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Impressive UGA Football Defender Is Back With A Vengeance
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- Impressive UGA Football Defender Is Back With A Vengeance
Kyron Jones | Dawg Post
ATHENS - Georgia Bulldog football safety Kyron Jones is back to business after suffering a season-ending foot injury last year. And business looks good.
Jones was playing outstanding football last season. He was smashing running backs and bringing a physical presence to the Bulldog secondary. He had 24 total tackles through six games including a game-changing fumble recovery against Auburn.
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But then the injury came. A season-ending foot injury sidelined Jones for the remainder of the season, putting him behind last spring. But Jones didn't flinch.
The former high school running back earned a starting job last year for a reason, and he wasn't giving his spot up to start the 2026 season. Jones started Georgia's season-opener against Tennessee State , recording 3 tackles in his first game back from injury. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart had a lot to say about his starting safety to reporters on Tuesday.
"It's not what he's done in the last five or six weeks," Smart said about Jones' return. "It's what he's done since he's been here. He's high character. He's tough. He's fast. He was more of an offensive player coming out of high school that we thought could transition to defense. I mean, when you look for defensive players, you look for size and speed."
"He has good size, good bulk, and he has good speed," Smart added. "He had to work a lot when he got here on instincts and playing that position. It's not a position that you can just go play and you haven't played a lot in your history, and he got better with that. He's one of the toughest kids I've been around. He he practices hard. He's dealt with a lot of injuries, and he's overcome them and, he sets his mind to something, and he does it."
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Jones' tenacious effort and style of play allowed him to see significant playing time last year. He doesn't shy away from contact and is one of the hardest tacklers on Georgia's defense. His physicality stood out early on against Tennessee State , delivering a violent tackle on the first defensive play of the game. He sets the tone and spoke about it with reporters this week.
"Making a big hit is always something to get excited about but I was really just doing my job," Jones told reporters. "It was a great way to start the game off. I was thankful and blessed to be able to take the field and see another game. You haver to take advantage of every opportunity you get. You never know when it might be your last snap."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/georgia as Impressive UGA Football Defender Is Back With A Vengeance .
