Kirby Smart Talks About "Toughness" of Georgia Bulldog DB Javon Bullard
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ATHENS - With Georgia’s 2022 season-opener just a few days away, Bulldog fans know they’re going to be seeing a lot of new faces on defense against the Oregon Ducks.
Competition is key to building another championship-level defense, and whoever wins starting jobs on defense, no matter what position, beat out some really good players.
Georgia’s secondary has multiple veterans returning, but there’s one 2nd-year player that could see the field early at STAR.
That would be sophomore, Javon Bullard.
The former 3-star was one of the lower-ranked signees from Georgia’s 2021 class, but Kirby Smart told reporters on Tuesday that Bullard’s “toughness” has made him stand out in very talented secondary.
“He (Bullard) has tremendous toughness”, Smart told reporters. “He has tremendous competitiveness, he's very physical. He loves the game. He's been a ball hawk all camp for us. The consummate team player that does whatever you want to do on special teams, and he comes to work every day, and he's improved. Probably could have played more last year, but maybe he wasn't quite ready, and he's earned it through spring practice and fall camp. He's earned the opportunity to go out there and compete with those other guys and get playing time.”
That’s a lot of positivity from Georgia’s head coach. Baldwin, a Milledgeville native out of Baldwin High School, has always had a great work ethic, making it easy to see why he’s put himself on Smart’s good side. When you work hard and have the ball skills that Bullard does, it’s no surprise that he’s pushing for playing time at the Nickel/Star role. That’s a position where players often have to play in coverage in the middle of the field against tight ends, slot receivers, or even running backs. You also have to be a willing tackler and help make plays against the run, something Bullard has exceled at since high school.
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Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann also had some good things to say about Bullard recently.
“Javon is an extremely hard worker”, Schumann said. “We ask all of our guys to compete at a certain level every day. Javon does a great job of that. He is a guy who was part of that COVID class, so you learn a lot about those guys when they get here. He is a competitor and brings the type of energy we want all of our guys to have.”
It’s safe to say Bullard will see plenty of playing time this year, and he’s likely to make an appearance against the Ducks on Saturday.