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Malaki Starks Talks About Senior Leadership From 2022 Season

Originally posted on FanNation Dawgs Daily
By Ethan Offutt | Last updated 6/22/23

Georgia safety, Malaki Starks, joined Footballville and discussed multiple things in their podcast episode, including the importance of Georgia's senior leadership in the 2022 season. The conversation started talking about Starks background growing up playing youth football in Georgia and eventually landing at his hometown team.

When talking about Starks recruiting, he mentions how he wanted to go to a school where they knew "what's important to me because that way they would get more through me if they understood how I function."

This statement from Starks is only a testament to what we have heard from the 2024 class and Justin Greene about how Kirby Smart and his staff can build great relationships with their recruits. But this relationship between coaches and players is also entrenched within their players.

In Starks' first year with the program, Georgia's secondary room was filled with talent. Two names many Georgia fans will know are Christopher Smith and Dan Jackson.

"I give so much credit to Dan Jackson and Chris Smith," Starks stated, "cause when I got there, they took me under their wing. When you get to a place you think people will have a big ego, I still haven't met anyone like that in Georgia."Starks also stated how whenever he needed something, he would "call Dan, and he would answer - it's all love."

A championship program can be built on a multitude of platforms. Great players and coaches are an obvious option, but with great players and coaches, you must build a great culture. A great culture is set through the coaches and their seniors, who have bought into the program and know what it takes to be a great team. How can you build this, though? Through trials and tribulations.

Starks was then asked about the Missouri game this past season and if he ever felt like Georgia would lose it; Starks's answer was simple, "It Didn't." Starks continued on to say he felt like "it was because of the leadership on the sideline and just Coach Smart - I don't think there was a time anyone felt like we were down or out of it."

When asked if he was ready for the leadership role, Starks said he was ready. "I say that because I think the people that were in front of me taught me how to do it. We still have guys there, like Juvan Bullard, Kamari Lassiter, and Tykee Smith, those are our leaders. I'm still learning from them, but the things they taught me so far, I feel I'm going to bring that type of leadership to the table too."

Jackson and Smith are prime examples of two seniors who have bought into the Georgia Bulldog standard that Kirby Smart has set. These comments from Starks only back up how great Georgia's leadership is.