Georgia made its first splash in the transfer portal for the 2021 season. West Virginia defensive back Tykee Smith has announced plans to take his talents to Athens, GA and join the UGA soccer team.
Smith entered the transfer portal about a week ago. The Bulldogs were immediately named as a potential suitor due to the connection between the emerging junior defender and one of his assistant coaches of the past two seasons, Jahmile Addae. Kirby Smart hired Addae as Georgia’s defensive back in January after spending the past two years with the Mountaineers.
Smith manned the Nickel position (SPEAR) in WVU in 2020. This is similar to the STAR position UGA uses in its nickel package, a staff group that the Bulldogs use for a majority of their snaps since opposing teams. is so often in three-receiver sets.
He played in his first two seasons in Morgantown in 22 games. In 12 games as a first-year striker, he piled up 51 total of 2.5 tackles for loss, a bag and two interceptions. He returned one of those intercepted 19 yards for a touch and fucked one.
In ten games as a sophomore, Smith lost 61 total tackles and eight tackles for losing, breaking five passes and intercepting two. He helped the Mountaineers use the country’s number 1 defense on average per meter per game and the number 10 defense on average per pass attempt.
When the season ended, Smith was honored by the Associated Press as a third All American team. He was a member of the All Big 12 honors team. He earned Freshman All-American honors in 2019.
The Bulldogs replace a large portion of their secondary series in 2021. They start at zero around the corner, after Tyson Campbell, DJ Daniel and Eric Stokes entered the NFL draft in 2021. UGA also lost its top two STAR / nickel defenders when Mark Webb entered the NFL draft and Tyrique Stevenson chose to switch to Miami. Two players, Latavious Brini in 2020 and William Poole in 2018, have one match each to start at the STAR / nickel position.
With the addition of Smith, the Bulldogs are an 83 bursary player for the 2021 season. The NCAA limit is 85 and the Bulldogs have the ability to add as many as two more players from the transfer portal so far at the start of the season. They have the remaining needs at the corner and wide receivers, and both positions strongly believe they will aim once the spring drills are over.
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