Georgia football: What we miss on defense with G-Day canceled

Battle for the starting jobs at the cornerback

Everyone is wondering who will win the starting quarterback and running back races, but that same question is applicable to cornerback as well.

Georgia football has a litany of really talented defensive backs. In the Kirby Smart era, it might be the area of the field Georgia has recruited the best. Years of stellar recruiting lead to the 2020 offseason where seven defensive backs will compete for three starting jobs.

The only returning starter whose job seems remotely safe is Eric Stokes. The rising redshirt junior emerged as an excellent cover corner last year after a surprisingly good freshman campaign in 2018. Stokes excels in single coverage, forcing 22 incompletions on 89 targets in his two varsity seasons, which is fifth-best in all of FBS college football.

The other starting cornerback position is up in the air. Tyson Campbell, a former five-star recruit, was the starter at the beginning of last season, but he missed a few games with a foot injury and never seemed to be at 100-percent when he returned. Four-star junior college transfer, D.J. Daniel started in Campbell’s place and never relinquished the job.

But they’re not the only ones competing for the other starting cornerback spot. Four-star, Tyrique Stevenson played very well last season and looked better every game. If Stevenson doesn’t earn a starting cornerback job, he may wrestle the star position from Mark Webb or Divaad Wilson.

Georgia football added the No. 1 ranked cornerback Kelee Ringo in the 2020 class. Ringo isn’t looking to ride the bench his freshman year after Campbell, Stevenson and Daniel each played extensively in their first seasons.