ATHENS – It made for a moment of levity, maybe not for Nakobe Dean, but certainly for the two dozen or so reporters tuning into Friday’s Zoom videoconference to highlight the opening of Georgia’s preseason football camp.
The Bulldogs’ star linebacker was asked what teammates he had gotten to know better over the summer. Of course, he defaulted to the two high-profile defensive transfers who are expected to contribute significantly to his unit.
The problem was, Dean struggled in that moment to recall their names.
“Of course, I could probably say D.K. (Derion Kendrick) and, um, yeah, D.K. and, um, drawing a blank on his name, that’s crazy,” Dean said, grinning at his stammer.
An empathetic reporter chimed in with, “Tykee Smith?”
“Yeah! I was trying to call him by his real name and not his nickname,” Dean said with a chuckle. “I just call him ‘T.’ That’s what I call him. For some reason, I couldn’t think of Tykee.”
Familiarity should increase exponentially over the next several weeks as Georgia prepares for its highly anticipated season opener against Clemson in Charlotte on Sept. 4 (7:30 p.m., ABC-TV). Smith, a junior safety from West Virginia, and Kendrick, a senior cornerback who played for those very same Tigers the past three seasons, figure to have significant roles in that game.
But how much impact they have will depend on how well they learn and adapt over these next four weeks. And that really goes for everybody playing in the Bulldogs’ secondary. Georgia lost a trainload of talent from the defensive backfield that took the majority of snaps in games last year. Starting cornerbacks Eric Stokes and Tyson Campbell went in the first and second rounds of the NFL draft. Safeties Mark Webb and Richard LeCounte also got NFL calls, along with cornerback D.J. Daniel. And the versatile Tyrique Stevenson jumped into the NCAA’s transfer portal and resurfaced at Miami.
“Basically, everybody back there is new,” Dean summarized.
Since last season, Georgia also welcomed in former LSU tight end Arik Gilbert via the portal, as well as adding 20 players via traditional recruiting. It’s all part of the never-ending cyclical nature of college football.
Only now, with the NCAA’s new policy to grant immediate eligibility for all first-time transfers, the ingress and egress can be even more abrupt – and impactful. Georgia awarded scholarships only to those three transfers, but each flourished in major programs. Smith was a second-team All-American, Kendrick was All-ACC and Gilbert was freshman All-SEC.
Likewise, all three are earmarked for significant playing time, if not starting roles. But that will depend largely on how well they adapt and get to know not just their teammates, but the team’s playbook.
“Learning is the key,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said, referring to Gilbert’s potential contributions in particular. “He has to understand what we’re trying to do offensively. And words, basically. We don’t have a lot of different plays than other places, but it’s usually called something different. So I’d say vocabulary and learning how to practice and learning at a fast rate is the key for them.”
The good news for Georgia -- and all the teams that are breaking in new players from the portal -- is that new NCAA rules allow all them more time with their teammates and coaches over the summer. Smith has been with the Bulldogs since May, and Kendrick and Gilbert officially enrolled at UGA the first week of June. That has afforded them numerous opportunities to work out with the team, whether it was in voluntary player-organized practices, 7-on-7 competitions, position drills or mandatory strength-and-conditioning training.
While the Bulldogs’ returning players haven’t necessarily committed everybody’s full name to memory, they have gotten to know their respective games well over the summer.
“They’re who they say they are,” was the way Lewis Cine referred what he’d seen from Smith and Kendrick. “You know, we kind of knew what we were getting, and based on the practices and everything we’ve been doing, they’re good guys, and they bring a lot to the table.”
Cine gave a similar assessment for Gilbert, saying, “he’s as advertised … big and can move.”
All that said, Georgia’s lettermen aren’t just holding the gate open for these transfers to assume all responsibility, much less glory. Competition for playing time these two weeks of camp is expected to be intense and meaningful. Then, each player will settle into whatever role they’ve carved out for themselves once the games inch closer.
“It’s exciting having a great athlete like Arik,” said senior tight end John FitzPatrick, who said the sophomore from Marietta is working both with tight ends and wideouts. “But he’s in a huge group of wide receivers and tight ends. We’re excited about the whole team.”
Georgia has made good use of transfers during Smart’s tenure, which is entering a sixth season. He brought in defensive back Maurice “Mo” Smith from Alabama in 2016 and has made at least one such addition every season. Little known wideout Lawrence Cager came in from Miami and made a huge impact in 2019. And, of course, the Bulldogs got their starting quarterback last summer from Southern Cal in JT Daniels.
“I’m excited to see them get to work,” Smart said of the latest transfers. “They’ve been great additions. They’ve handled things really well, and our players have embraced them. But, you know, we have a history here, of having guys come in to be really successful.”
That said, Smart said he still prefers the old-fashioned method of recruiting players to Georgia and developing them. He pointed to Stokes, a former 3-star prospect who redshirted his first season but became a first-round draft pick in April.
“What if you don’t get what you need out of the portal?” Smart asked. “What if you go to the grocery store and they’re out? What if they don’t have any ketchup left? You’re still playing with what you’ve got. You can’t make the assumption that you’ll always get what you need.”
This year, at least, it appears the Bulldogs did.
