Richard LeCounte said he hopes a little added muscle will help cure some of the tackling issues that have plagued him over the past two years.

“That was a point of emphasis, trying to put on 15 pounds,” said LeCounte, who acknowledges the need to be more physical at the point of attack.

“I’ve added 12-15 pounds since January,” he continued. “So, between that, and going back to my fundamentals of basic tackling, and being able to help the team—that’s the main reason why.”

Listed at 185 pounds in Georgia’s spring football media guide, an extra 12-15 pounds would put LeCounte right around 200, weight he said has already made a difference.

“I feel better,” he said. “I feel more confident in my strength and things like that, because I feel like I’ve put in the work to be able to change the problems I had last year.”

However, there’s still work to do.

This spring, LeCounte has been training at both safety positions for the Bulldogs, and so far, finding the right consistency has so far been a bit of a challenge.

“It’s been inconsistent. He still doesn’t know his assignments inside and out. I think he’d be the first to tell you, we’re trying to train him at left and right safety, where he’s only played free safety before,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “That’s for his development and growth. It puts a little more responsibility on him to know the call every time. When you’ve got to play both safeties, it’s a little more taxing on you mentally. He’s responded well to do that. He’s just got to continue to grow.”

LeCounte says he doesn’t mind the tough love.

The Riceboro native smiled, noting that he’s been Smart’s “project” ever since he set foot on campus in Athens.

“I love taking on the challenge. Every day there is something I need to learn, no matter what position that I’m in,” LeCounte said. “If I run out of things to learn, I won’t be a great football player. You should always try to do something better as a person, so I try to take that as a stepping stone, listen to my coaches, listen to the criticism because I know at the end of the day, it’s going to help me and help my team. It’s not hard.”

It certainly beats the alternative, which is being ignored.

“Definitely,” LeCounte said. “When that happens, when somebody ignores you, you’re not in a really good spot, so I see that as coach still giving me a chance and working through it with me, so I try my best to do more and be able to help the team.”