Georgia has so many promising young players on its roster, it’s understandable that a player could lose his standing on the roster if he fails to live up to the hype in a hurry. In order to avoid that happening to Mecole Hardman Jr., UGA head coach Kirby Smart stated his plan for the sophomore athlete during his introductory spring press conference Tuesday.

When asked if Hardman would contribute at receiver this spring, Smart noted that the former five-star prospect from Georgia’s 2016 recruiting class would play “some offensive snaps” but was committed to leaving him at cornerback.

“Mecole we have a plan for,” Smart said. “We want to get some offensive snaps and be able to expose him to some of the concepts but it won’t be early in the spring. We are committed to continuing to develop him as a corner. He’s a guy that’s going to be working mostly in our two-deep, with our depth at DB — with some guys that left, so we need him there. We need him to develop there and we’ll find out in the fall, when we get some more depth in, how much we need him on offense.”

While Hardman’s first season in Athens was a disappointment — he played in four games, racked up six tackles and returned one kick for 17 yards last season — the spring should go a long way to help the development of the elite sophomore athlete. With Georgia searching for a replacement for former defensive back Maurice Smith and kick returner Isaiah McKenzie, Hardman could be the logical replacement for both roles heading into 2017.

Georgia certainly could use Hardman’s speed and versatility on offense but Smart is likely making the wise decision to not overburden his talented player until he’s fully comfortable with his role on the defense moving forward. Doing so should help avoid another disappointing season in Athens for the star in-state recruit from the team’s previous recruiting cycle.

Follow Michael Wayne Bratton / SEC Mike on Twitter.