A lot of Georgia fans have been excited about five-star recruit Mecole Hardman, but it was always unclear as to where the No. 1 athlete in the Class of 2016 would make his impact.

Head coach Kirby Smart told an alumni gathering on Thursday at the Columbus UGA Day that Hardman, despite his interest in playing offense, will start his career in the Bulldogs’ secondary when he arrives on campus.

“Everybody wants him to start out on offense,” Smart said, according to The Telegraph’s Jason Butt. “We have to stop people from scoring points in order to win. I don’t know if you saw the spring game but we’re in need of some defensive players. That’s important too. Where I come from you have to play defense first. We want him to do that and train there.”

Five days ago, Hardman reached out to Smart to make his case to be a wideout after five-star receiver Demetris Robertson finally announced he’d be playing at Cal and not Georgia.

https://twitter.com/iiAm_Mesho/status/726874140712509440

Still, Smart also believes his defense needs playmakers contrary to what others believe.

Last season, Georgia led the FBS in passing defense by only allowing 156.5 yards per game through the air. However, Smart believes that was a product of the defense’s scheme.

Plus, UGA didn’t face many prolific aerial attacks in 2015. The best passing offense the Bulldogs saw was Alabama, ranked 62nd in the FBS.

However, Smart made it clear that Hardman would get an opportunity to show what he can do offensively as well.