With Tyson Campbell leaving, Cornerback Becomes Position to Watch in Offseason
For the first time in Kirby Smart's tenure as head coach, Georgia football will enter a season without any established starters at cornerback.
Eric Stokes, DJ Daniel and now Tyson Campbell are all heading to the NFL Draft. Stokes and Campbell are foregoing their senior seasons, while Daniel is choosing to not use the free season granted by the NCAA.
Stokes, Daniel and Campbell were a dominant trio when all were healthy. Week after week, the trio challenged opposing receiving corps and usually came out on top. They prevented big plays, rarely gave up touchdowns in man coverage and contributed to Georgia's stellar run defense. They were a big part of Georgia's success on defense these past two years
With those three leaving, the cornerback position is the one to watch most this offseason. While their departures leave Georgia without experience, there's no shortage of cornerback talent in Athens. Here are the four players who will compete for the starting cornerback jobs this year.
- Tyrique Stevenson
- Consensus top-40 player coming out of high school.
- Is probably more comfortable at star or safety, but he flashed some cornerback potential in the Peach Bowl. He'll certainly practice at the position this spring and it wouldn't be too shocking to see him start at corner in the G-Day Game.
- Kelee Ringo
- Consensus five-star cornerback recruit.
- Didn't play in 2020 after suffering an injury before the season began, and time will tell if that injury will affect him permanently or not. If Ringo returns to form, he has the talent and athleticism to be a special player. At 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, Ringo has great size for a cornerback and he knows how to use it.
- Jalen Kimber
- Consensus four-star cornerback recruit.
- Had a quiet freshman year, but did get some opportunities to play because of Ringo's injury, especially in the Peach Bowl. Kimber is an outstanding athlete, but his play at cornerback lacked polish coming out of high school. Early candidate for most improved player in 2021.
- Nyland Green
- Consensus four-star cornerback recruit.
- At 6-foot-2 and 183 pounds, Green can stand to gain some muscle mass, but as an early enrollee, he'll have a head start on that endeavor. The rest of Green's game is fairly developed. He already plays with physicality and shows an ability to cling to receivers.
Players like Ameer Speed, Daran Branch and newcomers Kamari Lassiter and Javon Bullard will be competing for playing time as well.
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