Malaki Starks has more on his plate this fall.

The junior has been a fixture at safety from pretty much his first day on Georgia's campus. But this fall, Starks has also seen game reps at the star position in the Bulldog secondary, rotating with Joenel Aguero.

"I don't know that in the past he could do it as comfortably as he's doing it now," Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said. "Joenel I think is doing a great job. But you’ve got to have two stars to play in every game, and we feel like he gives us the best chance to pop in there and play star. He's such a good man-to-man cover guy. And I mean, he's good to play safety, but he's good to move in at star because he gives us a different matchup guy. So he's handled it mentally very easily and it's given us a little more flexibility there.”

Starks still plays the majority of his snaps at safety with Aguero at star. But he also rotates down to the star position during some series, being replaced at safety by freshman KJ Bolden.

Judging by Pro Football Focus numbers, it's estimated that Starks has played 32 percent of his snaps at star this season.

Knowledge of the defense is a huge factor in Starks' ability to move between positions. But he said he has also worked on not thinking too much when he moves down to star.

"I think the biggest thing is just kind of, when I'm at star, I've just got to think about star," Starks said. "Sometimes I'll catch myself thinking about safety and that'll mess me up while I'm at star because when I'm at star, I might have the same job as I do at safety, just in a different area. So just kind of really thinking about where I'm at, being where my feet are really. I think that's the biggest challenge."

Starks believes he has progressed in that area. Recently, he said the coaches threw him in at star on a third down and he didn't even think about it.

Instead, he just relied on his instincts and natural ability, something offensive players like tight end Lawson Luckie see every day.

"I think he's one of the best cover guys in the nation, and so going against him every single day is just an opportunity to get better," Luckie said. "Me and Malaki go against each other every day. We're always talking, and it's just fun to go against. He's a guy who always brings the energy, and he's always the smile on his face, so it's just fun going against him all the time."

The Bulldogs will likely continue to use Starks at both safety and star as they look to get the best secondary combinations on the field. With each rep he gets, the All-American is feeling more and more at home.

"I think, you know, it's kind of become a second nature for me," Starks said.