Derion Kendrick Georgia football Kirby Smart

Georgia was always going to be in the market to add players at defensive back this offseason. The Bulldogs had four defensive backs taken in the 2021 NFL Draft, then saw two more key pieces in Tyrique Stevenson and Major Burns transfer to other Power 5 programs.

At SEC media days, Kirby Smart revealed Georgia was actually below its scholarship quota at the defensive back position.

Still, few thought Georgia would add a player with Derion Kendrick’s resume to its roster. Especially with the Bulldogs opening the 2021 season against Kendrick’s former team in the Clemson Tigers.

“D.K. is a kid that we knew through recruiting,” Smart said. “We recruited him at the University of Georgia, but Coach (Will) Muschamp also recruited him at South Carolina. Both of us felt like we had a good feel for his family and his dynamic there.

“He’s a young man that comes from a program that’s been very successful. He’s played and had a lot of experience.”

Kendrick was an All-ACC cornerback in each of the past two seasons at Clemson. He started 23 games over that span for the Tigers while starting in three College Football Playoff games in that span.

In March though, Kendrick was dismissed from Clemson. Shortly after his dismissal, Kendrick was arrested with unlawful possession of a gun and simple possession of marijuana. Those charges were later expunged from Kendrick’s record after he completed a pretrial intervention program.

Swinney, while speaking to Clemson reporters last week, made it known that he’s still rooting for his former defensive back.

“He’s a great player, so it’s a tough challenge,” Swinney said. " I love DK, I’m pulling for him. I hope he has a great year, hopefully, a great season except for one game.

“DK is a young man I love dearly, but sometimes, there needs to be a change for both sides.”

That first game will be against the Bulldogs in Charlotte on Sept. 4. The Georgia-Clemson game is one of the most anticipated in the country, as it figures to be a matchup between top-5 teams in the country.

Smart is among those who are looking forward to having that type of game played.

“This game was an opportunity for both teams to get out of a previous game and come together,” Smart said. For me, to play in a market like Charlotte where we recruit, a market like Atlanta, where we’re going to play next year, if we’re not playing there, somebody else is.

“So we want to take advantage of it and go play. I know you don’t believe this, but it’s not just about the wins and losses. It’s really about the opportunity because people want to play in those games.”

Kendrick will play a big part in that game. Given Georgia has zero players with starting experience at the cornerback position, Kendrick has an excellent chance to play early against his former team.

Georgia’s other three cornerback options include redshirt freshmen Jalen Kimber and Kelee Ringo and senior Ameer Speed. Those three all went through spring practice with the Bulldogs, but none of them can boast the experience that Kendrick does.

Georgia also brought in defensive back Tykee Smith, though he figures to play more at the “star” position for the Bulldogs. He was an All-American in his time at West Virginia, where he also played for new Georgia defensive backs coach Jahmile Addae.

As for what Smith and Kendrick might look like when they get on the field together, it’s still too early to tell per their new head coach.

“They’re working extremely hard,” Smart said. “Where they’ll fit as pieces of the puzzle there’s no way to determine that. That would be total speculation. We don’t know that.”

Georgia will get a chance to start working with Kendrick and Smith starting in August as the Bulldogs prepare for the start of the 2021 season.

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