Malaki Starks still the face of Georgia secondary entering important offseason

Caleb Downs‘ addition would’ve been nice, and it would’ve given Georgia one of the best safeties in the county, but that’s something the Bulldogs already had. Malaki Starks was nearly a unanimous All-American in 2023, and returning for his third season as a starter in 2024, he remains the face of the UGA secondary.

Starks is a special player. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart has seen that on display for several years now. He was a five-star and the nation’s No. 10 overall player in the Bulldogs’ backyard at Jefferson High School. Then, upon arrival in Athens, he made an immediate impact – starting 14 of 15 games as a freshman and finishing third on the team in tackles.

Starks didn’t slow down in 2023 either. As a sophomore, he helped man the back end of a top-5 defense both for yards and points allowed per game and a top-10 unit against the pass.

“He’s a really good athlete. He’s got the ability to play man-to-man. He could probably play corner if we asked him to because he’s a track kid in high school that had great track numbers,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said about Starks ahead of the Orange Bowl. “Great ball skills, but he also has size, so we wanted to maintain that 200 pounds and continue to fill weak-side B-gap. He does a good job of that. He’s a really good football player.”

“He’s gotten tougher and more physical with his tackling. He’s much more knowledgeable and confident in his abilities. He understands the check system. He gives us the luxury of being able to do extra things that maybe people can’t do,” Smart added on a separate occasion. “A lot of safeties can’t really tackle well and play man. He gives us the ability to do both those things. He’s done nothing but get better and lead since getting here.”

Smart isn’t the only one that can see the caliber of player Starks is. Awards voters did too. In two years, he’s been a finalist for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award (2022), the Bronko Nagurksi Award (2023) and Jim Thorpe Award (2023). Furthermore, he was included on all five of the major All-American teams including four first-team nods.

If you listen to Starks’ coaches though, they’ll tell you how impressive of an individual he is off the field too. It’s part of what made him prepared to play a big role for the Bulldogs from the moment he stepped foot on Georgia’s campus.

“He’s a really good person,” Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann said. “He prepares the right way, from the moment he’s been here. We talk about the maturity level of the (freshman) linebackers (CJ Allen and Raylen Wilson). He had a maturity level to himself as a defensive player and a human being from the moment he got here. He’s incredibly humble. When you have humility, and you’re grateful for the opportunity, you constantly approach each day with the right level of enthusiasm. I think that’s why he’s gotten to the point he has. That’s why he’s going to continue to improve. He doesn’t have an ego. He just wants to do what’s best for his team and his teammates. That’s what he’s done.”

“I’m very grateful, very blessed to be in a position to have those opportunities and be mentioned with those guys. I try not to pay too much attention to it,” Starks said as he had an opportunity to speak for himself. “As far as my game, I want to take it to the next level. Anything and everything, whether that be vision, tackling, playing the ball, whatever the case may be, I want to take it to the next level.”

The improvement entering year three comes in all sorts of areas. He likes to break down his film with his Georgia coaches – Will Muschamp for his first two years and soon to be Travaris Robinson in 2024 – and find ways to get better.

“It’s mostly the plays that don’t look like that (All-American level). If you never learn from the things you don’t do well, you’ll never be able to keep growing,” Starks said. “I think our coaching staff, they do a great job with that. They never want you to settle. They always want you to keep growing. Very grateful to be with them because without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

This offseason, Smart is hopeful that Starks can continue to grow physically- adding strength and weight to his 6-foot-1, 205-pound frame. Starks, while saying that there’s room for improvement in all areas, is focusing on the mental side as he wants to grow his understanding and knowledge of the game – something he is is also hoping he can pass on to others in the room like five-star freshman KJ Bolden as he becomes more vocal.

“I’ve got to be more vocal. I tend to lead by example more. I speak up when I have to, but I definitely think coming into that third year, being more vocal, being a leader, being one of the older guys – which is crazy because I just got here – but being one of the older guys in the room and being able to speak up, that’s important.”