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Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning spoke a lot about his defensive backfield during an interview with reporters on Tuesday.
The Bulldogs are set to replace a number of key contributors from a season ago. That means new faces and names for Lanning, who turned down an offer from Texas to return to Georgia.
The two most important at this point are the transfers Derion Kendrick and Tykee Smith.
“I think they’re both very instinctive players,” Lanning said. “In my opinion, these two guys have a great football instinct. They don’t come rough.
“I think by going through some of the player-led things that they were able to do this summer, they really got a head start in coming in and being able to get our system back. We’re definitely excited about these two guys.
Kendrick arrives from Clemson after starting 23 games as a cornerback for the Tigers. Smith arrives with 17 starts to his name. Lanning has confirmed he is working as a star for the Bulldogs.
“They are who they say they are. We kind of knew what we were getting, ”security Lewis Cine said Friday. “They are strong guys and they bring a lot to the table. “
Related: Kirby Smart uses ketchup to explain his thoughts on the transfer portal
Smith’s main competitor in this position appears to be Latavious Brini, who Lanning said worked in star and safety roles as Georgia hopes to coach as many players as possible. Another example of this is Ameer Speed, who Lanning says works in both the cornerback position and the silver position.
Georgia won’t be able to just connect the two transfer defensive backs, however, and hope to fix a secondary that gave more explosive plays last season than Lanning would have liked.
It will take a collective effort, on the part of the coaches and players, to help Georgia’s pass defense.
“We have to be creative,” Lanning said. “And I think every year that we’re here defensively, and Coach Smart has always pushed that, we’re going to keep looking to adapt and change. You bring in coach (Jahmile) Addae from West Virginia, the country’s No.1 pass defense last year.
Addae previously worked with Smith during their time with the Mountaineers. Georgia have also added another well-known defensive spirit to field staff in recent days at Will Muschamp. He replaces Scott Cochran, who is currently absent from the team.
“You obviously added Coach Muschamp to the mix,” Lanning said. “And we’ll always have fresh new ideas on how we can adapt and do things differently.”
Lanning made several references to the young defensive backs Georgia need to develop quickly. The Bulldogs have signed four defensive backs in the 2021 recruiting round, with Nyland Green being the highest ranked of the four.
Related: Live updates from fall football practice in Georgia, injury notes and position battles
There are also two freshmen in red shirts who will be looking for a starting spot at the cornerback position. One would be Jalen Kimber, who worked with the first team defense in Georgia’s spring game.
The other is Kelee Ringo, who signed with Georgia as the highest rated defensive back in the 2020 recruiting cycle. We didn’t have a chance to see how Ringo would perform as a rookie after undergoing surgery. at the labrum before Georgia’s first game.
“Kelee works extremely hard in practice to get into a position to go out and play,” Lanning said. “Kelee is engaged, he’s smart and he’s putting his time into it. We’re going to keep challenging him because I’m excited to see what this guy can do.”
Georgia will face a tough test in the opening week of the season as the Bulldogs face DJ Uiagalelei and the Clemson Tigers. Clemson has a number of talented wide receivers including recently licensed Justyn Ross.
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