Here comes Julian Humphrey

Julian Humphrey is getting his opportunity.

The redshirt freshman has seen an uptick in playing time as of late, rolling in with the first-team defense at corner opposite Kamari Lassiter. According to head coach Kirby Smart, it all started in practice.

"In the last three to four weeks of practices, he’s gotten a tremendous amount. Probably 60 to 70 percent of his reps have come with the ones," Smart said. "He gets a lot of work in there with those guys. He gets better. He gets to go against better competition doing that. I think that’s great for his development. He’s a talented football player; he’s got really good speed, good football instincts, and plays the ball well in the air.”

Humphrey came to Georgia as a five-star corner in the Class of 2022. He appeared in just three games in his freshman season.

The natural abilities are obvious with Humphrey. But it also took some time for him to develop the finer points of the corner position.

"I think Fran's (Fran Brown, defensive backs coach) done a tremendous job with Julian," Smart said back in August. "He's a fast guy that came in kind of raw talent, had not played a lot of the techniques that we're teaching in terms of multiple coverages. He had played a lot of man. He's grown as a player—he's gotten tougher, he's gotten more physical. He still has not arrived, still has moments that make you wonder what he's doing. But then he has some 'wow' moments."

So far in 2023, Humphrey has played in six of Georgia's seven games. He has registered eight total tackles in those contests.

In recent weeks, Humphrey has rotated more and more with Daylen Everette at one corner spot. Lassiter likes what he's seen so far.

"Julian, he really cares about the game," Lassiter said. "He tries to put his best foot forward every rep, just trying to get better every rep, every day. Just learning from the mistakes he made the play before, and the day before, and trying to just capitalize on it and try not to make the same mistakes and just being, you know, the best he can for whatever role he has on our team.”

Confidence is key at corner, especially for players stepping into a bigger role. As the veteran of the group, Lassiter said it's his job to consistently preach a next-play mentality to both Humphrey and Everette.

Both players will continue to play big roles as Georgia heads out of the bye week.

"The two of those guys, I look at them as co-starters and to continue to improve and get better," Smart said.