Georgia Bulldogs and Kirby Smart lock in best defensive position group for the 2026 recruiting class with latest elite commitment
Kirby Smart and his incredible staff continue to dominate this offseason on the recruiting trail. Now up to 24 commits as official visits have all wrapped up in June, their 2026 recruiting class is looking like it may be the best in the country when the dust finally settles.And what's perhaps best about Georgia's recruiting […]
Kirby Smart and his incredible staff continue to dominate this offseason on the recruiting trail. Now up to 24 commits as official visits have all wrapped up in June, their 2026 recruiting class is looking like it may be the best in the country when the dust finally settles.
And what's perhaps best about Georgia's recruiting dominance this offseason is that they aren't just stacking names and pedigree. Georgia's staff is attacking the most important areas where the team needs to improve depth. Yes, that means fixing the wide receiver position and the offensive line, but perhaps even more importantly Georgia now may have the best defensive secondary class in the nation after their latest commitment.
Georgia lands special defensive back recruit Chace Calicut
After the Georgia Bulldogs lost star safeties Malaki Starks and Dan Jackson to the NFL, plus Julian Humphrey to the Transfer Portal this spring, it was clear that Kirby Smart needed to reinforce the depth on the defensive back end.
He brought in a few transfers in Zion Branch, Adrian Maddox, and Jaden Harris, but none of that trio may even ever really start for Georgia. The future still clearly needed to be secured at the position, and that's exactly what Kirby and his staff did this offseason.
Georgia already had five strong defensive backs committed coming into this past week, but then Kirby Smart and his staff landed a sixth, adding Chace Calicut (a highly rated four star safety) on Friday.
Calicut chose Georgia over top schools like Texas and Michigan saying, "There's not a better program producing [defensive backs] than UGA. Dawgs Nation, I'm home!"
Calicut had been a highly sought after recruit for years, garnering nearly 40 total FBS scholarship offers. Calicut is a tall, long, lanky defensive back who can win with physicality, but also possesses surprising speed to win from virtually any defensive back position if called upon.
With this latest acquisition, Georgia's defensive back class is just getting ridiculous for the 2026 recruiting cycle.
Georgia boasts best defensive secondary in 2026 recruiting class
There may have been a few defensive secondary classes that were close to Georgia's prior to landing Calicut, but now it's going to be virtually impossible for any other program in the country to compile anything close.
Co-defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson, defensive backs coach Donte Williams, and nickels/stars coach Andrew Thacker have truly outdone themselves this time.
Georgia's defensive secondary class for 2026 is now comprised of high four stars Justice Fitzpatrick (CB), Caden Harris (CB), Jordan Smith (S), Zech Fort (S), Chace Calicut (S), and high three star Kealan Jones (S). Five of those six players are considered consensus top 200 talents in the entire country. Three of them are ranked inside the top 100 overall.
The Georgia defense may have some depth questions at a few spots this season–something Bulldogs fans aren't quite used to–but that won't be the case for long if Kirby Smart and his staff keep recruiting like this.
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And if you want to see why Chace Calicut puts the final touches on the number one defensive secondary class in the country just check out some of his junior season highlights below.
