HOOVER, Ala. -- Mecole Hardman Jr. spent the bulk of his time this spring at wide receiver. He’s even listed at that position in the team’s media guide.

But Georgia head coach Kirby Smart had held off on making the former five-star prospect’s move from cornerback to wideout official -- that was until Tuesday at SEC Media Days.

“I think that’s safe to say. You guys have finally cracked the egg,” Smart said with a smile when asked about Hardman being a receiver. “ Mecole worked over there about 95 percent of the spring. He did a lot of work there.”

According to Smart, Hardman did double as a defensive back during the spring but a lot of that had to do with the Bulldogs lack of numbers at cornerback.

On June 1 UGA added several defensive backs from the 2017 class, giving the Bulldogs more adequate numbers at the position, but Smart isn’t ready to label them all as cornerbacks. He says three or four could be considered as corners but the others will get work at multiple positions.

Ultimately, the decision came down to what Hardman could do for the Bulldogs on offense. Smart believes that’s quite a bit.

“We believe his attributes will help us in the slot, in the return game,” Smart said. “He can do a lot of different things. We’ve got to find a way to get him the ball but he’s also got to find a way to protect the ball. So that’s going to be a growing curve for him, carrying the rock very much that Isaiah (McKenzie) and Reggie (Davis) went through upon my arrival.

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