Smart on 'selfless' Webb moving to corner: 'I really think he's got a bright future there'

Mark Webb had a productive preseason at wide receiver. Therefore, it was a bit of a surprise that he was moved to cornerback before Georgia's win over Notre Dame on Saturday.

Due to depth concerns, Webb was moved to the secondary, head coach Kirby Smart said Tuesday. With the numbers at receiver, Webb's addition to the secondary adds another body who could possibly enter the game if need be.

"We obviously have had concerns with injuries at that position," Smart said. "And we have a little more depth at receiver. He's been making plays on special teams. He tackles people. He played corner in high school. It's not necessarily permanent. But he's done a really good job. I really think he's got a bright future there."

With the 20-19 win over Notre Dame being close, Webb was unable to enter the game. He was a four-star wide receiver recruit who competed at Archbishop Wood in Philadelphia during high school.

With Malkom Parrish still out with a broken foot, it made sense to move Webb to cornerback. Whether this is a full-year position move or not, that remains to be seen.

"We'll sit down and revisit it when the time comes to see what he really wants to do," Smart said. "He originally wanted to play receiver, but I never really met a more selfless kid who said, It don't matter coach I just want to play. He's playing. He's playing on kick return, kickoff coverage, kickoff return.

"We just didn't have enough guys. So we moved him over there. And to be honest with you he's been a really pleasant surprise."

Smart did poke some fun at the media since Webb's position move wasn't noticed until pregame warm-ups inside Notre Dame Stadium. Smart said this was a position switch that occurred previously and wasn't hidden from reporters at practice.

"Let me say this first: I'm very disappointed in you guys. He's been there for two weeks," Smart said, jokingly. "I really don't know where you guys have been. So I've been a little bit shocked. We didn't try to hide it. We didn't move him around in individual. We didn't put him in a black jersey. I kept asking (sports information director) Claude (Felton), 'What are these guys doing?' Then it shocked me that y'all got it in the game and it came by way of a, I guess, a roster announcement or something. We probably shouldn't have done that, y'all still wouldn't have known."

This story was originally published September 12, 2017 at 6:36 PM with the headline "Smart on 'selfless' Webb moving to corner: 'I really think he's got a bright future there'."