UGA Football Coach Kirby Smart Praises Young Playmaking Defender
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ATHENS - Midway through the 4th quarter against No. 5 Ole Miss, after finally taking the lead, the Georgia Bulldog defense faced a big 3rd and 9.
After a 1st down tackle by Quintavious Johnson and an incomplete pass on 2nd down, the Georgia defense was heating up and looking for their second consecutive stop.
Sanford Stadium was rocking. One stop here and the Georgia offense could take over and potentially end the game.
Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who had already accounted for three touchdowns, launched a ball deep down the sideline. A completion would have resulted in a 25+ yard gain and would have given the Rebels offense life again.
But Demello Jones wasn’t having it.
A reserve cornerback playing more and more as the season has progressed, Jones has stepped up in a big way over the last several weeks and made one of the biggest plays of the game during Georgia’s 43-35 win over Ole Miss.
The lengthy defensive back showed his natural speed and athleticism, playing the receiver closely and breaking up the pass without interfering. It’s a tough play to make, but the Bulldog sophomore made it.
Jones’ stock is rising and Kirby Smart recently had a lot to say about his promising cornerback…
“He's strong, physical, heavy-handed”, Smart said about Jones last week. “He does well in man-to-man situations. He has confidence to put his hands on people and cover them. Really good basketball player in high school. He's growing and developing as a corner. He's growing and developing as a nickel-cover guy. He's very open to being uncomfortable and learning which I think is important in that position. He's only tip of the iceberg of what he can learn to play inside. He’s been developing outside, but he continues to grow and get better. As long as he takes the right mindset towards that, he can be a good football player. What you worry about is when he's had some success, he's had some penalties. He's had some times he's gotten beat, but what he hasn't done is let any of that change him.”
Jones has emerged as a consistent cover corner who can break up plays down the field. He plays hard, knows how to tackle, and is making it extremely tough for the Georgia staff to leave him of the field. If he continues to improve and keeps playing physical, Jones is someone who could have a really strong second half of the 2025 season.
