Newcomer Profile: Georgia DB Kyron Jones
Most of the 2023 Georgia recruiting class enrolled in January — almost 70 percent of it, actually. The Bulldogs welcomed 18 players to campus and 17 of them got a taste of spring practice. Sixteen of them finished spring drills and got the full spring semester experience in the Classic City.
The other eight are arriving this summer with most of them having already enrolled. They’re going to get right into the flow of things with summer workouts and classes, but it’s going to take some time for them to catch up.
With that in mind, DawgsHQ is taking one last look at them before they fully settle in under the Bulldogs’ roof. We’re ready to wrap up the series with a running back turned defensive back for whom the Georgia staff worked hard.
DB Kyron Jones
On3 Industry Ranking: No. 668 overall, No. 25 athlete, and No. 20 in North Carolina
The Story…
There are some layers to this one. Jones was a very successful high school running back with big-time speed and the ability to break tackles. Quite a few formidable programs threw hats into the ring. Notre Dame and Miami went after him. He also got offers to play at Michigan State, Nebraska, Vanderbilt, and Duke.
In fact, if you study his offer list, it’s pretty clear that Jones has a strong track record in the classroom. All of those school offered him as a running back and North Carolina State was the team that got him on the commitment list. That was in October of 2022 but it didn’t last all that long.
Georgia came calling and sold Jones on the idea of playing defensive back. The Bulldogs told him that he could move positions and likely add a number of years to his career seeing as how running back is such a physically demanding position. It was that pitch that got him to flip his commitment from the Wolfpack to Georgia — a little more than a month after the Bulldogs offered.
Where Smith fits…
We haven’t gotten definitive word on where Jones will start out but it looks like he’ll probably work at safety/STAR/nickel. Jones has tremendous speed and shows the raw tools needed to cover a ton of ground in the back half. We’ve seen Georgia convert guys like him to cornerback in the past, see Lovasea Carroll who ultimately transferred to South Carolina.
Jones hasn’t played a ton of defensive back so the staff might try and feel him out a bit there. Does he have the flexibility and twitch to succeed at corner? How comfortable is he with the ball in the air? Those are questions that will be asked and who knows, he might be a natural fit.
Preseason camp expectations…
Don’t rule out Jones playing right away but it’ll almost certainly be on special teams. His combination of size and speed makes him a tremendous fit for covering kicks and punts. Jones also has the physicality to succeed on the return teams as a blocker.
But we’re intrigued by his tools as a potential return man. Jones speed combined with his familiarity with carrying the football makes him a great kickoff return option. If he shows some aptitude and ability to protect the football there, he could give the Bulldogs a weapon in a spot where they haven’t had one in awhile.
