Georgia's 2022 defensive recruiting class ranks as one of the best in school history.

The Bulldogs signed 16 defensive prospects in that cycle. Five of those recruits came in with five-star status. The eight highest-rated prospects in the class overall were all on the defensive side of the ball.

Now those highly-touted prospects going through their first fall practices in Athens. Co-defensive coordinators Will Muschamp and Glenn Schumann spoke with the media on Tuesday and gave their early impressions of the freshman class.

The strength of the class rests in the secondary.

The Bulldogs signed a pair of five-star corners in Jaheim Singletary and Julian Humphrey. Both arrived in Athens this summer and are working hard to earn playing time in the secondary.

"When you look at (Jaheim) Singletary, he’s long. He’s competitive. He loves football. He has good ball skills," Schumann said. "Julio (Julian Humphrey) is extremely fast, has great size. Another guy that is willing in terms of his toughness, which is required at that position. They are both working to become better at corner. For them, they got here this summer and we put them to work. They are really making good progress."

Schumann also mentioned Daylen Everette, who went through spring practice with the team, as a player that is competing for the starting corner spot opposition Kelee Ringo.

The veterans are also playing a vital role in getting the freshmen up to speed. Muschamp said that at times, input from coaches can begin falling on deaf ears to players. That's where super seniors such as Christopher Smith and William Poole are beneficial.

"Billy Poole grabs Marcus Washington and tries explain something to Marcus, and immediately Chris is like, ‘Coach, I got it,'" Muschamp said. "When you see those sorts of things, again, they get tired of Coach Muschamp sometimes, but they’ll listen to a peer, and that’s really, really important to have as you continue to work your way into the program and the culture that you create."

Muschamp has been working closely with three other freshmen defensive backs. Malaki Starks, Ja'Corey Thomas, and Washington have all been getting reps at safety and star.

"All three of those guys are good young players," Muschamp said. "Obviously, Malaki and Ja'Corey benefitted from going through the spring, so they have a little bit better of an understanding of practice organization, schematic things we do, and that will come with Marcus. Both of them are going to be really good players—when that happens, I don’t know. We’re only in practice five of training camp, so it’s very early to tell anything, but I’m really excited about both players."

Marvin Jones Jr. and Mykel Williams also earned praise from Muschamp. While he said he'll know more once the team begins padded practices on Tuesday, he said both have shown twitch and good pass-rushing ability early in camp.

All of these players are battling for playing time through fall camp. Talent versus experience is a prevailing theme throughout the Georgia defense. The coaches will need to take that into account as they set rotations and packages for the season opener against Oregon.

When asked about that thought process, Schumann echoed a favorite phrase of head coach Kirby Smart: "If you're good enough, you're old enough."

"Camp is about figuring out who our best players are, and that doesn’t have a birthdate on it," Schumann said. "When you look at it, you identify a guy who can help you in terms of talent, no matter how old he is, then let’s figure out how we can coach that guy to help us, create a role for him as a guy who plays a lot or in a certain package. I think once you identify who those guys are, you make sure you can get him at that line in terms of ability on the field to help us.”