Malaki Starks snagged an interception in his college debut and started every game from there in a freshman season that ended with a national championship.
All the safety did in year two with Georgia football is become a consensus first team All-American.
So what does Starks have in mind for year three with the Bulldogs in 2024?
"As far as my game, I want to take it to the next level whether that be anything and everything really," Starks said. "Vision. Tackling. Playing the ball. Whatever the case may be, I want to take it to the next level."
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Starks said during Orange Bowl practices that then safeties coach Will Muschamp would more often show him film of his mistakes than what he did well to sharpen his game.
Now Starks will be working with new co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Travaris Robinson, who was hired from Alabama.
Starks was the only player not already in his third college season to make the AP All-America first team defense last season.
He could become the first Georgia two-time All-American safety since John Little in 1985 and 1986 and the first Bulldog defensive player to be a two-time All-American since outside linebacker Jarvis Jones in 2011 and 2012.
So where can Starks get better, coach Kirby Smart was asked on the eve of Georgia's 63-3 demolition of Florida State to end the 2023 season?
"I think bigger, stronger in the weight room," Smart said of a player listed at 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds. "He's dealt with some shoulder injuries and some dings. Going to be really important for him to maintain his weight and stay up. He's a really good athlete. He's got the ability to play man-to-man. He could probably play corner if we asked him to because he's a track kid in high school that had great track numbers."
Starks won a 4A long jump title down the road from UGA at Jefferson High School and ran a 10.55 in the 100-meter dash.
The local star is one of the most prominent faces of the program.
He visited with kids at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Athens' Joel E. Smilow Clubhouse earlier this month for some donut decorating, took questions from middle schoolers, posed for photos and signed autographs. It was part of his NIL deal with Dunkin'.
More opportunities are coming Starks' way after he snagged five interceptions with 120 tackles over two seasons for a defense that has led the SEC and ranked fifth nationally each of the last two seasons in points allowed.
"Great ball skills," Smart said. "But he also has size, so we wanted to maintain that 200 pounds and continue to fill weak-side B-gap. He does a good job of that. He's a really good football player."
Starks said he wants to go deeper with his knowledge of the game.
Kamari Lassiter , who started at cornerback the last two seasons and is now preparing for the NFL Draft, said Starks is already very detailed in his preparation.
"He's so refined already at a pretty young age," Lassiter said. "I mean now the only thing Malaki has left to do is just start working more into a leadership role, you know to take over and become a big-time leader. He's already in the works of doing that. …I feel in order to be comfortable and be content with his college years, he should be definitely be able to take that next big-time leader role. I know that's what he's going to do because he a big-time player."
Said Starks: "I tend to lead by example. I speak up when I have to."
Now he's expecting to be more vocal for a secondary that lost starters Lassiter, Javon Bullard and Tykee Smith. He's now one of the older guys in the group.
"That's crazy," he said, "because I just got here."
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: UGA football All-American Malaki Starks looks to raise game in Year 3
