ATHENS, Ga. -- Nearly six months removed from a tumultuous spring practice for Georgia’s defensive backs, Damian Swann can look back now and admit he was afraid of what might happen.

With senior cornerback Sanders Commings already suspended two games for a January arrest, the Bulldogs’ secondary seemed on the verge of collapse in March when senior cornerback Branden Smith was arrested for marijuana possession during spring break and All-America safety Bacarri Rambo reportedly faced a suspension over a failed drug test.

“For a minute, to me it was scary,” said Swann, a sophomore cornerback. “We know what kind of guys we have and we know we’re going to need everybody to get where we’re trying to go. Once you hear news like that, you think, ‘Man, what are we going to do now?’ But then you really look at your teammates and you’re like, ‘We’ve still got some guys that can really play,’ until guys like that get back.”

Georgia’s tailbacks cornered the market on salacious headlines during the past few years, but the secondary stole their thunder for at least one offseason. However, the situation is not as grim as it appeared in March.

Bulldogs coach Mark Richt announced earlier this month that Smith will not be suspended because he entered a pre-trial diversion program and passed multiple drug tests immediately after his arrest. And while Commings will miss Saturday’s game against Buffalo and the following week’s visit to Missouri, cornerbacks like Swann, Malcolm Mitchell, Devin Bowman and even freshman Sheldon Dawson give the Bulldogs plenty of options at the position.

“Whoever’s out, the next guy’s got to step up,” Smith said. “That just gives the next guy the opportunity to prove himself and just to play basically. Everybody has a scholarship. They’re not here for no reason.”

Safety depth remains a question mark while Rambo is sidelined, however long his absence might last. Richt has not commented publicly on his situation, nor on any punishment he has administered.

It’s clear, however, that the Bulldogs face an immediate future without a senior who led the SEC and finished second in the nation with eight interceptions a season ago.

Georgia’s reserve safeties Corey Moore, Josh Harvey-Clemons, Marc Deas and Connor Norman have only a fraction of Rambo’s experience. If not for the presence of senior strong safety Shawn Williams, the safety situation could be disastrous. But Swann expects Williams to provide a calming presence until Rambo returns.

“That’s the way it’s going to be,” Swann said. “If you’re back there with a veteran guy, you just feel that much more comfortable. That 25 seconds that you have in between a play, you can holler over to Shawn and I’m pretty sure Shawn will get you in the right position.”

Swann and Mitchell are the up-and-comers at cornerback, with Swann stepping into departed senior Brandon Boykin’s role at nickelback and Mitchell shifting from receiver during the spring to help in the secondary.

Mitchell said after Monday’s practice that he still had a lot to learn about playing cornerback when spring practice concluded, but he understands the intricacies of his new position now. While he still expects to split time between offense and defense, he believes he has the knowledge base to play every down on defense if asked, which is a big change from the spring.

“I know what to do, but I’m not sure [in the spring],” Mitchell said. “And not being sure is very dangerous because if I feel like I know what to do, but I’m not sure about it, I might not do it. And if I might not do it, they might score. So now I’m sure about it. During the spring, I was looking back, asking the safeties just to make sure. Now they make a call and I know what to do, so we’re just rolling with it.”

The Bulldogs are fortunate that their depth-chart disruptions happened several months ago, allowing the coaching staff time to come up with a contingency plan until the veterans return to the lineup. If there is a reason Swann is no longer afraid about the absences, it’s that he and his fellow defensive backs have had time to plan for their absences and become comfortable.

“This month and the spring that we had, it really helped us a lot,” Swann said. “You’re not glad that something like that happened, but you’re glad it happened early on so you can make adjustments and get ready for times like this.”