ATHENS — New Georgia defensive backs coach Donte Williams probably owes Fran Brown a thank you note of sorts.
Brown played a huge role in Georgia bringing in a star-studded defensive back class in the 2024 recruiting cycle. While 5-star safety KJ Bolden stole the show on Wednesday, Georgia had long ago secured the services of Ellis Robinson, the No. 1 ranked cornerback in the country for the 2024 recruiting cycle.
Robinson is already on campus, practicing with the Bulldogs ahead of their bowl game against Florida State. Robinson won’t be able to play in the bowl game but the experience he’ll be getting will be valuable for his future.
“His length, his character, his family. His parents made sacrifices,” Smart said of Robinson. “They sent their son to IMG to grow and get better, and I don’t know if he’s the person he is and the player he is if he doesn’t go down there and get to go against the best in the country. He played with Daylen, played with all those kids. He’s basically been in college for two to three years. He’s a wonderful, wonderful kid who, he has high expectations and we have high expectations, but he’s going to work to get better and develop within our program. We’re very excited to have him.”
Robinson isn’t the only top-tier cornerback Georgia inked in this class. DeMello Jones and Ondre Evans were also top-100 overall prospects in the 2024 recruiting cycle. Like Robinson, those two will be on campus in the spring for the Bulldogs.
They’ll step into a room led by a coach in Williams that Smart has long respected. Williams is regarded as one of the best recruiters on the West Coast, as he spent the past four years as USC’s defensive backs coach. Williams also worked at Oregon for two seasons as well.
He’ll work primarily with the cornerbacks. If that background sounds familiar it’s because Brown provided a lot of the same things to Georgia, only his area of expertise on the recruiting trail happens to be in the Northeastern part of the country.
When a coach sometimes departs this close to signing day, it can have a real impact on a program. But Georgia still signed the top two players in the state of New Jersey to go along with Robinson, Jones and Evans. Bolden, who paid a visit to Brown at Syracuse, even credited Brown with helping him see that Georgia was the best place for him.
“It was a very smooth transition,” Smart said of Brown. “He communicated very well to the guys that he helped recruit, but it wasn’t like he lied to any of them. Every one of them, they told us, ‘Yep, he told us if he got a head job then he’d go but that you and Coach Muschamp were going to be in the secondary with us.’ So we then went out and looked for what we needed, really said, ‘We want somebody that can develop and teach corner play,’ because Coach Muschamp and I work hard with the safeties.”
Given Robinson’s ranking and ability, plenty will be eager to see him play early. In the event Kamari Lassiter departs for the NFL, Georgia will likely have a starting spot up for grabs. Robinson may not be the favorite to land it but it shouldn’t come as a surprise to see him push for it.
As for Williams, the events of Wednesday only further highlight that he’s got some pretty big shoes to fill with Brown now running his own program.
Like many of the 2024 newcomers for Georgia though, Smart is more than confident Williams will be up to the task.
“He formed solid relationships and we wanted somebody that could do those same things,” Smart said of Brown. “Donte has proven he can do that, and he’s a really good football coach.”
