UGA Football DB Kamari Lassiter: "We Have A Lot Of Things To Clean Up"
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ATHENS - Kirby Smart and the UGA football defensive staff have plenty of returning starts and experienced veterans in the secondary.
Malaki Starks and Javon Bullard may be the best safety tandem in college football. Tyke Smith and Dan Jackson have been around for years.
Then there’s Kamari Lassiter.
A hard-hitting cornerback who continues to improve in coverage, Lassiter is a Tuscaloosa native making his name known in the peach state. He’s turned into a leader not only in the secondary, but across the defense.
He works hard, he competes, and he’s now a multi-year starter. He didn’t record a statistic against UT Martin, but that will likely change sooner than later. He’s doing his best to go 100% healthy, and once he is, he’ll play like one of the best in the league.
Lassiter spoke with reporters this week about finding his groove in the defense, starting the season, and the defensive backfield’s performance in game one.
On finding his groove in the defense…
“For us, as a defensive unit, getting into a rhythm, we always say ’three down takeaways,’ so that’s our rhythm. We want to get on the field and get off the field as fast as possible to get the ball back to our people.”
On going from non-contact in practice and camp to going straight into game action…
“For me personally, when it comes to hitting and tackling, I don’t really have to acclimate. That’s just that I itch to do. Coming out of that black jersey, it was like a burden being lifted off of me, just finally being able to let loose and play football like I always played.”
On his takeaways from his position group following the team’s first game…
“I think those guys played pretty well. We came out and played fast and physical, I think we were technically sound. We have a lot of things to clean up, but I think we played well and have a lot of things that we can build off of."
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About Ball State
The Cardinals, who are based in Muncie, Ind., are members of the Mid-Atlantic Conference (MAC). Ball State went 5-7 last season, including 3-5 in the MAC. They are coached by Mike Neu who is in his eighth season at the helm with a record of 33-49 (.673).
The Cardinals started this season against Kentucky in Lexington. The Wildcats topped Ball State 44-14 after trailing 7-3 at the end of the first quarter. Kentucky reeled off 27 straight points to take control of the game. Ball State gave up both a 69-yard fumble recovery for a score as well as a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the closing minute of the third quarter.
The Cardinals started graduate transfer quarterback Layne Hatcher and then turned to true freshman Kadin Semonza in the second half. Semonza directed a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to make it 30-14 with 42 seconds in the third quarter. He finished 15-for-21 for 165 yards and one TD. BSU finished with 295 yards of total offense (72 rushing, 223 passing).
The Cardinals limited the Kentucky offense to just three touchdowns and forced three field goals. Other Kentucky scoring came on a 69-yard fumble return and a 99-yard kickoff return. The Wildcats offense reached the red zone just twice.
Ball State continues its two-week grind against Southeastern Conference foes - battling two-time defending national champion Georgia this week after falling to Kentucky in last Saturday’s opener.
Ball State faces SEC opponents in consecutive weeks for just the second time in its history. The Cardinals opened the 2001 season on Sept. 1 at Auburn, then Sept. 8 at Kentucky. Saturday’s game is the Cardinals’ first football matchup with the Bulldogs.
The Cardinals fared well in Lexington, but for a pair of turnovers before halftime that saw a 10-7 deficit bulge to 20-7, and eventually 23-7 before intermission when the Wildcats tacked on another late field goal. But for those miscues, Ball State outgained Kentucky in first downs, 18-17, and consumed 38:02 elapsed time compared to 21:58 for the Wildcats. The Cardinals led in time of possession in all four quarters and ran 20 more plays than UK (71-51). Kentucky outgained Ball State 357 yards to 295.
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Piling Up The Points Again
*The 2023 Bulldogs: Averaging 48.0 points/game, which ranks 18th nationally *Have outscored their opponents 48-7, including 17-0 in the opening half *Own a +41 point differential
*5-for-5 in the Red Zone (T1st nationally 100%) with 3 TDs, 2 FGs
* The 2022 Bulldogs: Averaged 41.1 points/game, which ranked 5th nationally *Outscored their opponents 616-214, including 341-105 in the opening half *Second consecutive year led the nation in point differential at +402
*81 of 83 in the Red Zone (98% led nation) with 57 TDs and 24 FGs
* The 2021 Bulldogs: Averaged 38.6 points/game, which ranked ninth nationally *Outscored their opponents 579-153, including 358-65 in the opening half
*Led the nation in point differential at +426
*59 of 69 in the Red Zone (86% ranked 50th) with 42 TDs and 17 FGs