UGA football roster: Tyson Campbell looking to bounce back in 2020

Tyson Campbell started the 2019 season as UGA football’s starter at cornerback. But an injury sidelined him for a few games, and he never fully recovered.

The first two years of Tyson Campbell’s UGA football career have been a bit of a roller coaster ride.

He was thrown into the fire immediately as a freshman in 2018 as a starting cornerback. He struggled a bit that year and began sharing the role with Eric Stokes. In 2019, Campbell began the season starting alongside Stokes and was playing very well. Then an injury forced him to miss a few games and when he returned, he wasn’t healthy enough to reclaim his starting job from DJ Daniel.

Entering 2020, Campbell is on a mission to remind everyone why he was the No. 12 player overall in the 2018 class. When healthy, Campbell has superstar potential. And with a coaching staff that is excellent at developing defensive backs, Campbell’s ceiling is even higher.

Campbell is a lockdown corner at his best in man coverage. He’s physical and bullies receivers when able to. He is fast enough to close in on just about receiver, big enough to blanket them, and jumps high enough to make a deflection when a QB thinks he’s found a good spot to place the ball.

But those traits describe a lot of members of Georgia’s defensive backfield. The Bulldogs might have the deepest group of cornerbacks in the SEC. Eric Stokes is likely the best corner in the league. DJ Daniel, who took Campbell’s spot during the 2019 season is a solid player in his own right and isn’t about to just give up the starting job.

The Bulldogs also have Tyrique Stevenson, the No. 3 corner in the 2019 class who improved immensely as the 2019 season progressed. Georgia signed Kelee Ringo, the No. 1 ranked cornerback in the 2020 class. The battle for that second starting cornerback position might be the most hotly contested race on the entire team. For Georgia, there really isn’t a wrong answer.

But, Campbell has the most starting experience which is incredibly valuable in the SEC. He knows what the coaches expect and he knows opposing offenses better. The starting job is his to lose if he’s at full health.