Someone who will be a major target for several top programs in the 2027 class: IMG Academy (Fla.) cornerback Censere Gaylord.
The 6-foot, 160-pound 4-star prospect has seen his recruitment start to take off over the last year. The list of programs involved in what will be a high-profile recruitment is already impressive — and growing. Georgia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Washington are all programs that have gone to see Gaylord during the contact period earlier this year. Gaylord plans to visit Washington in the near future.
As hard as it is to believe, our break from Georgia football is nearly over.
The Georgia Bulldogs open spring practice this upcoming Tuesday with the first of 15 practices to prepare for the 2025 season. While the Bulldogs’ work during spring ball stands as the team really just getting started for the upcoming campaign, it will provide a glimpse at how the team is coming together as they prepare for the fall.
In order to gear up for spring practice, we’re rolling out our annual position preview series. We’ll take a look at all the positions on the Bulldogs’ roster with one preview per day all the way to the opening day of spring ball.
We’ll turn our attention today to the secondary, which has some proven pieces who are back for another year. Let’s dive into our familiar bullet points of what we know, what we don’t know, and what we’re waiting on this spring:
The Bulldogs have lost experienced defensive backs, but they are not without proven options for 2025.
Safeties Malaki Starks and Dan Jackson are off to the NFL, with Starks very likely to be a first-round pick in April. One-time starting cornerback Julian Humphrey transferred to Texas A&M, and reserves Justyn Rhett (Nebraska) and Jake Pope (UNLV) moved on as well.
Georgia brings back four starters in cornerback Daylen Everette — who turned down a chance to go pro — cornerback Daniel Harris, STAR Joenel Aguero, and safety KJ Bolden. The Bulldogs also added to the secondary via the transfer portal by adding Miami’s Jaden Harris, UAB’s Adrian Maddox, and USC’s Zion Branch.
The Bulldogs have a handful of up-and-coming defensive backs vying for more playing time, a group that includes senior JaCorey Thomas, redshirt sophomore Kyron Jones, sophomore Demello Jones, and redshirt freshmen Ellis Robinson IV and Ondre Evans. They also signed five defensive backs: four-star Todd Robinson, four-star Jontae Gilbert, four-star Jaylan Morgan, four-star Dominick Kelly, and four-star Rasean Dinkins. Dinkins is the only signee who has not already joined the team.
Georgia returns those four starters from last year’s secondary, but will all four hold onto those same positions?
Everette and Bolden are locks to start in 2025. I feel really good about Aguero, but could Georgia work with him at safety after he spent his first two seasons at STAR? Daniel Harris had an up-and-down run after replacing Humphrey at cornerback, but he will have to fend off Robinson, Jones, and others to start again in 2025.
It will also be interesting to see how the three transfers factor into the mix. I believe Jaden Harris has the best chance of earning a big role among them, but there are a lot of opportunities in the defensive backfield this spring. If someone strings together a strong string of practices, that might be enough to earn a starting role.
This goes across the board, but where Georgia plays some of the new arrivals — both the transfers and the freshmen — will be interesting. The Bulldogs love cross-training DBs, so it’s entirely possible that guys get looks at different positions as the staff tries to determine who fits best where. It will take spring practice for us to better understand where these DBs will likely line up come the fall.
The first viewing period is so valuable in terms of figuring out who is lined up where. That will especially be the case with the DBs, as we should get a sense of who’s working at cornerback, STAR, and safety as spring practice gets going. Some players will likely cross train, which makes following them over the course of 15 practices worthwhile.
I’ll be waiting to see where Georgia wants Aguero to line up and seeing who emerges at either the STAR position he’s vacated or the safety spot that’s still open. Daniel Harris is a returning starter at corner, so it’ll be interesting to see if he will actually be challenged there.
I’ll also see which transfers turn heads early on and how the true freshmen handle being put through the ringer for the first time.