The Georgia football secondary has been a point of major media scrutiny to start the 2025 season. The group misplayed the ball in the air several times against Tennessee and allowed multiple long touchdowns, including three to deep threat Chris Brazzell II.
While they mostly kept a lid on Alabama star Ryan Williams, they benefitted from a dropped deep ball in the first quarter that would’ve been a sure touchdown, and struggled to get stops on third down throughout the game.
Even Kentucky had a somewhat productive day through the air last weekend, with Kendrick Law catching six passes for 64 yards and a touchdown.
And yes, a great deal of the secondary’s vulnerability can be attributed to a relatively weak pass rush that gives quarterbacks more time to throw. That’s probably still the bigger issue Georgia is facing on defense right now. But it’s still been something of a down year from a group many tabbed as one of the best in the nation entering the year.
Daylen Everette is still as solid as they come, but fellow corner Daniel Harris has vanished from the lineup almost completely. Demello Jones and Ellis Robinson IV have been up and down, and it looks like Georgia is still working out the pecking order at cornerback.
“We’re a work in progress. We had some bad eye-control moments where guys don’t see what they’re supposed to see. They will work at getting better. We’re putting hands on people a little better. Getting balls down, 50/50 balls,” head coach Kirby Smart said via 247sports.com. “We’ve worked really hard on that and we’ve got to continue to do it. But I’m proud of the growth we’ve had and the development we’ve had.”
That growth might have to show up in a big way this week when Georgia travels to Jordan-Hare Stadium to play Auburn under the lights.
Auburn WR duo will present a huge challenge to Georgia's secondary
Auburn wideout Cam Coleman is one of the premier talents in college football. He’s got elite speed and can catch nearly anything thrown his way, with good size to boot at 6-foot-3, 195-pounds.
The Tigers also have Georgia Tech transfer Eric Singleton Jr., who leads them in receiving with 27 receptions for 265 yards and two touchdowns to Coleman’s 17 catches for 255 and two scores.
Georgia fared very well against Coleman last year, holding him catchless in their 31-13 win. But they had a tougher time with Singleton, who caught eight passes for 86 yards and a touchdown against him as a Yellow Jacket in the Bulldogs’ 44-42 victory.
“They're two really good receivers,” Everette said via redandblack.com. “Cam, he has size, he's one of those guys where you could just really just throw it up to him. He's like their 50-50 type of guy. So we’ve just got to do a good job of making plays on the ball when that opportunity comes. And then Singleton… He's also a really good receiver, real shifty. You can put him anywhere. So, we just gotta stay locked in.”
One bright spot for Georgia's secondary
Auburn’s passing offense has still struggled in spite of their talent at wideout, and they currently have the least passing yards in the SEC of anyone except for Kentucky. Quarterback Jackson Arnold has struggled to push the ball downfield and has taken too many drive-crushing sacks. Teams have had success stopping the Tigers when they bracket Coleman, load the box and dare Arnold to beat them.
Time will tell if this will be Georgia’s strategy. If the Bulldogs do indeed commit to stopping the run, it’ll put pressure on the defensive backs and open up some opportunities for Arnold and the wideouts to make plays downfield. And if that’s the case, Georgia’s secondary could decide the game.
“If you wanna cover somebody, you've gotta put your hands on them,” Kirby Smart said via 247sports.com. “You've gotta affect the timing of a route. If you're going to be up on somebody, there's not a lot of purpose of being there if you aren't using your hands.”