Kendrick, Smith fitting right in

Although Kirby Smart said nothing has been promised to secondary transfers Tykee Smith and Derion Kendrick, he could not be more pleased to have the two newcomers on board.

“I’m excited about them. They’re the guys that we’ve integrated into our team really smoothly. I think when you talk about players coming into a program, these guys are different because they were already integrated into a program,” Smart said. “They’ve done this once before. They’ve handled meeting the players and the players have embraced them. They’re working extremely hard.”

That’s certainly good news for the Bulldogs.

Smart will not deny it. If there’s one big question about his 2021 Georgia squad, it’s the secondary, where transfers and players moving onto the NFL left the Bulldogs with a lot of youth and inexperience.

Exactly where the two will fit, however, Smart is not ready to say.

Although Smith figures to play a key role at safety and star with Kendrick taking over one of the two corner roles, Smart is a long way from making that call and is not expected to until some time during fall camp.

Georgia hits the field for the first day of fall practice on Aug. 6.

“Where they’ll fit as pieces of the puzzle? There’s no way to determine that. That would be total speculation. We don’t know that,” Smart said. “Just as we have guys depart, we had guys come in. I think that’s going to be the status quo in finding the right pieces of the puzzle to help your team every year.”

Kendrick is an interesting story.

A member of the 2020 All-ACC team at Clemson, the former five-star was the nation’s No. 30 player as a high school senior and brings a wealth of experience playing in big games.

“D.K. is a kid we knew through recruiting. We recruited him at the University of Georgia, but Coach [Will] Muschamp also recruited him at South Carolina,” Smart said. “Both of us felt like we had a good feel for his family and his dynamic there. He's a young man who comes from a program that's been very successful. He's played and had a lot of experience.”

Bulldog nose guard Jordan Davis says Kendrick has fit in well.

“It's great to have D.K. here,” Davis said. “He's definitely well acclimated to the culture.”

As for Smith, who started each of the past three years at West Virginia, where he played for new Bulldogs defensive back Jahmile Addae, Smart said he initially had no information on the former Mountaineer.

“When he went into the portal, I didn't know who he was. I wasn't out combing the country for defensive backs. I was looking in the portal saying, 'Where can we get some help?' It was a need-based decision more than anything else,” Smart said. “We needed defensive backs. We're under. We had two juniors come out, another guy leave, and then another guy leave. I mean, we were at a deficit.”

After taking a closer look and talking with Addae, the decision was made to pursue Smith.

“It’s probably going to be the way of the world, and when guys go in the portal, you don't always say, 'That guy doesn't meet my criteria.' You say, 'We have a need, and he has ability,’” Smart said. “If those two match up, then it's a great opportunity.”

Smart is just happy it all worked out.

"I think the relationship with Coach Addae, once he went in the portal, helped because Tykee knew coach Addae—but that's not going to get him to start or not start. It's going to be based on how he performs on the field,” Smart said. “When you look at what the portal took away from us and we lost, we were able to gain as well."