Georgia DBs coach Charlton Warren leaves for Indiana

ATHENS — Before Georgia can figure out who its defensive backs will be in 2021, it will have to figure who is going to coach them.

Charlton Warren, the Bulldogs’ defensive backfield coach the last two seasons, is leaving UGA to become the defensive coordinator at Indiana, according to published reports. Warren will replace Kane Wommack, who left the Hoosiers to become the head coach at South Alabama. ESPN’s Adam Rittenburg was the first to report the news.

Warren, 44, has coached Georgia’s secondary since 2019, after Mel Tucker left to become a head coach. It’s Warren’s sixth coaching stop since leaving Air Force, his alma mater, in 2014. He came to Georgia following one-year stints at Tennessee and Florida, respectively.

Safeties J.R. Reed and Richard LeCounte each earned All-America status under Warren’s tutelage. Third-year cornerbacks Eric Stokes and Tyson Campbell, who have declared for the 2021 NFL Draft, project as possible first-round draft choices.

Whoever coach Kirby Smart designates as Warren’s successor will have a big job to fill. Rising junior safety Lewis Cine is the only full-time starter to return in Georgia’s secondary in 2021. In addition to Stokes, Campbell and LeCounte, the Bulldogs also are losing cornerback DJ Daniel (graduation) and Tyrique Stevenson (transfer) and nickelback Mark Webb (graduation).

Meanwhile, Georgia has signed four defensive backs so far in the 2021 class and is one of three finalists for Tallahassee’s Terrion Arnold, the nation’s No. 2 safety prospect, according to 247Sports.com.

Warren is the first coaching casualty for the Bulldogs (8-2) since ending the season with a win in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and a No. 7 national ranking.

Defensive coordinator Dan Lanning last week turned down the opportunity to take the same position on Steve Sarkisian’s new staff at the University of Texas.