Georgia turns to cross-training with make-up of secondary, STAR up in the air

The status of Georgia defensive back Javon Bullard remains up in the air for Saturday’s roadtrip to Missouri after his arrest over the weekend. With that being the case, head coach Kirby Smart spoke on the Bulldogs’ depth in the secondary, specifically at STAR where Bullard has started all four games so far this season.

Smart was asked about Tykee Smith who played in the first three games but did not show up on the participation chart for Saturday’s contest. A transfer from West Virginia during the 2021 offseason, Smith continues to make his way back to full speed from an ACL injury that ended his first season at Georgia.

“Tykee’s been doing a good job. Tykee got to play a couple games earlier. I think Tykee does a good job,” Smart said. “He’s physical. He’s tough at the point. I don’t know that he’s 100 percent back but he’s been practicing really well. Like I told you a couple weeks ago, he’s hit some high speeds and has done a good job. So he can play there (STAR). Marcus Washington can play there. Chris Smith has played there. Kamari Lassiter’s played there. We cross-trained all camp. So, you know, we got all kinds of guys that can play the position as well.”

Smart made mention of “cross training” after bringing up two Bulldog starters at other positions – Chris Smith at safety and Kamari Lassiter at cornerback. It’s something that has always been done during Smart’s time at Georgia and isn’t necessarily just limited to the secondary. However, with Bullard’s status uncertain and Nyland Green having missed the last three games due to a hamstring injury, cross training may be exactly what the Bulldogs need to get their best group of defensive backs on the field Saturday at Missouri.

“Well, we only really have five positions in the secondary, you can maybe say six. But that’s only if you play dime. So I don’t know if it’s evolved any more in terms of, like, more positions. We don’t play more positions. We’re not a seven or eight DB team. We’re usually five with the potential with being six, in some situations and we play four sometimes. But we cross-train all our positions,” Smart said. “Receivers play X and Z, slots play outside and inside. Tackles play guard. Centers play guard. I mean, it doesn’t matter the position. You’re trying to get the best 11 or 22 or 33 when you count special teams on the field. And that’s what, you know, you try to do as a staff, to get your best players out there is to add depth.”

One player in particular was the topic of discussion as it pertained to cross training. Freshman defensive back Malaki Starks has started the last three games at safety beside Christopher Smith. Starks has a history of playing different positions all over the field though which would make him an interesting possibility to potentially see some time at STAR if Bullard is unavailable.

“He hasn’t played corner, he really hasn’t played safety. He’s really an athlete, right, that played a lot of high school quarterback. It’s important when we bring a guy in that — you know, all the reps that we gave him in the spring, we try to get him at strong safety and free safety,” Smart said about Starks. “We cross-train guys as freshman at strong safety/free safety. We try not to break out of that mold to get into things. He gets reps at different times at practice. We do one-on-ones. We stick people at nickel. We stick people at money. We stick people at corner. We move them all around. Because when — in spread offenses, the receivers can be inside, the tight-ends can be outside. So what you might call a corner is a guy on the outside. Well, our safeties play on the outside. So he gets reps at doing that and doing those things. But we’re focused on developing him right now as a safety.”

Georgia and Missouri kickoff at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday from Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Mo. on the SEC Network. The game against the Tigers kicks off a stretch of seven straight SEC games for the Bulldogs between now and the final week of the regular season when they’ll take on Georgia Tech.