Georgia Still Looking For Answers in the Secondary After G-Day

New names emerged and position changed were executed as Georgia looked for answers in its secondary this spring.

Georgia entered spring practice with both questions and answers in the secondary. The return of three starters from 2022 - safety Malaki Starks, STAR Javon Bullard, and corner Kamari Lassiter - served as a solid building block for the 2023 secondary, but the loss of multi-year starters Chris Smith and Kelee Ringo infused a degree of uncertainty into the Bulldogs’ backend, making finding answers in the secondary one of Georgia’s primary goals during spring practice. As the Bulldogs searched for answers in the backend of their defense, new names emerged and position changes were executed, yielding a certain level of clarity in the secondary as Georgia continues its march towards the 2023 season.

As had been reported throughout spring practice, junior Javon Bullard - who expertly manned the STAR position for Georgia in 2022 - exclusively repped with the first-team defense at safety alongside returning starter Malaki Starks and junior David Daniel during G-Day. Senior Tykee Smith - a former third-team All-American at West Virginia whose Georgia career has been plagued by injuries - replaced Bullard at STAR with the first-team defense and was backed up by freshman early enrollee Joenel Aguero - an impressive physical specimen with a high upside at the position. ‘

In his G-Day press conference, head coach Kirby Smart elucidated the Georgia coaching staff’s thought process regarding the position change for Bullard, explaining that the move was executed with the idea of creating depth at both safety and STAR.

“Tykee [Smith] and [Javon] Bullard can both play STAR. We felt like we needed to invest reps in Bullard to create safety depth where we’re short and every rep that Bullard wasn’t taking at star, that was allowing him to develop as a safety. And we need more STARs. Plus we wanted to get Joenel [Aguero] as much nickel-STAR work and Marcus [Washington Jr.] as much nickel-STAR work and if we had left Bullard there, it would have eaten up some of those reps. So you’re just trying to create depth on your roster and that’s what we are doing with those guys to try to create some safeties that can play for us.”

With Smart offering that “we’ve got a three-way deal going at safety with David Daniel, Malaki [Starks], and Javon [Bullard]. Those guys rotate and play there,” it might seem that the safety rotation is settled leaving the spring, but he also admitted that the Bulldogs are “hoping to get Dan Jackson back there who’s played there and started there at that position,” intimating that the competition for playing time at safety will continue into fall camp.

Kamari Lassiter, who put together an impressive 2022 season in his first year as a starter at cornerback, has one of the starting corner positions locked down, but, according to Smart, clarity is lacking at the other corner position.

“It’s a work in progress. We kind of rolled guys through there today. I’d be remiss if I said somebody stood out,” Smart said. “I didn’t think anybody really stood out at that position. They’ll continue to battle for it. We’ve got some more guys coming that will continue to battle for it.“

Despite the lack of hard answers at the corner position opposite Kamari Lassiter, the Bulldogs have a talented pool of options to choose from, full of former highly-sought after four and five-star prospects. Nyland Green - a former top-100 prospect who pushed Kamari Lassiter for one of Georgia’s starting cornerback spots last spring and fall - earned the start with the first-team defense at G-Day, but he rotated with sophomores Julian Humphrey and Daylan Everette, both top-100 prospects from Georgia’s 2022 signing class. Freshman early enrollee A.J. Harris spent G-Day playing with the second-team defense, but he also flashed high-level athleticism and impressive ball skills. Harris - a top-50 prospect in the 2023 class - could factor more into corner competition once the Bulldogs enter fall camp in July.

Nyland Green started at cornerback and worked with Georgia's first-team defense at G-Day. Photo / Tony Walsh

G-Day offered a glimpse into the future of Georgia’s secondary heading into the upcoming season, but as Smart was quick to point out, the competition is far from over.

“We’ve been going into the season where we’re trying to make decisions,” Smart said. “There’s about 25 percent of the hay in the barn. There’s 75 percent of practices left. That includes our summer workouts and our fall camp workouts. In that 75 percent, we’ve got to climb the ladder and get some guys that can play winning football at that position.”