As we creep closer to the 2021 college football season, PFF ranked the top-10 returning safeties in the nation.
Georgia’s Tykee Smith, who transferred to UGA this offseason from West Virginia, checked in at No. 1 overall.
Smith, a three-star recruit of the 2019 class, has recorded the third-best slot coverage grade in the FBS over his true freshman and sophomore seasons while serving as the “spear” in West Virginia’s defense.
Smith’s 2020 campaign was a sight to behold. He was targeted 38 times in coverage across 10 games and allowed just 110 yards for the season. He did not give up a single explosive pass play of 15 or more yards while making five plays on the ball and forcing 10 passing stops.
The former WVU star is reuniting with defensive backs coach Jahmile Addae in Athens. The pair helped West Virginia have the nation’s top pass defense in 2020.
As a Mountaineer last season, Smith (5’11, 198) was a finalist for the 2020 Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation’s top defensive back. He was the 2nd highest graded defensive back in the country (85.3), according to PFF.
The junior racked up 61 tackles, 2 interceptions, and added 5 passes defended while helping West Virginia’s defense to the No. 1 passing defense in the country in 2020 (159.6 ypg), in a pass-heavy Big 12 conference nonetheless.