After Tuesday’s practice the media got to speak to redshirt sophomore cornerback Eric Stokes (27), and he talked a lot about the speed on the defense but especially the speed of the secondary.

“I feel like we are all at the same speed. We all are pretty even when it comes to our speed right now,” said Stokes. “For example, Tyson (Campbell) and i ran the same 10.39 in high school and I don’t think that we have regressed.”

Campbell also made mention of transfer D.J. Daniel (14) and how he fit into the competition.

“We knew coming in that DJ [Daniel] would be a tremendous player and I knew in the spring that him and Tyrique Stevenson would all be really good competition for each other. And I know day in and day out that we are all still fighting for our spots on this team.”

A big thing for Stokes is not having to rely on his speed, but his technique. Up until his senior year in high school, he played running back and wide receiver, but during his senior year, his coaches switched him to cornerback. Stokes said when he came to UGA the coaches really focused on getting him to improve on his football skills, and not necessarily work on his speed because he had that component.

“If I had to compare myself to a current running back it would have to be (James) Cook. I was all about speed, and I wasn’t trying to get hit. I would just try and hit the hole and run for the end zone.”

Stokes was then pressed about the talent that Vanderbilt has on offense.

“I know that they have a big three – tight end, running back and wide receiver. I know we really have to focus on them. We know that they will cause a lot of matchup problems and it’s known that we really have to be on our P’s and Q’s for this game.”

He was asked about Georgia’s running backs and the depth on this 2019 Bulldogs team at that position. Did he have any stories to tell? Stokes laughed, and then said a couple of times that James Cook had left him in the dust. He almost mentioned about the aggressiveness of Zamir White (3), and hard it is to tackle him.

“Brian Herrien is also hard to defend too. He is a tough runner, and one-on-one you don’t really know what you are going to get. He might try to shake you, he might try to run you over and sometimes you just really don’t know what else he’s about to do.”

In the end, Stokes talked about how much of an asset it was to have all those guys in practice and to be able to go up against them.

“It’s different because we have one that is speed, one that is power and another back that is shifty. It really keeps us prepared and helps us get adjusted to the different types of runners.”

Stokes seems confident about the upcoming game versus Vanderbilt. To him everything seems to be clicking, and that the havoc rate will be high come Saturday.

Watch Eric Stokes interview from Tuesday here: