Georgia senior safety Richard LeCounte will be one of the team’s leaders this upcoming season, and he has learned from head coach Kirby Smart about what it takes to make his words and actions count.

LeCounte met with members of The Bulldog Club recently via a Zoom call and talked about what it would take for Georgia to be national champions. Then, he talked about what why he decided to return to Athens for his senior season.

“I knew that we have a chance, a great chance, to be national champions at this time next year,” LeCounte said on the video. “So I was like, I can’t leave my guys, I can’t leave my brothers. I felt the mission was still on the table, and I’ve got to complete this mission before I go on to my next mission. So I came back.”

LeCounte added that he thinks the Bulldogs also have ‘unfinished business’ and that they’ve got to finish what they started.

The NCAA allowed to return to campus earlier this month on June 8 for workouts. Right now, all workouts are voluntary and they are non-contact. Smart and his coaching staff aren’t allowed to oversee on-field workouts until July 15, and they won’t start practicing in full pads until Aug. 14.

LeCounte thinks that the defense can be even better this season. Georgia’s 2019 defense led the country in scoring defense and finished ranked No. 3 in total defense. They also ranked No. 8 in pass efficiency defense.

“As stingy as we play, man, we’re trying to get the ball back to the offense, we’re trying to create havoc, we’re trying to be able make the other team feel our will,” LeCounte said. “Those guys in that room are so selfless, there’s nobody in that room that wouldn’t lay it all on the line for the team.”

Lecounte, who was the only Georgia defensive player to make the Athlon preseason All-SEC first team, said that the team has to stay focused if they want to continue to be great.

“We have a lot of guys coming back, eight or nine (starting) guys returning. At any position, there could be a new hat in there, and it doesn’t fall off at all.”