coach Smart and Coach Muschamp. Those guys do a great job,” Bullard said. “We call them nuggets, across the field, really just not cheat the system but playing within the system to the best of your ability. Those guys do a great job of helping me learn, come in day-in, day-out, learning. Learn more about football, more about the game and how to make plays that are supposed to be made. And how to make plays that are really, honestly, not supposed to be made. Really just be a high-caliber at that position. It’s still defensive back, it’s not like I moved to d-linemen or anything like that. I still feel comfortable.”

Bullard, selected as a First-Team All-SEC player in the preseason by the media and already generating some buzz for next year’s NFL Draft, said his favorite player is former LSU safety and NFL All-Pro Tyrann Mathieu. He also likes watching Budda Baker and Ed Reed. In doing so, he knows what outstanding play at the position looks like technically – the angles, speed, etc. He also can see the love for the game that it takes to excel too.

“I’m not going to lie, if you don’t love football, you really can’t be here. And you can’t really be around me,” Bullard said. “I take a lot of pride in this game. This game has done a lot for me and I hope to God and pray that it continues to do a lot for me. I just take a lot of pride in this game. I love this game. It means a lot to me. Of course, I had leaders that came through here, guys like Chris Smith, Lewis Cine. Those are guys I looked up to for a while. Just trying to follow in those guys’ footsteps and try and build a great foundation and legacy for myself as well.”