Kamari Lassiter sees room for improvement after return to action

ATHENS, Ga. — Kamari Lassiter spent the majority of fall camp in a black non-contact jersey, limiting his participation in practice as he made his way back from a foot sprain. On Saturday in the season-opener, Lassiter got to let loose and play the game the way he wanted to.

“Fall camp was tough for me just because I was more so away from the game I love. I’ve never really had to miss out on a lot of time and not being out there, just watching other guys battle through fall camp, fight hard, go through those practices was more challenging than the injury to me,” Lassiter said. “For me personally, when it comes to hitting and tackling, that’s something that I itch to do. Coming out of that black jersey, it was like a burden let off me. Finally being able to let loose and play football the way I’ve always played.”

Taking the field for the first play alongside the team’s other starters, everything was normal for Lassiter. The only thing that had changed for him from this time last year when he made his first career start was the 15 games of experience he could rely on.

Opposite of Lassiter, the same can’t be said. Georgia had an ongoing competition throughout camp for the starting spot there – one that Daylen Everette claimed for Week One. Everette wasn’t the only one that played though. Julian Humphrey rotated in with the first team at times. AJ Harris was a fixture in the second half, and others including Nyland Green and Daniel Harris got reps late.

“They probably grow up more in practice because they get challenged a lot more in practice. We don’t put any greater value on the game reps that they took the other day than we do the practice reps that they took today. They get to go up against high quality people,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said about the cornerbacks on Tuesday. “I thought they held the point, played a little more physical out there than I expected in regard to AJ, Julian and Nyland. Daylen has played quite a bit because last year he got to play a lot in some of the games. Then Kamari has played a good bit. Nothing really stood out, and I thought those guys played with good confidence.”

“I think those guys played pretty well,” added Lassiter. “We came and played fast and physical. We were technically sound. We have a lot of things to clean up but I think that we played well to that. We have a lot of things to build off of.”

Georgia will need to continue to get better at the position with some of the tough tests the Bulldogs will face this season when it comes to wide receivers. This week, Ball State’s Ty Robinson comes in averaging 18.0 yards a catch, hauling in five passes for 90 yards and a touchdown in the opener. Next week it’s a South Carolina Gamecock duo of All-SEC selection Antwane Wells and Xavier Legette, who put up 178 yards on nine receptions last Saturday, coming to town. Further down the line are matchups with the likes of Barion Brown and Dane Key (Kentucky), Ricky Pearsall (Florida), Luther Burden (Missouri), Tre Harris and Jordan Watkins (Ole Miss) and the several talented threats Tennessee can throw your way, among others.

Of course, Georgia expects to see that necessary improvement as the season goes along. While the secondary looked strong on Saturday, Lassiter said that communication could be improved, and should be as they all get more comfortable. The Bulldogs, after all, are breaking in a new starter at safety next to Malaki Starks with Javon Bullard moving back from STAR and have others including Tykee Smith playing a bigger role than ever before.

Furthermore, the youngsters will continue to get better with the more practice and opportunities they get to play in games. As a veteran, Lassiter said he had to keep in mind how nervous he was in his first game and did his best to help calm the nerves for the freshmen, reminding them that it’s just football.

Kickoff time for Saturday’s game against Ball State is set for 12:00 p.m. ET, airing on SEC Network.