Can I tell you how happy I always am to see defensive backs over 6 feet tall coming to the University of Georgia? Let's just say it makes me happier than Bobby Petrino riding his motorcycle down the Kentucky highway with a random co-ed behind him and Todd Grantham in his sidecar.
Enter Kendall Gant, a 6'3" 185 lb DB from Lake Gibson H.S. in Lakeland, Florida. Gant has some widely varying ranks by the recruiting services with Rivals ranking him 3 Stars and the #39 Safety in the country, 24/7 giving him 3 stars and ranking him the #33 Safety, and Scout giving him a 4 star grade and calling him the #13 Safety in the country.
There are several things that get me excited about Gant. As you can see from the video below, he has excellent hands (and also played WR in high school), frequently uses his height to his advantage, and isn't afraid to make the big hits:
On the other hand, he is going to need to add some weight in order to be effective against the running game in the SEC (which is a pretty frequent refrain with DBs coming out of high school -- and, in fact, many of the players we'll profile) and will need to add improved coverage to his skillset. I have faith our new secondary specialist DC will be able to help in that regard.
Gant selected Georgia over offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida St., and some state university in Ohio among others.
Given existing talent at the position, it's likely that it may be a year or two until we see Gant on the field regularly, However, if recent history is any indicator, some of our DBs may choose to do something incredibly stupid and detrimental to the team and Mr. Gant may find himself pressed into service earlier.
Until next time.... GOOOO DAWGS!!!