Georgia Tech feeling good about cornerback depth

August 6, 2021 Atlanta - Georgia Tech's defensive back Myles Sims (16) catches a breath during a football practice at Rose Bowl Field on Georgia Tech Campus in Atlanta on Friday, August 6, 2021. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

August 6, 2021 Atlanta - Georgia Tech's defensive back Myles Sims (16) catches a breath during a football practice at Rose Bowl Field on Georgia Tech Campus in Atlanta on Friday, August 6, 2021. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)

In preseason practices, a number of Georgia Tech cornerbacks have spent time taking snaps with the first defensive unit. The group has included returning starters Tre Swilling and Zamari Walton, but also Tobias Oliver and Myles Sims. Along with the addition of transfer Kenyatta Watson, cornerbacks coach Jeff Popovich said that he has his deepest group in his three seasons coaching the position for the Yellow Jackets.

“Oh, for sure,” Popovich said Wednesday. “Knock on wood, I feel really good about the depth in terms of the quantity of guys, but attrition can hit quickly. Just got to keep working on getting better.”

Popovich said that he hadn’t thought too much about what the rotation might look like for the position and how snaps would be divvied up between those whom he relies on. Swilling is something of a wild card, as he has been getting a lot of work lined up inside against slot wide receivers. Kenan Johnson is another candidate for playing time at corner.

“The thing, too, about the corner position, though, is those guys have got to run so many yards every play,” Popovich said. “Just the ability to sub those guys and have fresh legs in, especially with up-tempo offenses, you can’t have too many of them.”