After Tuesday’s practice, junior defensive back Mark Webb, Jr. met with the media and fielded questions on his performance during Georgia’s 63-17 victory over Murray State, learning to play in the secondary on defense, playing high school football in Philadelphia, running back D’Andre Swift, this Saturday’s upcoming opponent Arkansas State, and more.
Unfortunately, Webb was the victim of a blown coverage assignment where he gave up a big pass play versus Murray State’s Daquon Green for a touch down in the first quarter. He talked about coming back from that mistake to leading the Bulldogs in tackles for the game with 6.
“I needed to get a hit during the game. You get beat on a play and you just have to stay your mindset,” said Webb. “It’s only one game so you always have to keep playing. Coach Smart always talks about how we have to keep our head in the game.”
Webb also talked about his transition from the offense as a receiver to defense as a defensive back and earning playing time at the MONEY and STAR positions.
“I’ve had to learn everything about defense. Blitzing, covering, making calls, talking and tackling. I had to learn everything because I’ve come a long way since switching from receiver,” said Webb. “I won’t lie to you the hardest thing I’ve learned is tackling. You come in and may want to guard people but the first thing you’ll do in this program is tackle people.”
The junior Bulldog said that one of the biggest challenges was learning to tackle, and he shared a story of his first experiences learning to tackle. Webb got a ‘baptism by fire’ going up against former Georgia running back Elijah Holyfield and current Bulldog tight end Charlie Woerner in practice.
“It’s funny, my first hit was against (Elijah) Holyfield. He tried to run me over but I made the tackle,” said Webb. “That is how I learned how to tackle. And the second one was against Charlie Woerner on the sideline. My shoulder definitely went numb for a little bit but it was basically my initiation.”
Part of UGA’s 2017 recruiting class, Webb signed with the Bulldogs out of Archbishop Wood High School in Philadelphia, PA.
“I think coming from Philadelphia is different because you may not play a bunch of big guys but every week you play someone in a skilled position,” said Webb. “There are lots of great coaches, Catholic league and public league.”
One of those skill players is Webb’s cousin and current teammate, running back D’Andre Swift, who was also part of Georgia’s 2017 recruiting class. Swift signed out of St. Joseph’s Preparatory School in Philly.
“He (D’Andre Swift) was pretty good. He was basically, overall, he was definitely the best player in the league,” said Webb.
You can watch Mark Webb, Jr.’s full post-practice interview from Tuesday afternoon by clicking on the video below.