Depth Chart: Who's Left at STAR?

The loss of Tykee Smith sends Georgia back to where they started the offseason, essentially, minimal depth at the STAR position, and are just an injury or two away in the secondary from offsetting the two additions made through the transfer portal.

The former West Virginia Mountaineer announced his transfer to Georgia back in April as the Dawgs were preparing for G-Day. Unfortunately, this meant that the Philadelphia, Pennslyvania native could not enroll at Georgia until the summer.

Smith is coming off a 2020 season where he was a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award and was named to several All-America teams by various media outlets. As a sophomore under now, Georgia defensive backs coach Jahmile Addae Smith played in ten games and recorded 61 tackles, two interceptions, and eight tackles for a loss.

It was evident following his freshman season, where he broke out as a safety, that he would be a good player for years to come. Now fast forward two years, and the junior defensive back is one of the latest additions to the injury list in Athens.

Smith will miss time this season after undergoing surgery to repair a minor fracture in his foot suffered in practice Tuesday. Despite the "day-to-day" status put out by Kirby Smart in his statement to the press Wednesday, it is unlikely the defensive back will be available for the season opener against Clemson.

Leaving senior Latavious Brini, the presumed starter at STAR, the most complex position on the field defensively because of the various roles Dan Lanning and Kirby Smart ask the STAR to play.

Brini saw limited action in his first three seasons in Athens, mainly serving as a reserve at STAR behind Mark Webb and Tyrique Stevenson, both of whom are no longer in Athens. However, on the bright side, Brini would finally get his shot at the 2021 Peach Bowl against Cincinnati. In his first collegiate start, Brini caught the attention of fans with his knack for disrupting the screen game of the Bearcats.

Although Georgia liked what they saw from Brini in Atlanta this past January, they still needed another option at STAR. Tykee Smith is that for Georgia, and since coming to Athens, he has been competing for the spot with Brini.

Behind those two options, there is no other collegiate experience. Javon Bullard and David Daniel are the two expected options to be the next men up for Brini over the next few weeks; both are freshmen and still learning the position and defense as a whole.

This limited depth could spark Georgia to resort back to their spring experiment with edge rusher Adam Anderson. Throughout the spring, Anderson worked out at STAR as he was asked to get out in space and help out in pass coverage. This meaning Georgia will be using a more traditional 3-4 package whenever Anderson is at STAR.

The week one matchup cannot be any more challenging than Clemson. Georgia is preparing for a returning Justyn Ross, who seems likely to play out of the slot more in 2021, meaning whoever is at STAR will more than likely become responsible for covering the former freshman standout receiver.

Projected Depth Chart at STAR Without Tykee Smith

STAR1: Latavious Brini

STAR2: Adam Anderson (In specific packages/situations)

STAR3: Javon Bullard

STAR4: David Daniel

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