ATHENS — When Kamari Lassiter moved from his outside cornerback position to the star spot in Georgia’s defense, he wasn’t learning a totally new language.
Early in his Georgia career, Lassiter worked at the star position as a freshman. In the offseason, Georgia also cross-trains all of its defensive backs across the secondary.
So when Lassiter needed to go out and slow down Missouri’s potent passing offense, he was well-equipped to do so.
“It was really Coach Fran (Brown),” Lassiter said. “He was like, ‘I want our 3 on their 3.’ He asked Coach Smart. The coaches felt good about it, and they just taught me the game plan and worked with me all week and had some extra meetings and stuff like that. Going out to the game, I felt pretty confident to go out there and just fight for my brothers.”
The other 3 referenced is Luther Burden of Missouri. After catching a 39-yard touchdown on the opening drive against Daylen Everette, Burden had only 2 receptions for 14 yards when being hounded by Lassiter.
“You come to a place like Georgia to play at a high level and play against the best players in the country, so whenever you get that opportunity you always want to make the most of it,” Lassiter said.
Plenty took notice of how well Lassiter played on Saturday. With his stellar play this season, Lassiter has pushed himself into the conversation of being one of the best defensive backs in the country, and also one of the top draft prospects for the 2023 cycle.
Saturday’s game against Missouri allowed Lassiter to put his full talents on display against one of the top receivers in college football.
“He’s very bright, very conscientious. He didn’t learn to play it within a week. That wouldn’t be realistic,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “He only had to do so many things, and he’s done those things in walk throughs and was able to execute them in the game.”
Lassiter will be tasked with doing it all over again this week as the Bulldogs welcome Ole Miss to town. Burden ranks third in the SEC in receiving yards per game. Ole Miss’ Tre Harris ranks fourth.
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