Georgia Bulldogs shift Rico Johnson from wide receiver to cornerback

As practice begins for the 2014 college football season, the Georgia Bulldogs have elected to make a somewhat high-profile position switch with one of their incoming recruits. Freshman Rico Johnson will be shifting from wide receiver to the defensive side of the ball as a cornerback, according to multiple reports.

The 5-foot-11, 174-pound Johnson originally signed as a member of the class of 2013, but he did not qualify and was forced to attend prep school while re-committing to Mark Richt and company for this year’s class. Rico Johnson is best known for his speed and quickness, and with his admittedly slight frame, this positional shift may help his development as a player in the long term.

Jeremy Pruitt’s defense has been battered by defections in the off-season, with the loss of Josh Harvey-Clemons, Tray Matthews and Jonathan Taylor, and with that, the Dawgs are far less secure in the short term than they projected to be on that side of the ball. Still, Pruitt has a great deal of talent at his disposal, and it will be interesting to see if Johnson can make the requisite improvements in order to eventually be a factor in the defensive back rotation. Stay tuned.