Richard LeCounte doesn’t deny that head coach Kirby Smart can be hard on him from time to time. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I definitely hear that. Just hearing his feedback is something I have to take. I love it. If I couldn’t take it, I wouldn’t be here,” LeCounte said after practice Monday. “For everybody at this level, it’s a job, and me doing my job is something the team needs for the end result, to make the big picture. I’m just a small piece of this big puzzle, and Coach Smart taking time out for me, that’s a sign he really cares.”

Smart has typically been very matter of fact when asked about the sophomore safety, and hasn't been shy about offering some pointed comments about LeCounte when quizzed by Bulldog beat writers.

That was certainly evident after Saturday’s scrimmage, when Smart suggested to Georgia beat writers that there was plenty the sophomore LeCounte still needed to learn.

"It's really just about the process with Richard—did you look at the right thing and did you do it right? If you do that, you'll be successful. Not when he thinks about, 'Did I get an interception? Did I get a tackle?'” Smart said.

“That's not the important thing at safety. The important thing is, did you look at the right thing, and did you do the right thing? Because if you don’t, it can cost you dearly. I've repeated to him over and over that it's not his job to make those plays, it's his job to do his job."

LeCounte doesn’t disagree.

“It’s definitely been a learning experience, something I’ve definitely looked forward to getting: hard coaching; coming here to develop my mind and my body,” he said. “Hearing feedback from Coach Smart—positive or negative—is always something I can learn from."

Does public criticism by his coach bother him? "I can’t sit there and be mad about anything. I haven’t read or heard much about it, but what I did see, it’s coaching. I probably would be mad if he wasn’t coaching me. It’s a learning experience. I love it.”

This wasn’t the first time Smart appeared to be publicly challenging LeCounte.

Prior to G-Day, Smart questioned LeCounte’s desire to put in the entire body of work it took, wondering aloud if he was willing to meet the demands of the position.

“It’s tough love, definitely,” LeCounte said. “But tough love or not, it’s coaching. It’s something I have to be open to. All my teammates get that same type of love from Coach Smart. That’s something that’s going to happen.”

LeCounte, who came to Georgia with the reputation of being a risk taker on the field, doesn’t feel it’s that way anymore—a gambler, perhaps, just hopefully not to a point where it hurts the team.

“I see myself gambling at times. That is something I have to work on, and all a part of the learning process,” LeCounte said. “It’s something I have to focus on every day, slowing my pace down in practice, getting mental reps standing on the sidelines, watching others go. That’s just something that keeps me going, and every day, finding one thing that can help the team in the big picture.”

Fortunately, lessons appear to have been learned.

Defensive coordinator Mel Tucker certainly believes so. According to Tucker, LeCounte made a concerted effort over the summer not only to improve his play, but to become the smarter player like his head coach wants him to be.

“Richard has a much better grasp of the defensive scheme. At this point, it’s about the details. Really, the devil is in the details in our defense,” Tucker added. “He’s been more disciplined at what we’ve asked him to do. He asks really good questions. He spent a lot of time in the off season studying, and I’ve seen his overall maturity level improve. We’ll see how far he goes in camp, but I think the arrow is up with him.”

The Bulldogs are depending upon that trend continuing.

If the season were to start today, it’s expected he would be starting at safety opposite JR Reed. It's for good reason that Smart keeps riding LeCounte to step up his game.

“It’s all part of the process,” he said. “That’s basically what I’ve been going through since the ninth grade. So, it hasn’t been a shock or anything like that for me. Getting hard coaching is something I was used to back at home. I love it.”