Georgia defensive back officially enters transfer portal
Georgia officially has an impact player to replace in their secondary. On Monday, safety Latavious Brini officially entered his name in the transfer portal.
Last week, Brini announced he intended to enter the portal. Now, he’s made it official that he’s on his way out of Athens.
“First off, I want to thank everybody who helped me get here,” started Brini in a social media announcement. “The memories I’ve created at UGA will never fade. I want to thank Coach Smart and the entire staff for the opportunity to accomplish my dreams.
“However, I am entering into the transfer portal and completing my last year of eligibility elsewhere.”
Furthermore, Brini’s final season in Athens was his best. The senior defensive back accumulated 38 tackles and eight passes defensed, career-high’s by a mile. All in all, Brini finishes his time at Georgia with 50 tackles, nine passes defensed and one interception.
Now, Latavious Brini also joins Georgia wide receiver Justin Robinson and fellow defensive back Jalen Kimber as Bulldogs to enter the portal. At the least, the athletes accomplished their goal of ending the drought for the program.
Georgia defensive back announces plans for future
While Georgia is losing Latavious Brini, they’re happy to have safety Tykee Smith returning to the team. The star defensive back announced he was coming back for another season on Sunday.
“Last chance gotta make the most of it…” Smith wrote, along with a graphic that read, “Let’s run it back.”
The 5-foot-11, 187-pound safety tore his ACL in October, cutting his season short. He also had a foot injury in the preseason that held him out for several weeks at the beginning of the year.
Smith, a junior from Philadelphia made his Georgia debut in late September against Vanderbilt, tallying two tackles (one solo stop), while forcing a fumble. The only other game in which he’s appeared came against then-No. 18 Auburn, when Smith logged three tackles (all solo). Against Auburn, Smith only appeared once on defense, making the majority of his contributions on special teams.
Smith was excellent in his two seasons at West Virginia, earning All-American honors both years. He finished his freshman season appearing in 12 games with eight starts, tallying 53 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown.
His sophomore season was hardly any different. Smith was still a force in the Mountaineers’ secondary, playing in all ten games and making nine starts. He ultimately finished the campaign with 61 tackles and two interceptions.