When it comes to coaching the defensive backs this season, defensive coordinator Willie Martinez will have an assistant. That assistant, Antavious Coates, came at the expense of one of the most upbeat players on the team.

Coates was entering this season as a redshirt sophomore who had struggled with injuries his entire career at Georgia. The strong safety from Greenwood, S.C. was looking to get on the field this year and play between the hedges.

However, one practice in late August would prevent that from ever happening, as Coates suffered his fourth ACL injury effectively ending his football playing career.

“I was just running down on kickoff and I just twisted my knee. I didn’t think it was a torn ACL. But when I got the MRI back I found out it was,” Coates said.

After talking with doctors, Coates decided it was in his best interest to end his career.

Rather than giving up, he has turned his efforts toward helping his teammates succeed. “I’m just still trying to help my teammates have a good season this year,” Coates said. “We’re still after a championship, so that’s what I’m planning to do.”

Although Coates can no longer compete on the field, he hasn’t stopped going to practice. “Just staying involved really helps me out a lot from an emotional standpoint, knowing I can just come here after a day of classes and stuff and just be around the guys. This is the best part of my day to be around the guys at practice,” Coates said.

Coates, whose father is a coach, has coaching aspirations of his own and said he has learned a lot from head coach Mark Richt and the Georgia program. “Just seeing players grow and improve everyday. That’s what Coach Richt based his program on is turning boys into men and that’s something I want to be a part of,” Coates said.

Saturday the team named Coates an honorary captain against his home state, S.C. “It was really touching for me to be able to go out there as honorary captain. That was a really special moment of my life,” Coates said.

Coates’ teammate and friend Marcus Howard, also from South Carolina, wore Coates’s number, 17, to honor him.

“I thanked him for doing that. That really meant a lot to me that one of my teammates wanted to wear my number to represent me in a game, because I really wanted to play in a game,” Coates said.

While Coates has and will continue to be involved in Georgia football, one thing that may improve because of his decision is his academics as a child and family development major. “When I’m not here, I try and put a lot of time into academics with my tutors or studying on my own,” Coates said.