SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA DAYS

July 15, 2025

Daylen Everette

Georgia Bulldogs

Press Conference

Q. What have you tried to improve upon this summer with some of your skills? And can you describe Ellis Robinson in his role that he might play?

DAYLEN EVERETTE: I know what I've tried to improve on is just being more consistent and just really just trying to be more well-rounded, just trying to fix some weaknesses and even work on the strengths even more.

Ellis, he's a real good player. He brings a lot of juice to the position. I love being around him every day. He's, like, one of my best friends.

Q. We talk about it being another key returner coming back to this defense. You all have been the standard for quite some time now. What's it mean for you to be part of the defense and how you are hoping to really enforce the season?

DAYLEN EVERETTE: It means a lot. I'm really grateful just to be one of those guys on the defense that people see as a leader. Just really just trying to do a better job at that, just to see where I can grow as a leader, where I can help other people on the defense and just help bring everyone together, bring us up and stuff.

Q. We talked about the success you've had. Georgia's boasted a lot of guys, Mykel Williams and Jalon Walker. What does it mean to hopefully have your name called and be part of the legacy of Georgia to the NFL?

DAYLEN EVERETTE: That would mean a lot. Just really trying to focus on this year, just make sure we do the best we can and then that will come with it.

Q. What was the self-evaluation of the defense after the year? And kind of what are some of the improvements, things that you need to -- not you individually, as a collective defense -- need to do better?

DAYLEN EVERETTE: I would say personally just I've always been trying to work on doing a better job tracking the ball in the air. That's something I feel like, even if you're good at it that's something you can always work on.

As a defense, we don't really try to focus on too much like from last year. We just want to be -- because we don't really have the same type of guys. We have a lot of new faces. We just want to be the best we can be for this upcoming season. That's what we're focused on right now.

Q. What was it like playing alongside Julian Humphrey? And what kind of player is Texas A&M getting?

DAYLEN EVERETTE: Julian is a real good player. He was definitely a good person to be around, even off the field. Like I feel like when he was here, when he was at Georgia, we were probably hanging out like every day. He's definitely like a ball player, definitely athletic. A&M is definitely getting a good player out of him.

Q. Since you were a freshman, Kirby always seems to be loud at you. Like some quarterbacks he may put his arm around, but he's going to kind of, he's taken that in-your-face approach with you. How does that make you better? How do you respond to that? And how has it made you grow throughout the years?

DAYLEN EVERETTE: I think a big reason for it is just Coach Smart used to play DB, so he has different expectations, I would say. But at first I really didn't know how I would handle it, just like it would kind of overwhelm me when I was like freshman, back when I was a freshman and stuff.

But I feel over time, really just understanding you've got to hear the message he's saying and not the tone, and just really understanding what he wants from me and hearing that in like not really taking it as personal and just keep trying to improve.

Q. How does it feel to play for a school that's gunned at by a lot of opponents? There's a lot of times the teams will circle a certain team on a schedule, and your team is probably circled quite a bit.

DAYLEN EVERETTE: We know like we'll get a lot of people's best game, but that's not really something that we try to focus on. We try to focus on, as a team, where we can get better at and how we can keep improving week by week. That's pretty much that.

Q. Wanted to know about the SEC Championship game against Texas last year. That was a grind. What do you remember most about that game and what it took to eventually win it?

DAYLEN EVERETTE: You know, that game, we had to overcome some stuff with our starting quarterback going down and Gunner stepping up. I feel he did a tremendous job stepping up into that role and not letting it get, not letting it overwhelm him.

He stepped in, did a great job. There was a lot of stuff we had to overcome in that game. I feel we did a great job with that.

Q. You seemed to shine against Texas, both games last year. Excited to play them again this year? Is there something about that? Is it just playing your best when the lights are the brightest? It seemed like you stepped up in the biggest games last year.

DAYLEN EVERETTE: I try to play my best every game. Those might be two of the best I had last year. But they didn't really have anything to do with the team. Like this year, when that time comes, we just focus on whoever is next.

I wouldn't really say it's a certain team we're looking forward to. We're just looking forward to the next team we're playing. Right now we're looking to the first game.

Q. Gunner mentioned that he's worked on being more vocal. How have you seen him evolve as a leader?

DAYLEN EVERETTE: He's definitely done a good job at that. He tends to be kind of quiet, but how I've been hanging out with him over the summer and stuff, I've seen him try to make that effort to step up and speak up more. He's definitely like growing as a leader. We're definitely proud of him for doing that.

Q. What's it like being here representing Georgia at media days and being so close to Athens too in this event?

DAYLEN EVERETTE: Just being here means a lot. It is an honor to be picked to go to an event like this because we have a lot of great leaders on our team that could have been to an event like this.

Just being part of those people that are able to come out here is a big honor to me, and I just appreciate being here honestly.

Q. How has the game changed in trying to maintain culture with transfer portal, NIL, things like that? How do you all maintain your standard within the Georgia program?

DAYLEN EVERETTE: Honestly, with the transfer portal, if you don't want to be here anymore, that's like a personal decision, but for the new guys that come in, we try to all take them in. They've been there. We want to treat them as family and take them in as brothers because at the end of the day that's what we are now.

Instead of just trying to slowly build a bond, that's something we try to do off the rib just so they know they can be comfortable around us even though they're fairly new to the program, but we just try to make them feel as comfortable as they can around us.

Q. Last year's pass rush had its issues at times. What have you seen from Elo (phonetic) coming in and why is he a guy that can make a difference as a pass rusher?

DAYLEN EVERETTE: He's a type of guy that I feel like can definitely do that for us. He's definitely a good guy. He's definitely good to hang out with.

It's funny, me and him, we actually sit next to each other in the locker room. I get to talk to him a little bit. I like being around him. He's a real cool guy. I'm really excited for him to be on the team and really excited to see what he'll do for us this year.

Q. We know every year players try to elevate their game or progress something different. What has been your biggest progression from last year to now?

DAYLEN EVERETTE: I would say, really, just trying to learn the game more, learn the game, understand instead of just what I have to do, what everyone else has to do. Because I feel like that would help the position more, even help the defense more, because you really have a better understanding of who is doing what, where your help is, I would definitely say that part of the game.