ATHENS — Kirby Smart hasn’t spent a ton of time delving into position battles this spring.
Whether it be quarterback or cornerback, Smart is focused much more on overarching themes rather than how Ellis Robinson is doing this spring.
Robinson is competing alongside Daniel Harris and Demello Jones at the cornerback position. With Daylen Everette limited this spring as he recovers from hernia surgery, the cornerback battle should be one of the more intense positional competitions on the Georgia roster.
“Yeah, he’s playing good, he’s practicing good, he’s competing,” Smart said of Robinson. “So I’m pleased. What I like about Ellis is he competes. He competes for the ball and it bothers him when people catch the ball on him.”
Smart’s comments about Robinson’s competitiveness might seem like a small anecdote.
But when taken in regard to how often Smart has spoken on the importance of being competitive, it paints a more encouraging picture of Robinson’s development.
Robinson signed with Georgia as the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting cycle. Yet the lofting recruiting ranking and measurables that are associated with that didn’t translate to immediate playing time.
In this day and age of college football, it’s easier than ever to just bounce to another school if you don’t like how things are going. Robinson would likely have suitors lined up around the corner if his name were to go into the transfer portal.
To prevent against players who want to jump ship at the first sign of adversity, Smart and his coaching staff have spent more time searching and recruiting players who possess a competitive spirit.
Robinson seems to possess that.
“Somebody said to me the other day, ‘Are you a good motivator? Can you motivate players?’ And I’m like, well, I’d rather get the ones that I don’t have to motivate because they’re self-motivated,” Smart said. “That’s the greatest kind of player to coach.
“We’re trying to err on that side more and more.”
Smart wants players who are talented enough to play excel at the highest level. But he doesn’t just want players who know they can get by on talent alone. He wants those who want to keep working and improving over the course of their college careers.
“I mean, I’m not saying as a whole, we have players that have passion and fire. But I think that’s missing across some of college football,” Smart said. “And so, who’s gonna find that the most? Who’s gonna have that the most? So we’re trying to find guys that have passion, fire, and it matters to them. They wanna compete so hard, it matters to them. We’re rewarding that every day with video and showing them.”
Robinson wasn’t the only top-ranked member of Georgia’s 2024 recruiting class who didn’t see much of the field last season. Of the 28 signees, 21 of them redshirted.
Justin Williams was the No. 1-ranked linebacker prospect in the country. Yet he saw fellow linebacker signee Chris Cole earn a spot on the All-SEC Freshman team.
Williams, perhaps more than anyone, has maintained a positive and driven mindset as he pushes to earn more playing time this spring.
"I feel like as a defense, we have a lot of young guys, and we have a lot of passion and energy,” Williams said. “I just feel like we need to work on that passion and energy and use it, like be more consistent. And that’s rather for me, from everybody on the football field, from ones to the threes to the twos and stuff like that. ”
It’s encouraging to this point that Robinson seems to fit that mold. He has the mental makeup Smart desires.
If he’s able to put everything together and win the cornerback competition, he could put himself in a spot to really help Georgia’s defense. One that will be looking to be one of the best in the country in 2025.
