ATHENS — For a young player like freshman safety Rasean Dinkins, Georgia’s second off week was very well timed.

Dinkins did not enroll early at Georgia and thus did not get the benefit of spring practice. He arrived in the summer, having to try and make up ground on the many veterans in the Georgia defensive backfield.

One of those is likely to be out again for Georgia’s game against Florida, as Kyron Jones continues to deal with a foot injury that forced him out of the Ole Miss contest.

“Kyron, we’re trying to get him back as soon as we can,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “We’re hopeful he’s able to make it back.”

With Jones sidelined, Georgia turned JaCorey Thomas at safety, electing to keep Joenel Aguero at star. In obvious passing situations, Georgia did insert Demello Jones into the game in order to provide better coverage.

But Thomas, a senior, never left the field. He played every snap against Ole Miss, along with Bolden and Aguero played all 62 snaps. They’ve played multiple years in Georgia’s system, a benefit Dinkins does not have.

Dinkins is not Georgia’s only newcomer at safety, with the Bulldogs bringing in Adrian Maddox, Zion Branch and Jaden Harris via the transfer portal. Those three, like Dinkins, did not play against Ole Miss.

Maddox is in his final year of eligibility, while Branch and Harris each have one year after 2025. Dinkins has three and possibly four if he were to redshirt in a future season.

Dinkins, a 4-star prospect out of Warner Robins, Georgia, has already played in six games this season, with most of his work coming on special teams.

One of the benefits of the off week prior to the Florida game is that it allows Georgia to work more on itself and thus get more reps for players like Dinkins, as opposed to being hyper-focused on that week’s opponent.

“Yeah, any bye week’s great for those kids,” Smart said. “The way we do practice, I’m not sure they don’t get more work in a week of normal game week practice because we practice every day than they do in a bye week. Bye week is focused on them. They get more reps, but they have less practices.

If Dinkins is to earn his way onto the field, it will be because of his tackling ability.

Smart has stressed the importance of tackling at every turn this week, even with Florida having talented pass catchers like Ventrell Brown and Dallas Wilson at their disposal.

“I want to keep seeing growth,” Smart said. “I want to keep seeing guys getting better. Again, the No. 1 thing you can do in the secondary is tackle. So when you get an opportunity to tackle somebody, you gotta get them on the ground. When you get opportunities to make a play on the ball, you’ve gotta make plays on the ball. Then you’ve gotta make some players where you punish people, and they make mistakes and you catch the ball. Those are things we’re looking for each-and-every week out of every group, but specifically the secondary.”

Time will tell if this is the week we saw Dinkins turn the corner as a player for the Bulldogs. The belief in the freshman is high.

We’re also getting to the point in the year where someone like Dinkins, with more than half a season under his belt, were Dinkins is no longer viewed as a freshman.

“So Dink’s coming along great,” Smart said. “He’s a really good football player. He’s very instinctive, tough, physical. He’s a joy to work with, and he’s going to be a good football player for us.”