ATHENS — We’re halfway through January, and the Georgia football program is still making big moves.
The latest one came Saturday when coach Kirby Smart announced he has hired Travaris Robinson from Alabama. Cornerbacks coach for the Crimson Tide under coach Nick Saban for the past two seasons, Robinson will coach safeties and serve as co-defensive coordinator for the Bulldogs.
Those roles previously were handled by Will Muschamp, who will step aside to return to a defensive analyst role at Georgia. Robinson worked for Muschamp as defensive backfield coach and defensive coordinator at Florida and South Carolina.
“Travaris has 17 years of college coaching experience, including over a decade in the SEC mentoring some of the top defenses statistically in the NCAA,” Smart said in a statement distributed late Saturday morning.
It’s an ideal situation for the 52-year-old Muschamp, as well. His son, Whit, is a freshman football signee at Vanderbilt. His oldest son, Jackson, is a senior and walk-on quarterback for the Bulldogs. Returning to an analyst role will take him off the recruiting road and offer more time to spend with family.
In the meantime, Robinson is considered one of the best recruiters in the country. A former Auburn player who was raised in Miami, his ties across the Southeast are deep and strong. Not only does he bring those strengths to Athens, it takes them away from Alabama, which is fighting to keep its coaching staff and roster together in the wake of Nick Saban’s retirement announcement on Wednesday.
Georgia already has added safety Jake Pope from Alabama via the transfer portal. The Bulldogs probably also have their eyes on Caleb Downs, a freshman safety from Mill Creek High School, who earned All-American honors for the Tide last season. Pope played at Buford High.
Robinson, 42, worked under Muschamp at Florida from 2011-14 when Muschamp was the Gators’ head coach. He followed Muschamp to South Carolina and was defensive coordinator from 2016-20. Muschamp was fired by the Gamecocks late in the 2020 season, then joined Smart, his longtime friend, in an analyst role at UGA.
Robinson went to Miami for the 2021 season as defensive backs coach, then joined the Crimson Tide in 2022.
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