Malaki Starks' journey to being one of the nation's top freshmen

Malaki Starks turned and leaped backwards.

He snared the ball almost one-handed, rolled over, and sprung off the Mercedes-Benz Stadium turf in celebration. On the first series of his collegiate career, Starks had recorded his first career interception.

Two weeks later, Starks found himself starting in the SEC opener against South Carolina. In the first quarter, Starks matched up with the Gamecock running back on a wheel route. The freshman safety stayed disciplined, covered his man like a glove, and hauled in his second interception.

Those two plays highlight Starks' immense athletic gifts and a football IQ beyond his years. Those two traits made him a highly-touted recruit out of Jefferson High School.

With his physical and mental strengths now under the tutelage of Kirby Smart and Will Muschamp, Starks has emerged as one of the best freshmen in the country while starting at safety for the defending national champions.

"I tell Malaki, what you have is God-given talent," said Starks' mother Tisha Starks. "It can’t be taught what you know. But they can teach you how to work with what you know. There’s a difference. Really, it’s just a God-given gift that he has. The way he’s able to read that field and play any position on the field, it doesn’t matter where it’s at. I can’t explain it to you sometimes."

Tisha Starks said her son grew up "an easy child." He enjoyed fishing and hunting, as well as racing with his older sister Mariah.

Starks also developed a reputation for being especially fond of hugs. He hugged his teachers every day when he got to school and embraced his parents when he got home. His youth football coach, Shane Sorrow, received hugs before and after every practice.

But Starks also grew up in a household that held high standards in all aspects of life.

"You have manners," Tisha Starks said. "I grew up in a house where if you didn’t say yes ma’am and no ma’am, you pretty much got a butt whipping. There were no second chances. You either get it right the first time or you don’t get it right at all. We just instilled that into our kids."

That carried over to the youth football fields of Jefferson, where Sorrow coached Starks from the ages of six to 12.

From day one, Starks flashed his immense talent combined with natural football instincts. Sorrow recalls Starks chasing down opponents across the field with perfect pursuit angles time after time.

Sorrow also utilized Starks on the offensive side of the ball. The first time Sorrow lined up Starks in the backfield, he told him to take the ball and run to the end zone.

Blessed with youthful ignorance, Starks took the ball, ran backwards, behind the sideline, and down the track to the end zone. After catching his breath from laughter, Sorrow called Starks to the sideline and told him to keep it between the white lines on the next play.

"He beats them to the sideline, literally turns left like Forrest Gump and went straight down the sideline," Sorrow said. "I can still see him jumping across the goal line like it was a track meet. He jumped across the line and stuck his chest out. There wasn’t anybody within 20 yards of him."

Plays like that abound through Starks' youth career. His mother said he become famous for his stiff arm at an early age. Starks once made a one-handed catch along the sideline that left a rival coach speechless.

"He said, ‘Coach, I knew we didn’t stand a chance when I saw that number 24 catch that ball one-handed right in front of me. I’ve never in all my days seen a rec ball kid catch the ball like that. How did y’all teach him?’" Sorrow said. "I said, ‘Man, we don’t teach him that stuff.'"

Some things didn't need to be taught. Starks has football in his blood - his mother has uncles who played at Clemson, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State. Malaki also fancied himself to be a bit of a coach - he sometimes brought football books to practice to suggest new plays for the team to run.

Tisha Starks could tell from Day One her son would one day be a success. It sounds crazy, she says, but she felt in her heart that one day she'd be watching her rec ball superstar on TV.

After all, he possessed a fierce drive from an early age. His father Larry said Starks cried when his team lost. That passion for the game helped fuel Starks as he moved up the ranks to Jefferson High School.

Starks spent his high school career as a defensive back and triple-option quarterback for the Jefferson Dragons. Even with the step up in competition, his star potential carried over from his rec days.

"The day before a game, Malaki’s like, ‘Mama, I’m going to score as soon as I get the ball,’" Tisha Starks said. "I was like okay Malaki, go do your thing. He didn’t ever boast or brag, we were just talking. I was like okay, that’s good. As soon as he got that ball, he was playing quarterback and didn’t have to snap it to anybody, he kept it and he took off. I think it was like 70-plus yards all the way down, scored the first drive. That was my favorite play because he just did it."

But Malaki didn't live a typical big man on campus life. He stayed away from the parties and rarely, if ever, got in trouble with his parents.

Starks has always cared deeply for his family. He realized that football provided him the opportunity to give back to his parents and sister, who also has a young son.

"He talks a lot about having us not worry about working and whatnot," Tisha Starks said. "With Malaki, it’s really never about himself. It’s not. He’s been that way since he was little. He’s very deep-rooted with his family. I think that’s what motivates him."

High school afternoons were filled with the same pursuits. Starks came home, took care of his homework, and then either studied his playbook or trained at fields or parks near his home.

That focus helped Starks develop into a four-star and top-100 prospect for the Dragons. Despite being a national recruit, Starks' mother said the home-state Bulldogs always had a bit of an advantage on the competition.

"They did all the right things," Tisha Starks said. "They didn’t go overboard, but they let us know that Malaki was a priority, as a person and as a football player. That made us feel like it was home. It was like going to visit our friends. That’s how they made us feel. If you come in and hang out with the coaches or Kirby or whatnot, everybody was down to Earth. They didn’t pretend to be something they weren’t."

Starks first appeared on Smart's radar when he camped at Georgia as a ninth-grader. That day, Smart said he knew Starks would eventually be a special player.

His pursuit came to an end when Starks committed to Georgia in March of 2021.

"Since I was a kid, I dreamed of playing inside Sanford Stadium, so to be committing to Georgia is such a great feeling,” Starks told Rivals when he committed. “Going through the recruiting process, putting the work in to get here, and to be making my dream of playing for Georgia means so much.”

Starks enrolled early at Georgia, moving onto campus in January. He spent the spring making the adjustments to college football.

For one, there's much more work involved on and off the field. Every time Starks came home for dinner, he had his playbook tucked under his arm.

Once spring practice arrived, Starks was exposed to the tough love of Smart and Muschamp.

"Malaki said, ‘Mom, I never knew there were so many cuss words. I’ve been called some names I didn’t even know existed. But I’m used to it now, so it doesn’t bother me,'" Tisha Starks said.

But matriculating to college also had some positives. Instead of playing both sides of the ball, Starks focused solely on his training as a defensive back. His mother felt that took some weight off his shoulders during his first months at Georgia.

Through it all, Starks pushed onward because of his family and his determination to succeed. He still calls his mother every day and makes the 30-minute drive back home to Jefferson often.

Just as she knew her son would be in the SEC one day, Tisha Starks had a feeling he'd be seeing the field early in his freshman campaign. That buzz started to become more tangible during fall camp.

"He was always the first in runs," senior outside linebacker Nolan Smith said. "He never said anything, he just worked. I say hard work works. He covered some of the best guys on our team during fall camp."

Smart praised Starks for making some plays in the team's second scrimmage of the fall. He also noted that Starks being present for spring practice helped get him up to speed.

"His mental in between his ears gets him lined up, makes the checks, and helps him make decisions. I think his athleticism gives him confidence to be able to make plays," Smart said. "His mental intuition is what gets him on the field. His athleticism is what separates him from maybe the other players.”

Larry Starks had been hearing that kind of praise for his son for years. But it meant a little more coming from someone like Smart.

"I’m glad he got with them because Muschamp and Kirby, they were that safety," Larry Starks said. "The little stuff that he doesn’t know, they can give it to him. It’s more for him. I was kind of glad they took him over and did what they did with him. Their IQ of football and the one he’s got, it’s going to be hard for somebody to throw the ball that way."

Starks waited exactly one possession to make his debut. He saw the field on Georgia's second defensive series in the season opener against Oregon, ending the drive with that falling backward interception.

In the stands, Larry Starks swelled with pride. He always knew the potential his son possessed. So did Starks' mother, whose eyes welled up with tears as the red and black crowd screamed for her son.

"I was crying like a baby. I think it finally hit me at that moment, oh my gosh, my son is playing in the SEC. We’re here," Tisha Starks said. "A lot of people talk about NFL. This is my NFL moment. I’m not looking for that now because this is it for me. This is his dream, college dream, so we’re going to embrace this. We’re going to enjoy this moment and just soak it all in."

When Starks intercepted the pass against South Carolina, Sorrow saw the same instincts he had seen more than a decade earlier.

"Malaki ran the dang route for him," Sorrow said. "He threw the ball right to Malaki. Not being a selfish, I’m going to go to the other side of the field because that’s where I think the ball’s going to go. For Malaki, to stay disciplined now, I think it’s just a testament to his studies and just being smart now in the classroom and being smart on the field."

Starks has started at safety for the Bulldogs in every game since the opener. In seven games this year, he leads the team with four passes broken up and is second with 25 total tackles. There are still the two interceptions to Starks' name, but he's been around the ball so much he could easily have two or three more.

As Smart has made sure to note, Starks is still a work in progress. So were Lewis Cine, Richard LeCounte, and other great Georgia safeties at this point in their career.

"He makes mistakes each and every practice, and he keeps chopping and getting better," Smart said. "He doesn't let one mistake get him done. I think he's come to the realization that you are going to make mistakes. Don't make them twice and learn from them. I'm really proud of his maturation process, and I think he's going to be a leader for us as he grows in confidence.”

But Starks is also playing a bigger role earlier than any other freshman defensive back during Smart's tenure in Athens. With his gifts and football intelligence, along with the tutelage of the Georgia staff, status as a Georgia great is well within his reach.

"He's still learning and he's still going to be a great player," Smith said. "I'm excited to see him his senior year. Him in my spot that I'm in now, he's going to be one thousand percent better than any of us."