Three years ago when Georgia football and Clemson met in Charlotte to open their seasons, Malaki Starks and Sammy Brown were Jefferson High teammates.

Now Starks is an All-American safety for Georgia entering his junior season. Brown is a freshman linebacker who will make his Tigers debut Saturday in Atlanta against the school some 20 miles away where they played together.

Starks said he thinks folks in Jefferson will cheer for each side of the rivalry.

"I think it's both," Starks said Tuesday night after Georgia's practice. "I think you'll have a few on both sides. They want us to both do very well."

Kirby Smart landed the five-star Starks, but Tigers coach Dabo Swinney won the recruiting battle for the five-star Brown, ranked the No. 2 player in Georgia and the No. 19 player overall by the 247Sports Composite.

“They do a tremendous job recruiting our state and we go head-to-head with them quite a bit,” Smart said. “When you look across their roster, there's a lot of kids that we were really close to and I'm sure it's the same way with him.”

Starks ran into Brown’s father in July and heard that Brown was doing good things at Clemson. Starks said he spoke to Brown about two weeks ago.

"Great family, great kid," Starks said. "I'm excited to see what he's going to do."

The 6-foot-2, 235-pound Brown had 153 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, three blocked kicks and two interceptions last season while rushing for 2,289 yards and 36 touchdowns.

“If you really watched his career, he played about every snap on offense and defense,” Swinney said Tuesday.

Said Starks: “Sammy’s a really good kid, great athlete."

Brown is expected to contribute on special teams and as a backup at linebacker.

“I think there was a lot thrown at him purposefully this spring to get him ready,” Swinney said. “Physically he was ready to go the day he got here. He’s one of the freakiest dudes to walk in the door. Big, strong, fast, can jump. He’s near the top at about every category.”

Starks of course wants to come out ahead of his former high school teammate.

“I’m very competitive so I don’t want him to get the best of me,” Starks said at SEC Media Days in Dallas. “We’re going to see where it goes.”

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Jefferson products Malaki Starks, Sammy Brown square off in UGA-Clemson