So Far, So Good For Georgia Tech's Two Transfer Cornerbacks

Georgia Tech is losing its top three cornerbacks from last season, Ahmari Harvey, Jy Gilmore, and Rodney Shelly, but they are bringing back most of their depth and other players who were in the rotation. Kelvin Hill, Jon Mitchell, Zachary Tobe, and Daiquan White return for the Yellow Jackets, but that did not stop the coaching staff from going out and adding two transfers at the position.

Jonas Duclona (USF) and Jaylen Mbakwe (Alabama) were the only two players the Yellow Jackets brought in for the entire secondary, but they came into camp as relative unknowns. Duclona missed spring practice and had not gotten to work with the unit yet or with defensive coordinator Jason Semore, while Mbakwe was making the transition over from wide receiver. Mbakwe always drew rave reviews for his potential as a defensive back and two-way player, but it was fair to wonder how quickly he was going to make an impact.

So far, it seems that both players have flashed their talent during fall camp.

Playmakers

Jaylen Mbakwe Alabama Crimson Tid — The Crimson Tide football team continued practice Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, as they prepare for the season opener and the first game under new head coach Kalen DeBoer. Alabama defensive back Jaylen Mbakwe (9) runs a drill using a band to restrict his lower legs. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

When Semore got a chance to meet with the media yesterday, he went in depth about Duclona, including the many ways that they think they can use him on defense, but also saying they don't want to overtax him at the position:

"Right now, he can play a lot of stuff because he's also physical enough to tackle. Right now, when we're moving into, today was our first day of situational stuff outside of like normal down things. So he'll play some dime there. So he'll get his nickel reps in the dime package stuff. He can play safety. He hasn't got a ton of burn at safety. He can play corner. He's kind of a dude that we're trying not to overload by having him play a bunch of positions because we still need to evaluate him. You know what I mean?

But right now, he probably fits best for us in the nickel-dime world. So that's probably where we see him at. But he can play all those other things. We just have to be smart about how we rep him in terms of install. Once he learns that position, then you can start, you know, this is what we do at corner and all that kind of stuff. But we're excited about him. He has a lot of depth and talent."

Mbakwe has the case to already be the best athlete on the team. He has the kind of speed that can be a game changer in the back of a secondary and the kind of reactionary skills that make him a potential shutdown cornerback.

Semore is focused in on honing that talent and putting Mbakwe in the best position to succeed:

"Yeah, him and Savion (Riley). There are some dudes that have displayed some really good ball skills out there. I'm speaking from a global standpoint. You know what I mean? We've probably dropped 12, 13 interceptions in the last three days of practice. Those guys are pretty opportunistic. You know what I mean? I feel confident about Mbakwe being at the point of attacking, making plays on the football. You know what I mean?

So we do have some dudes with some talent and some ball skills. But globally as a defense, you know, I wish I could say, hey, they're going to throw it at you, you know, five times Mbakwe. You know what I mean? Because what happens is when a guy does demonstrate ball skills and things like that and is making plays on the ball, they're probably not throwing it there for the rest of the game or the next couple games. So if you want to continue producing turnovers, right, somebody else has to be able to catch. You know what I mean?

So we have to develop. you know, globally as a unit in that, right, so all we know how to do is continue getting reps and continue preaching those things, right. The guys are buying in, right, and then we have to be opportunistic when you get the chance."

Both of these players were brought in to help elevate the ceiling of the Georgia Tech cornerback room. I think they are both going to play huge roles and it is notable that they have rose to the occasion so far. They were brought in for a reason, and the Yellow Jackets are hoping that this secondary is not going to allow so many big plays down the field, as they did in the loss to NC State late in the season and even in their win over Boston College.

Having a couple of good days in fall camp does not mean that both players are going to dominate this season, but so far, so good for this duo of players.

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