No matter what duties Kirby Smart performs as the head coach of the Georgia football team, working with the Bulldogs’ secondary will always be near and dear to his heart.
Smart is a former star safety for the team, so it should be no surprise why Smart takes a special interest in the group, which has been a big focal point this spring.
“We’ve had a good spring. I don’t know if that’s a credit to the young secondary or whether that’s a lack of depth at receiver,” Smart said after Saturday's scrimmage. “We probably didn’t have our best day today. We gave up some plays on the back end more than we did the last week. Those kids grow. They’re growing.”
The fact is, the Bulldogs were able to bring all their defensive back signees in as early enrollees. That’s helped coaches get a jump on figuring out who’s going to be able to do what come fall.
“It’s very unique that we have depth, and we’re able to move people around and try to figure out the best parts. You’re really trying to get the guys that don’t know what they’re doing to be able to do that,” Smart said. “There are a few guys that have played a lot of snaps here with the likes of (Eric) Stokes, Tyson (Campbell), and J.R. (Reed) and even Richard (LeCounte). Those four guys have played a lot of snaps. We’re trying to get the other guys ready to go play.”
There’s no shortage of numbers.
Along with veterans like Tyrique McGhee, William Poole, Latavious Brini, Ameer Speed, and Mark Webb, second-year players Otis Reese, Christopher Smith, and Divaad Wilson.
Freshmen Lewis Cine, DJ Daniel and Tyrique Stevenson have made early impressions, earning reps with the second team.
“The good thing is that they’re here to get these reps. I think that’s going to pay off for us in the fall. I think we have the potential to have a very fast secondary,” Smart said. “I don’t know how instinctive we are yet. I don’t know how great we are at playing the ball, but we do have some speed back there.”
However, as Smart is quick to point out, there’s a lot of improvement that he wants to see.
That includes from players like LeCounte, who started 13 of Georgia’s 14 games and led the Bulldogs with 74 tackles.
With experience has come added responsibilities for the former Liberty County star. This spring, the Bulldogs have LeCounte playing both safety positions. So far, learning both spots have been a bit of a struggle.
“As far as Richard, it’s been inconsistent. He still doesn’t know his assignments in and out. I think he’d be the first to tell you, we’re trying to train him at left and right safety where he’s only played free safety before,” Smart said. “That’s for his development and growth. It puts a little more responsibility on him to know the call every time. When you’ve got to play both safeties, it’s a little more taxing on you mentally. He’s responded well to do that. He’s just got to continue to grow.”
