Richard LeCounte III, his name always reminded me of the dark antagonists of the vampire books I read as a teenage. I envisioned “The Count” swooping in to make a plethora of interceptions and fumble recoveries at UGA, back when he was in high school, but committed to Georgia. Upon arrival in Athens, head coach Kirby Smart played LeCounte early but rode him hard, publicly. Smart said he could play better, was maturing through growing pains, called for LeCounte to become a better leader for the defense, even as a true sophomore. Coming off a career-high two interceptions in the Sugar Bowl to conclude his junior year, before announcing his intention to return for his senior season, LeCounte is the key candidate to be Kirby’s top Dawg.

The (5-11, 190) average, at best, size for a safety that LeCounte possesses belies his actual physicality as a tackler. He is less a Greg Blue-type knockout specialist and more just a sure tackler; positioning football is a key strength of his game. I found him, as a college player, to be more sound in disciplined technique and less explosive ballhawk.

But, his time is not up. I would still love to see the ball end up in his hands more, like I did in the SEC championship game two years ago versus Alabama. His goal line takeaway turned the tide early, Georgia keeping that positive momentum for most of the rest of the football game.

Back in December 2016, LeCounte earned All-USA First Team, putting up huge takeaway numbers on defense and starring on offense. His basketball team also won state, while he was the Georgia player of the year for their classification level, at Liberty County in Riceboro, Ga. He’s an athlete.

While LeCounte has played since his freshman year, he was still somewhat in the shadow of J.R. Reed in the safety platoon at UGA in 2019. Reed, a true field general under Smart and seemingly another coach on the field, more than any of the 2020 returning defenders, netted the top defense in the country, with his execution and leadership. Reed is off to the pros.

At the start of every home football game at Sanford Stadium, a lone horn blows from the stands. Like that lone horn is meant to be emblematic of the birthplace of American public higher education, the University of Georgia (1785) and her old football program, a singular leader must arise in full.

Georgia has had a clear processional of excellent leaders on defense throughout the Smart era, fully demonstrating the defensive genius of Smart.

In 2016, Smart brought in Maurice Smith with him from Alabama, as a grad transfer safety. Smart clearly coveting a player he knew from personal experience that he could trust, particularly with in-game communication. Alabama coach Nick Saban actually attempted to block Smith’s immediate eligibility, since they anticipated potentially facing UGA soon. At the time, the SEC still asked graduating players to sit out a year if they went to a rival league school. That did not happen. Now that graduate transfers are quite commonplace, the process has been streamlined for the players and schools.

In UGA’s national runner-up year of 2017, Roquan Smith was in my opinion the single best defender in the country, winning the school’s first ever Butkus Award, from his middle linebacker position as top national linebacker.

In 2018, cornerback Deandre Baker led the defense, as he captured the school’s first ever Thorpe Award, as the best defensive back in the nation.

With safety J.R. Reed handing the baton after an excellent senior campaign, it’s Richard LeCounte III’s time to shine in Athens.