Rico Johnson is one of those players that runs his mouth on the field, and defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt is thankful for that.
If it hadn’t been for Johnson bragging during 7-on-7 work this summer, Pruitt might not have approached him about playing defensive back. Johnson signed with Georgia as a wide receiver and apparently was feeling pretty good about himself in that role one day when he spouted off to Pruitt.
“‘Hey, man, you know I can play DB better than your DBs,’” Johnson told Pruitt brashly.
Pruitt didn’t react initially, but a few days later he called Johnson’s bluff and asked him show him what he could do as a defensive back.
“I’m looking around, and he’s like, ‘Yeah, I’m talking to you,’” Johnson relayed this week. “So I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll go play it.’”
Right now that looks like a good decision for both parties. As the Bulldogs head into the final two weeks of preseason camp, Johnson is making a serious push to be on the field at cornerback this fall.
“I knew I could compete for a starting spot,” said Johnson, who came to UGA from Swainsboro by way of Georgia Prep Sports Academy. “I’m just an athlete, so it doesn’t matter if I’m at DB or receiver as long as I’m on the field. I’m going to give it my all. So it was slightly challenging, but it wasn’t bad.”
The Bulldogs still aren’t offering much information with regard to the depth chart, but Johnson has gotten some looks with the first- and second-team defenses. And whatever challenges the late-summer position change may be offering Johnson has done nothing to quell his confidence.
“I have a special gift that they don’t have,” he said of Georgia’s other defensive backs. “I have speed. That helps me a lot.”
Playing defense is not totally new to Johnson. He played both sides of the ball at Swainsboro High. But it was Johnson’s receiving skills — and sprinter’s speed — that brought him an offer from offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. And there is a chance he could move back to that side of the ball after this season.
“We think that Rico is really a tremendous wide receiver prospect and will probably develop into a really good one one day,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said Thursday. “But with the need at the cornerback position and his experience at playing cornerback in the past, we felt like it would probably be a quicker path for him to become relevant as far as playing snaps. So we made that move because we thought that he could help us win. That’s what we’re doing.”
