Georgia Football: Could a former WR start in the secondary?

Georgia Football is looking to get better in the secondary and there are spots available. But could a former receiver become a starting cornerback in 2018?

When coaches recruit players in college football, they almost always have a plan in mind for how they are going to use them. Now, it’s not particularly rare to see players change position at college. Georgia Football has several guys who are doing just that and starting right now. Mecole Hardman and Lamont Gaillard both came over from the defensive side of the ball.

It’s pretty rare to see someone make that move to ‘add depth’ only for that player to suddenly stand out. Hardman didn’t move to receiver because UGA needed another weapon. His athletic ability was too great to be sitting on the bench and he wasn’t progressing as hoped at cornerback. That decision has given Kirby Smart an explosive receiver who I think could be a star in 2018.

But there was another move that happened last year that attracted a lot less fanfare. By moving Mecole to the offense, Georgia found themselves lacking depth in the secondary. Georgia signed a bunch of defensive backs in the 2017 class, but most of them were raw. Redshirts needed to be used and so Kirby Smart wanted some more options.

The Emergence of Mark Webb:

And so Smart and his coaching staff turned to another freshman to try and bolster the numbers. Mark Webb was the second highest ranked receiver recruit in UGA’s 2017 class. He was a consensus top 150 player and a guy who has the size to really challenge cornerbacks.

But Webb also had played some cornerback in high school. With Kirby looking for depth, he asked Webb if he’d be interested in doing some work on that side of the ball. He started taking some snaps before the Notre Dame trip and the rest, it seems is history.

Webb remained on the defensive side of the ball for the rest of the season. He saw the field in 13 games on special teams, but he also continued to work out with the defense. Several people within the program started to go out of their way to say how impressed they were with his performance. By the time the season was over, it was pretty clear that Webb wasn’t going to be going back to the offense.

Pushing for the starting spot:

After impressing last season on the practice field, Webb generated a few articles in the winter. Everyone knows that UGA is going to need some help at cornerback and Webb was penciled in a guy to keep an eye on. Now he’s not as fast or as famous as Tyson Campbell, the 5-star CB who UGA signed back in February. But Webb is on campus right now and he’s doing his best to win a starting spot.

It seems like he’s making a move right now. During recent media viewing portions of practice, Webb has been out there on the starting defensive unit. Not only is Webb in the running to win one of the outside cornerback spots, but he’s also learning the star position that is also vacant. Kirby Smart is doing his best to find ways to get him onto the field in 2018.

With his new defensive back number (23), Webb has become a guy to watch out for almost every practice. He’s still got a way to go to understand how cornerback is played, but physically, he’s built to intimidate receivers. There simply aren’t many other CB’s out there that are 6ft2 and over 200lbs.

Now look, I love our receivers and I love pass catchers in general. However, there are a lot more great receivers out there than there are cornerbacks. That’s why Mecole tried to be a CB first. Mark Webb the starting cornerback, could end up being a lot more valuable than Mark Webb the wide receiver. It’s just incredibly hard to find good players who can play in the secondary these days.

Will Webb win the starting spot this spring?

Cop-out answer here but I don’t know. However, it’s become pretty clear that the coaching staff thinks they are onto a winner here. We’re still nearly 3 weeks from G-day so we’ve got a while until we all get to see how he handles big time receivers with our own eyes.

If he plays well in that game, both Georgia and Webb could really benefit. Starting CB’s, especially with Webb’s size is just rare. He could end up becoming a tremendous defensive presence for Georgia for the rest of his time in Athens. There’s also a good chance that he’ll end up with a better chance of making it in the pros. NFL scouts are always complaining that they can’t find enough good CB’s in college ranks.

Next: Checking out 2019 commit Jalen Perry

I wouldn’t be shocked to see this former receiver lining up against the likes of Terry Godwin and Riley Ridley with the first unit when the 21st of April arrives. Then we’ll all get to see if this position switch has found a real diamond in the rough.