Kamari Lassiter feeling confident in himself coming out of cornerback competition
Georgia sophomore cornerback Kamari Lassiter has been at the center of several conversations this offseason, and he knows it. As Lassiter spoke to the media on Wednesday, you could sense that. Competing for a starting spot in the Georgia secondary, Lassiter has had to be on his A-game every day. And less than 10 days out from the season-opener, it seems that the hard work has paid off.
“This camp has been pretty good for us as a team and myself,” Lassiter said. “We’ve all been working hard to get better and trying to get more connected each day; we spend a lot of time together in camp. I’d say that camp has been a lot of great progress to get to where we are now, but we still got a long way to go.”
“The competition level is at an all-time high,” he added. “You know, it’s just like every other position. We compete with each other, we compete with ourselves, we want to make each other better, and ultimately make the team better.”
Lassiter has received praise ever since he stepped foot on campus. Even as a true freshman that wasn’t in the primary rotation last season, Lassiter earned the praise of Georgia head coach Kirby Smart. Intentional, smart, quick learner and “a surprise highlight of camp” were all words that Smart used in speaking about Lassiter. As a result, he earned himself playing time in all 15 games, primarily on special teams, finishing with 11 tackles and one interception. His season high came in the game that he saw the most action in against Charleston Southern, making four tackles with a pass breakup in the win over the Buccaneers.
“I wasn’t really looking for praise or anything,” Lassiter said. “I was just playing the game that I love and just trying to give my best effort to help the team in whatever way I could.”
With the departure of Derion Kendrick to the NFL, as well as a couple of players to the transfer portal like Ameer Speed, Jalen Kimber and Lovasea Carroll, the starting spot opposite of Kelee Ringo came open this spring. Lassiter competed with former five-star Nyland Green, a classmate of his in the 2021 signing class, during the spring – along with a slew of talented freshmen that have arrived in Athens either this spring or summer – and has since emerged as the leader. According to Lassiter though, he would have taken the preparation for the season seriously whether or not a starting spot was up for grabs.
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“It (the competition) fueled me,” Lassiter said. “But even if there wasn’t a starting spot, I’d still be out there working the same way. I love the game and it means a lot to me.”
“DK was a really good player. He taught us a lot. With Kelee there, we know the recipe,” he continued. “We’ve just got to go out there and compete with each other, learn from Coach Fran (Brown), Coach Smart, Coach Muschamp, everybody else and just do it.”
After playing a backseat role last season, Lassiter now finds himself in a prime position to get his first career start next Saturday when Georgia takes on Oregon. Even with all the nerves that can come with that big moment in a player’s career, he’s confident in his ability and preparation up to this point.
“I’ll be very confident, knowing that I’ve been preparing,” Lassiter said. “My teammates believe in me. My coaches believe in me. If my name gets called to go out there, I’ll be ready.”
