Aug 16, 2013
By Matt Winkeljohn
Sting Daily
– There may photos of Corey Dennis playing defensive back at Georgia Tech, which is a bit odd since he is very much in the mix at wide receiver.
The junior from Troy, Ala., who played quarterback as a high school senior, was recruited as a receiver, but that didn’t last long once he arrived on The Flats.
“At the beginning of camp I moved to safety, and I played safety all my freshman year and half my sophomore year,” Dennis said.
Dennis appeared in 13 games as a true freshman, chiefly on special teams, and all 14 last season. So he’s been around the block already.
Spend enough time in a spot, and it starts to feel like home. The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder just has that feeling about now. He said, “I feel like I’m finally in a spot where I can settle down and compete.
“I feel like when you get to know a position and the ins and outs, it brings you confidence. If you know what you’re doing, it’s going to translate on the field, because if you have to think about what you’re doing, it slows you down.”
One need not watch Dennis for long to appreciate the fact he has a knack for the game. After playing mostly receiver as a high school sophomore and junior, he moved to quarterback as a senior. All he did was pass for 1,170 yards and rush for 1,444.
It’s not hard to see. “He’s a tough kid. He knows the system,” said head coach Paul Johnson. “He’s been here. He’s a decent blocker.”
Football is in Dennis’ blood. Literally. Father Steve played at the University of Georgia in the mid-1970s, and one of his brothers, Chris, is an assistant high school coach in Mobile, Ala.
Steve, who is the athletic director at Troy University, is over his allegiance to the folks in Athens. At least that’s what Corey says: “It’s gone completely. He goes back and sees all his buddies and wears his Tech gear; he’s behind us 100 percent.”
Football figures to remain front and center, too.
“I want to stay in football as much as I can. Going to the next level, if that doesn’t work out, I can’t imagine being away from it,” Dennis said. “I’ve been involved my whole life. I started playing tackle football when I was 7 with 8- and 9-year-olds. I also played basketball and baseball, but by seventh grade I knew football was the sport.”
The game runs in the blood of Dennis’ girlfriend’s family, too.
He’s dating graduated Tech volleyball player Nikki Meyer, daughter of Urban. “Yes sir, I am,” he explained.
That was about all he had to say on the topic.
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