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ATHENS - Starting roles are up for grabs in Kirby Smart’s defensive backfield.
At the moment, the Georgia Bulldog secondary is expected to be one of the best not in the SEC, but across college football in 2026.
At cornerback, the Bulldogs return starter Ellis Robinson and Demello Jones, a third-year player who is the favorite to win the second job. At safety, KJ Bolden is back for a third season and will likely push for All-American honors.
After that is where things get tricky. The Bulldogs went into the transfer portal to add quality depth and more experience in the secondary, and that’s exactly what they got in Clemson transfer, Khalil Barnes. The Athens-area native from North Oconee earned praise from Kirby Smart after Georgia’s G-Day scrimmage earlier this month.
“He asserted himself right away”, Smart told reporters. “He's smart, instinctive, and a veteran football player who has played a lot of snaps. He's been day-one guy that can go out there and plug and play.”
It’s hard to image a “plug and play” guy that came from the portal will be on the bench for very long. He’s certainly one of the favorites to land the opposite safety job.
Then there’s freshman Tyriq Green. The former Buford (GA) star has a bright future ahead of him and could push for the starting STAR role down the road while also helping some at cornerback. The playmaking athlete shined during G-Day, where he made two strong tackles and one INT in coverage. He’s still learning as a young mid-year freshman, but it’s clear the Georgia staff has a plan for his future.
“He’s a football player”, Smart said about Green. “He could go play tailback if you needed him too. That's what he did in high school. He grew up playing football. He's instinctive, he understands things naturally. He does not talk a lot, but he listens. He’s very intuitive as a defensive back so the transition to corner was really easy for him. We'll continue to progress him and see where we need him the most because there's a chance that he can go out there and help us at either spot next year. We gotta make sure he grows and continues to get better.”
Speaking of cornerback, new transfer Braylon Conley turned some heads with an impressive G-Day performance. With Robinson and Jones held out, Conley earned first-team reps at cornerback and forced multiple incompletions during G-Day. It’s clear the USC transfer will do everything he can to push for playing time this fall.
“He’s going to be a really good player for us,” Smart said about Conley.
Other defensive backs who impressed during G-Day include second-year safety Todd Robinson (eight tackles and one INT), transfer safety Ja'Marley Riddle (2 tackles and two pass-breakups), second-year safety Resean Dinkins (five tackles), second-year cornerback Jontae Gilbert (four tackles and one INT), freshman safety Blake Stewart (two tackles and one INT).
