Breakout Candidate: Tykee Smith's Time at Georgia has Arrived

Defensive back Tykee Smith's career at Georgia has been riddled with injury, but as we head into the 2023 season, it looks like he could be in store for a massive season.

Georgia doesn't often dip their hand into the transfer portal, especially if you compare their action in the portal to some of the other college football programs across the country. But when they do, they typically target players that can help elevate the roster, and that's exactly what they did when they snagged Tykee Smith back in 2021. 

Prior to coming to Georgia, Smith was considered a top player at his position in all of college football. In 2020, he was a semi-finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, an All-American first-team selection, and was first-team All-Big 12. He also helped West Virginia's secondary finish the season as the best-passing defense in the entire country. So when Georgia saw Smith had entered his name into the portal, they jumped all over it. 

Considering the type of season Smith was coming off of with West Virginia, it was assumed that he would be a major contributor to Georgia's defense immediately. And he probably would have been if it weren't for a preseason knee injury that kept him sidelined for five games that year and then later tearing his ACL later that season which wrapped up his 2021 campaign. 

Georgia defensive back Tykee Smith (23) during Georgia’s spring practice session in Athens, Ga., on Tuesday, March 14, 2023. (Tony Walsh/UGAAA)

Since coming to Georgia, Smith has played in a total of 12 games, started in four of those games, and has accumulated 31 total tackles and two sacks. It hasn't exactly been the journey that many expected for Smith when he announced his commitment to Georgia, but Smith will have the opportunity to flip the script in 2023. 

Earlier this offseason, it was reported that Smith was one of several names that were being rotated in at the STAR position. While at West Virginia, Smith played in the back end of the secondary as a safety, but he will be playing closer to the line of scrimmage in 2023 for the Bulldogs it appears. This will allow Smith to play to one of his greatest strengths which is his ability to tackle players to the ground in the open field. In 2020, Smith had the fourth most tackles on the year for the Mountaineers and the second-most tackles for loss with eight. 

Georgia's secondary has the potential to be one of the best defensive units in the country, and Smith will play a large part in that if he can avoid any injuries. Getting to this point in his career has required a lot of patience and determination, but all of that hard work is looking like it will pay off in his third season at Georgia. 

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• Kirby Smart, NIL and Transfer Portal Make it "Excruciating" on Coaches

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