How Georgia is preparing Derion Kendrick for reunion with former team Clemson
Georgia’s defense trots out on its first possession by nightfall on Saturday and thousands of fans at a near 50-50 split cheer around them. Those in red and black will get their first look at No. 11, Derion Kendrick, in his new white jersey and the iconic Bulldog silver pants.
He will likely start as the team’s top cornerback. His eyes will lock on Clemson’s top receiver. Kendrick might look out of place for a moment, because well, the highly-regarded defender has always been known as a star on the other side.
Kendrick transferred to Georgia over the offseason after an abrupt end to his 2020 season at Clemson. After being cleared of criminal charges in York County, South Carolina, it set the stage for Kendrick’s debut against his former team.
“We’ve spoken to him about it and we continue to,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said Monday. “The hurdle is more of the emotional side in playing your former teammates and old family. It can be a knee-jerker and tough on you at times.”
Clemson molded Kendrick. It’s where the 6-foot, 190-pound cornerback earned All-ACC honors. Now, he’s one of Georgia’s biggest assets.
Kendrick has been discussed ad nauseum among Smart, Georgia coordinators and a slew of players for the month leading up to his debut against the Tigers. Each review has been full of praise.
“He came in ready to work and didn’t complain about anything. He’s been grateful for the opportunity, and that made me look at him as a guy with something to play for,” middle linebacker Nakobe Dean said. “It might take a minute for a transfer to buy into the team culture, but he hopped in and was part of us right away.”
The Bulldogs added Kendrick out of the transfer portal to fill its biggest area of need. All of Georgia’s offseason departures happened at once, including Tyson Campbell, Eric Stokes, Tyrique Stevenson — and Lewis Cine and Christopher Smith found themselves on an island at safety with no experienced members of the secondary alongside them.
Georgia is eager for Kendrick to suit up for the first time against the Tigers (7:30 p.m. Saturday, ABC), but there’s the added layer of an immediate reunion with his old squad. And in some ways, that might serve to the Bulldogs’ benefit.
“I’ll ask him whatever I can and whatever I see with what Clemson does,” said starting quarterback JT Daniels, who added that the two talk trash in Georgia practices.
Smart has indicated the awkward moments with Kendrick in the defensive meeting rooms alongside Dan Lanning and new secondary coach Jahmile Addae. A few of them have admittedly taken place when Georgia studied tape to game plan for Clemson and Kendrick appears on the screen in his old uniform.
Kendrick is limited in the ways he can help Georgia, too. He serves as an asset in breaking down Clemson’s personnel. He knows his former teammates and plenty of caveats to their styles of play. He can’t, however, speak much to what Clemson coordinators Tony Elliott and Brent Venables will feature in regards to the scheme.
Smart said ideologies and playbooks are constantly evolving, so Georgia hasn’t depended on Kendrick with too many schematic questions because it “gets you chasing the wrong idea.”
“I think football is football. I think if you go from room to room, things are called the same, from team to team,” Tigers’ linebacker James Skalski said, putting it a bit more simply in regards to Kendrick sharing so-called secrets. “It’s all the same stuff. No, you’re not going to get anything different. It’s just a game.”
In some ways, everything around Kendrick clashing with Clemson must evaporate by the time the opening kickoff flies through the air in Charlotte. Kendrick has three career interceptions and a number of pass deflections, so the Bulldogs are depending on their new addition in order to have defensive success.
For a six-day window, Kendrick can draw the connection to his past and benefit Georgia in some ways. After the opener, though, Kendrick will remain Georgia’s top cornerback through the season’s entirety.
“He’s got to be able to separate himself from that, lock it out and go perform,” Smart said. “He works hard, he loves football, it’s important to him and he’s bought into it. I’m excited to see him go play.”
— The State’s Alexis Cubit contributed to this story.