It didn’t take but half a quarter for Georgia’s highly touted defense to be put to the test. With Arkansas just inside Georgia territory, Razorbacks’ quarterback Feleipe Franks found Treylon Burks for a 49-yard touchdown following questionable coverage by senior safety Richard LeCounte.

“We lost contain on the touchdown pass and ran a stunt where we tried to get some penetration and get him (Franks) flushed,” said head coach Kirby Smart. “We lost contain and he (Burks) got behind us. I wouldn’t call it a busted coverage as much as it was a good route against poor coverage. Give Arkansas credit. They ran a scissors route and did a good job getting the guy open.”

LeCounte was beaten on the play by allowing Burks to get behind him for the score.

“We just had a little mix-up on the communication end,” said LeCounte. First game out, but we got it handled immediately. It’s something that’s going to happen. When you play a lot of football or anything you do, you’re going to have mistakes. But, the best thing we were able to do was correct our mistakes. We got our communication back together, and this defense back on the road.”

He wasn't kidding. The defense bounced back quickly and LeCounte made up for his mistake by picking off two passes.

LeCounte has now had two consecutive games with multiple interceptions. At last season’s end, he picked off two passes against the Baylor Bears in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Earlier this week, fellow defensive back Eric Stokes, who also had the first interception of his career, spoke to LeCounte’s leadership abilities.

“He’s the head honcho. The top dog,” Stokes said. “He’s the leader. Whatever Richard calls, we’re going to play it. Just seeing his growth, we know we can depend on Richard and lean on him. He’s our guy. It’s just a great thing to see him growing into that leadership role.”

Stokes’ words rang true, as Georgia’s defense allowed nothing but a field goal after that initial touchdown mistake. In fact, LeCounte seemed to have taken the play personally, as his second interception came off a throw made by Burks, the recipient of the throw that burned him earlier.

As to what drove the defense to such stellar play the rest of the game, LeCounte attributed it to mental fortitude.

“I think the turning point was mentally, we were able to keep our head on,” he said. “We came out in the second half with a new mindset of 0-0 and played the ball that we’re known for. I’m so proud of these guys and the way we came out, played football, and stayed together. No matter what, we still fight. That’s something we do here at Georgia.”

Georgia next takes the field against the Auburn Tigers, who defeated Kentucky 29-13. The Tigers looked rather lethal in the air, throwing for over 250 yards and three scores. The Bulldogs secondary will need to put together a similar performance to have a repeat result. LeCounte is confident in his team’s ability to learn from their mistakes ahead of the much-anticipated matchup.

“We have a lot of guys who are dedicated to winning,” he said. “We’re going to come in throughout the week and get great film going. Everything that we need to put the defense in a good place, we’re down for. I’ve never seen a group of guys so relentless and ready to win. That’s a great formula for a great defense and a great team.”

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