Malaki Starks turning freshman dream into reality at Georgia

ATLANTA — Malaki Starks has made an impact from the get go of his freshman year at Georgia. The five-star prospect arrived in Athens from just down the road in Jefferson this past spring and was thrown into the fire. He caught his fair share of heat from coaches who wanted to see him perform, and Starks has done just that. Taking everything in stride and learning along the way, he’s been able to have one of the most productive seasons from a Georgia freshman defender in recent memory and has himself set up for an outstanding career to follow.

Starks said that playing at Georgia has been a dream come true. Playing as well as he has added another layer to that fantasy come to life. Before fall camp he couldn’t help but think about being out on the field and making plays for the Bulldogs in his first season, and it didn’t take him long to do just that with an acrobatic interception on the second drive of the game.

“It’s something I had dreamed about. I don’t think anybody knows that they’re going to do it until they do it, but it’s been a great experience and I’m thankful for it,” Starks said on Thursday at Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Media Day. “”Before fall camp started, I just wanted to be on the field so bad. So I saw myself running around making plays with my teammates and having fun and it came true … I saw myself going out there and making plays and talking and communicating with my teammates and running around having fun. It’s just a dream come true.”

Heck of an interception by On3 Consensus 5-star safety Malaki Starks in his college debut. Was an @On3sports Preseason True Freshman All-American after receiving rave reviews in fall camp https://t.co/jcNUDjLBhE pic.twitter.com/5Xh6XQAlUB

— Charles Power (@CharlesPower) September 3, 2022

Starks knew he hadn’t arrived after one SportsCenter top-10 play though. There were still plenty of moments where the freshman was wide-eyed and taking it all in. Lucky for him though, with the way Kirby Smart sets up practice, several have come without the bright lights on.

“I’d definitely say the practices are harder than the games, and that’s just because Coach Smart wants to make sure that when we get to the games it slower,” Starks said. “Honestly, I think that when I get in the game it moves slower than practice and I don’t feel any stress. I feel like I can go out there, be myself and do what I’m supposed to do.”

One of the reasons why things have been more difficult for Starks in practice than in games; he works with Will Muschamp. The co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach knows what is expected of a Georgia safety like Starks. He played the position himself. And while Muschamp wasn’t making the plays Starks seems to make look easy, he was a pretty good player himself. In his eyes though, Starks is different.

“It’s been tremendous. Take Day 1 of spring. There was a lot of first for him. Think about it, at Jefferson he was an option quarterback, he played defensive back – that’s 50-50. So, a lot of the things we talk about like leveraging the ball, back-peddling, leveraging the receiver, body control … there were a lot of first involved. That was not in his DNA,” Muschamp said, speaking about Starks’ growth since coming to Georgia. “Now, his DNA is really good, so he overcomes coaching a good bit, too (joking). But he’s a really talented guy who has tremendous ball skills down the field, as good offensive players do. He can finish on the ball like he did against Oregon. He’s a guy who exceptionally coachable and extremely humble, and it’s really important to him.”

“He takes coaching very well. He understands it; he understands what he has to do to get better,” Muschamp continued. “He improved from Day 1 in the spring and coming out of the summer was huge for him. I told him we’ve got to make tremendous strides this summer; and I said a lot of this has got to be on you by NCAA rules because I can’t be with you as much as I need to be. He understood that and made tremendous strides in mini camp and he’s grown each week. He’s had some tremendous situations, and he’s had some tough moments, a couple of tough plays. But he’s grown from them all and that’s all you can ask for.”

Starks credits the growth Muschamp speaks about to Muschamp. According to the freshman, he wouldn’t be where he is today without the help of his veteran coach.

“Huge, he’s one of the smartest minds that I’ve been around,” Starks said. “He knows football better than anybody else I know, and he stays on me every day. He’s trying to improve me every single day. I wouldn’t be here without him.” 

Headed into the College Football Playoffs, Starks is one tackle shy of the team-high with a total of 63 stops from his safety position in the regular season and SEC Championship. He believes he’s improved since getting to Georgia but is still getting comfortable too, a scary thought if you are a team set to play Georgia in the games and years to come during his career.

“Noticing certain things on the field because when you’re in high school, things are a little slower and when you get to college things move a lot faster and you have to learn a lot more,” Starks said. “So I’d say recognizing certain things and stuff like that that I didn’t know before … I’m still trying to get fully comfortable. It’s a complicated system so I’m learning each and every day, trying to improve on my stuff. I’m still trying to get even more comfortable.”

Georgia takes on Ohio State in the College Football Playoff semifinals on Saturday. Kickoff time is set for 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.