The Georgia Bulldogs have some dudes in their secondary. Georgia stifled a high-flying Alabama team last Saturday in Tuscaloosa in their first (and potentially biggest) offensive test of the 2026 regular season. It was the kind of performance that makes you feel like this group can cover anybody, especially entering an opponent in Auburn who hasn’t exactly been lighting it up this year.
Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell completed just 16 of his 30 pass attempts for 185 yards and a touchdown last week. Ryan Coleman-Williams led the Crimson Tide in receiving with just 39 yards.
Georgia played a high rate of man coverage and it worked out beautifully. The Bulldogs trusted their cornerbacks to carry Alabama’s wideouts in coverage and their safeties to come and take the tight ends over the middle. They threw a bevy of blitzes at Russell who often struggled to adjust when his first read was taken away by tight man coverage.
It was an impressive, straight-up way to neutralize what had been arguably the nation’s highest-flying passing offense. Entering the game, Russell had thrown for at least 280 yards and three touchdowns in each of his last three games.
The lion’s share of that production came on deep shots down the field. Against Georgia, Russell only went 1-for-2 with 20 or more air yards, for a 23-yard gain.
Georgia's secondary is full of elite playmakers
Ellis Robinson IV is in a two-man race with Notre Dame’s Leonard Moore right now for the best cornerback in college football, and he might be the best in terms of pure coverage skills. His ball skills and fluidity are unbelievable.
Robinson was only targeted three times against Alabama, allowing one catch for six yards. He practically shuts down his side of the field. In Georgia’s five games this year, Robinson has been targeted just 19 times in 147 coverage snaps, allowing 11 receptions for 108 yards and no touchdowns according to Dawgs Central. He has an interception and four passes broken up.
Demello Jones is a hard-nosed, physical man corner whose skillset complements Robinson well. He’s been at his best when he can mug receivers at the line, flip his hips and follow them upfield. Against Alabama, Jones was targeted five times and allowed two receptions for 19 yards.
In 144 coverage snaps, he’s been targeted 24 times and allowed 15 catches for 186 yards. He has an interception and a beautiful pass breakup against Coleman-Williams in the end zone. Jones can sometimes get lost in zone coverage, but has looked really good when he’s allowed to just cover the guy in front of him. Braylon Conley has also had some good moments as a No. 3 corner for Georgia this year.
Khalil Barnes has been a home run portal pickup at nickel. He’s been rugged against the run, tackles extremely well and stays in the hip pocket of slot receivers. Barnes has 13 tackles, three pass breakups and has allowed 13 catches for 68 yards across 20 targets this season.
KJ Bolden isn’t coming off a great game in Tuscaloosa, but he was playing injured. He unfortunately has been ruled out for the Auburn game this week, but his return will be a welcomed sight when it occurs because he is one of the best safeties in the country.
Rasean Dinkins looks like he’s settling into that other safety spot next to Bolden. The Bulldogs played him at nickel last year before moving him to an expanded role this season. He wound up in bad position on a few deep shots against Vanderbilt but looked like a veteran out there against Alabama. Dinkins made seven tackles in the game.
Auburn poses a bigger threat on offense than fans might realize
Leading into the Auburn game, this Georgia secondary must keep gelling together. This looks like a talented room that has the potential to be even greater than the sum of its parts, if the Bulldogs can avoid some of the deep ball miscommunications they had in the Vanderbilt game. Plus, the Bulldogs’ pass rush has shown more life at this point in the season than it did a year ago.
“Size, speed and physical,” Auburn head coach Alex Golesh said of Georgia’s secondary. “And then in the back end, that secondary is real– both corners, both safeties, really can cover. They do a really good job of taking what you do away in a lot of really different ways.”
Auburn enters this game with a rough passing offense. USF transfer Byrum Brown has completed 65.4% of his pass attempts for 1,055 yards, seven touchdowns and seven interceptions this season. He’s coming off a 159-yard, two interception dud against Tennessee.
Wideout Keshaun Singleton has some good size (6-foot-3, 220 pounds), length and ball skills, and has been Auburn’s main playmaker outside this season. He leads the Tigers in receiving with 29 catches for 322 yards and a touchdown. Chas Nimrod is a bit more of a deep threat and has caught 25 passes for 273 yards and two touchdowns this year.
This looks like a game where Georgia can trust its defensive backs in coverage, and play Auburn pretty honestly. The Bulldogs got away with about as much man coverage as you can play in a college football game against Alabama, and are well-coached enough to thrive in zone coverage as well.
A strong performance against Auburn would continue to stake this group’s claim as one of the best secondaries in college football.
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