Malaki Starks chase-down tackle proves big in Bulldogs' win
Malaki Starks has made lots of big plays so far this season for Georgia. An athletic interception in the opener and a second interception of the season in the Bulldogs’ first road game at South Carolina loom large, but none have had more importance than Starks’ game-saving tackle Saturday night at Missouri.
Just looking at the stat sheet, it’d be easy to overlook the play. After all, it shows up as a 63-yard gain for Missouri. But if it wasn’t for Starks’ tackle, the play would have resulted in a touchdown and a three-score lead for the Tigers. Instead, Georgia’s defense held – albeit with some help from a Missouri false start – and kept it at a two-score game as a result.
“Give Schumann, Muschamp and the defensive staff a lot of credit. They stuck with it, they were aggressive,” Kirby Smart said after the game when asked about the defense’s performance. “… They fought. The biggest play of the night is probably Malaki Starks tackle on the 1-yard line or if it was 1-foot. It allowed us to stop them and we have played good red zone defense.”
“It says he’s got a lot of ability,” Smart continued on Starks’ play. “We didn’t fit the play right. We had two guys bust on the play, just things we don’t do. But for the most part, we bottled up the run. If you take that run out we controlled the run game all night. But that’s a big play for Malaki. I think he tried to strip the ball out.”
Starks finished second on the team in tackles with six stops. He’s second on the team this season with 23 total tackles – one behind leader Jamon Dumas-Johnson – is tied for the team-high in interceptions and leads the way with three pass breakups.
In speaking after the game, Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett shared some insight into how the Bulldogs were approaching the second half. The emphasis was on playing for each other – something that Smart shared as well after the game. And to Bennett, Starks’ play was an example of exactly what they were talking about.
“Malaki, it’s a hustle play,” Bennett said. “Just the little things, for your brother, for the man beside you, for the offense, for the defense, it was for everybody.”
Georgia, now 5-0 on the season, dropped from the top spot in the polls this week despite the win. Now the Bulldogs have an opportunity to come home and get things right in a rivalry came against Auburn. The Tigers are coming off of a 21-17 loss to LSU on Saturday night. Kickoff time at Sanford Stadium for The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
