Smoke Bouie fitting right in with very versatile Georgia secondary
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia defensive back Deyon Bouie – better known as Smoke to those close to him – is no stranger to the Peach State and the Classic City. A native of Bainbridge, Ga. (same hometown of Georgia head coach Kirby Smart), Bouie was once committed to Georgia before flipping to Texas A&M in the Class of 2022. After just one season in College Station, Bouie is back in his neck of the woods and getting underway with his work to contribute to Georgia’s success this spring.
“Smoke is one of those guys that’s just hungry, you know, coming in from a different school,” Georgia cornerback Kamari Lassiter said this spring. It’s kind of tough coming into a different environment because you don’t really know anybody. He’s gelled pretty well with us. He’s one of those guys that he just wants to get better every day.”
Bouie was the No. 84 overall player in the Class of 2022 and No. 11 cornerback. According to Pro Football Focus, he played 182 snaps during the season with 102 coming at a wide cornerback position while others occurred in the slot or at safety, tallying four tackles (three solo) and a pass breakup. That kind of position versatility was attractive to Georgia when he entered the transfer portal, and it’s certainly attractive now that he’s in Athens with the Bulldogs trying to replace a pair of defensive backs.
“Like I said, we all kind of move around, so there’s really no designated spot where he’s really at,” Javon Bullard, who started last season at STAR but has gotten some work at safety this spring, said. “He’s played at the STAR position, he’s played in the corner position, so he’s going to continue to learn. The more he learns, the more positions he’ll play.”
“Very, very handsy player,” he continued. “I love watching him play. He gets hands on receivers, very physical at the point of attack. Very quick and agile. He moves well. I think he’s going to make a great fit for our team.”
Bouie is among four newcomers in the secondary this spring alongside cornerback AJ Harris, Justyn Rhett who’s worked with the safeties when media has been able to see practice and Joenel Aguero, a top 50 overall player and No. 3 safety in the Class of 2023 according to the On3 Industry Ranking. Other names to watch as Georgia replaces Kelee Ringo and Christopher Smith include cornerbacks Daylen Everette, Nyland Green and Julian Humphrey as well as STARs/safeties Tykee Smith, David Daniel-Sisavanh and JaCorey Thomas.
Bouie and the Bulldogs are almost at the halfway point of spring practice with the seventh session occurring on Tuesday. They’ll go again on Thursday before Georgia holds its first of three spring scrimmages on Saturday with everything wrapping up on April 15th with the G-Day spring game.
