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Look for a quartet of players to compete for playing time at Star

Tyrique McGhee is one of four players Kirby Smart said will work out at Star.
Tyrique McGhee is one of four players Kirby Smart said will work out at Star. (UGA Sports Communications)

The graduation of Maurice Smith combined with the transfer of Rico McGraw will result in a full-blown audition this spring to see who takes over at Star.

According to head coach Kirby Smart, it’s an unsung position that not many people are paying attention to this spring, but perhaps they should.

“In college football, that’s (the Star position) become a starter,” Smart said. “I think (Smith) played 80-percent of our snaps last year. He might be playing more than every defensive lineman on our team, but you need a big, physical body out there because so many plays are on the perimeter.”

“As far as Star, it’s going to be done by committee as well. We think in the secondary, we’ve got a few guys coming back,” Smart said. “We’ve got a couple guys with a lot of experience in the secondary. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re great players but they’ve got a lot of experience. They’ve played for a long time here.”

Two of those potential players include senior Malkom Parrish – who started 12 of 13 games last year at cornerback and sophomore Tyrique McGhee.

Early enrollees DeAngelo Gibbs and Richard LeCounte will also work there.

“We try to teach the same concept and not specific to a position so that guys can interchange,” Smart said. “We’ll do that in the spring.”

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