Having made his return, Parrish is getting 'closer to full-throttle'

It was seen as the lone defensive position Georgia couldn’t afford to lose a player due to injury.

But Malkom Parrish, a starting cornerback for the past two seasons, broke his foot during a practice two weeks before the start of the regular season. It forced the Georgia coaching staff to adjust its secondary personnel around.

Georgia is now four games in and victors in each one. And Parrish was able to make his return to the football field last Saturday against Mississippi State. Parrish played a rotational role and saw time mostly in third-down situations.

The goal is to ramp up Parrish’s workload to where he could eventually receive the same amount of reps he normally would when 100 percent again. Head coach Kirby Smart said Parrish is “closer to full-throttle” now that he is six weeks removed from the initial injury.

The coaching staff has been working on Parrish’s conditioning since he missed so much time.

“It’s like everything else. He’s working his way back,” Smart said. “I’d say his stamina is not what it used to be. He’s continuing to do that. He gets tired quickly. He’s sharing reps. It’s not an ‘Are you a starter, are you not a starter?’ It’s just like the other situation I talked about. He’s working his way back into the rotation to try and figure out where he’s at.”

Parrish’s return has his teammates excited about the full potential of Georgia’s defense, which ranks fourth in the SEC at 269.5 yards per game. More importantly, the unit is holding opposing teams to an SEC third-best 11.5 points per game.

With Parrish easing back into his spot, cornerback Tyrique McGhee said it will be good to see the secondary operating with everyone available.

“With him back, you could say we’re at full strength,” McGhee said. “I’m excited to see what we look like out there.”

Parrish has long established himself as one of the secondary’s surest tacklers. His experience as a two-year starter is also valuable to a defense littered with mostly juniors and seniors.

“I’m used to seeing Malkom out there with me,” outside linebacker Davin Bellamy said. “It definitely adds a sense of security that he’s back out there because he’s a great player. We do need him because he’s talented and he competes at a high level.”

This story was originally published September 27, 2017 at 5:58 PM with the headline "Having made his return, Parrish is getting 'closer to full-throttle' ."