With two more weeks of fall practice before game week preparations get underway for Oregon, it appears we’re closer to having an answer as to who will line up opposite Kelee Ringo at cornerback.
Kamari Lassiter and Nyland Green both appear to be making a move.
Of the two second-year players, Lassiter appears to have the edge, but to the delight of head coach Kirby Smart, Green is also making an impression after an up-and-down freshman campaign.
“Both of those kids are smart, savvy, tough, and physical. I love the way they tackle and play,” Smart said. “I thought Nyland had some good physical tackles for him. Kamari is one of the best tacklers on the team, so it’s a lot more about covering at that position than tackling.”
Seeing Lassiter excel comes as no particular surprise.
A native of Savannah, Lassiter was the most impressive of Georgia’s freshmen cornerbacks last year, playing in all 15 games, and making 11 tackles, along with an interception against Vanderbilt.
During Saturday’s scrimmage, Lassiter apparently enjoyed a solid afternoon.
“Kamari did some nice things,” Smart said. “He had a really good day, the other day, where he made a play on a fade ball on A.D. (Mitchell). Kamari is fighting his tail off for that spot and helping us in some special teams spots.”
Ditto for Green. The former five-star only played in three games for the Bulldogs as he battled through some injuries, but now that he’s healthy, is starting to play to the potential most saw for him when he signed with Georgia a season ago.
"I’m very pleased with the growth of those guys. We won’t get through the year with just those three (Green, Lassiter, and Ringo) though. We are going to have to have four and five corners to survive the season.”
Sophomore Javon Bullard, along with freshmen Jaheim Singletary, Julian Humphrey, Marcus Washington Jr., and Daylen Everette are other young corners to keep an eye on.
“Our freshmen DBs are going to help us. All of those guys have shown a sign of, ‘Man, he's going to be okay. He's going to be able to help us. He's going to be a good player.’ Eric Stokes didn’t do a lot his freshman year, but I think it's just one of those things that those guys are going to grow into those positions.”