ATHENS — Georgia’s top-ranked recruit in the 2024 signing class was cornerback Ellis Robinson. He was the No. 1 ranked cornerback across all recruiting services and the No. 2 ranked prospect in the cycle.

It’s easy to think he might be an instant contributor, especially with Georgia having to replace cornerback Kamari Lassiter in the offseason.

But to this point, Robinson hasn’t been able to crack the top part of the rotation at cornerback. Daylen Everette played 68 snaps in the loss against Alabama, with safety Malaki Starks being the only Georgia defender to play more snaps.

Julian Humphrey played 51 snaps. He’s started every game this season for Georgia opposite Everette. Daniel Harris, who missed the Kentucky game due to a reckless driving arrest, played the other 21 snaps while Everette and Humphrey rested.

To this point, much of Robinson’s development has been behind closed doors or in blowouts. He has not played in either of the last two games.

“Ellis is getting better. He works his tail off. You know, we try to find roles for him on special teams,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “He’s continuing to grow. He practices with the twos, you know, all practices. He goes one-on-one reps. He gets better. He’s a good tackler. He’s physical at the line of scrimmage. He does a good job with his hands. Good job with ball location, like getting balls down. He’s continuing to challenge those other guys.”

It’s important to note here that Georgia hasn’t had an every-down freshman cornerback start since Tyson Campbell did so back in 2018. Everette, Kelee Ringo and plenty of other highly-touted cornerbacks had to wait their turn at Georgia. Campbell even got replaced in the starting lineup that season.

Perhaps Robinson can follow a track more similar to that of Lassiter. He was a major player for Georgia on special teams as a freshman. Lassiter got playing time only when Georgia was up by a significant margin — a frequent occurrence in the 2021 season.

By his sophomore year, he was a starting cornerback for Georgia opposite Ringo. As a junior, he developed into one of the best cornerbacks Smart has coached. He now starts for the Houston Texans after being taken in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

“I tell them all the time, what would Kamari do,” Smart said. “What would Kamari do? They’d probably get sick of hearing it. Comparison is the thief of joy, but Kamari was such a great practice player and walk-through player that we have clips of him doing things in practice and walk-through that we want them to emulate.”

Smart’s larger point about comparisons is an important one. Just because Alabama 5-star freshman Zabien Brown had a game-clinching interception for the Crimson Tide doesn’t mean he’s a better player than Robinson. Alabama’s secondary was ravaged due to the transfer portal, forcing Alabama to play Brown.

Georgia fought to keep Harris and Humphrey out of the transfer portal, despite both flirting with it. Humphrey had a key pass breakup and tackle in the win over Kentucky. Harris has continued to improve as a sophomore and looks to be someone who should only continue to improve.

“He does a good job with a lot of scrimmage,” Smart said. “He had a really good play on fourth and one where he came closed and helped set an edge on the stop we had on them on fourth and one.  Daniel continues to grow and mature. You know, he’s 193 pounds now. That’s a big corner. And he doesn’t even look 193. He could be 200 pounds easily because he’s so long. But his practice habits have improved the most.”

When Robinson breaks through for Georgia remains unclear. Right now, there’s a clear top rotation at cornerback, and Robinson isn’t a part of it.

But Smart wants to see his cornerbacks dominant practice habits. Lassiter did. There’s the hope that Robinson can as well, and thus follow in his footsteps as a lockdown cornerback.