UGA Football OL Tate Ratledge First Bulldog to Enter Draft Since Carson Beck

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ATHENS - UGA Football offensive lineman Tate Ratledge is the first Georgia Bulldog to announce that he is entering his name into the NFL Draft since Carson Beck did ahead of the Sugar Bowl.

Ratledge was part Kirby Smart‘s 2020 recruiting class that included other fifth year players like Beck and Arian Smith. He is a two time national champion, two time SEC Champion and two time All-American.

Ratledge first started for Georgia in 2021 in the season-opener against Clemson in which he suffered a season-ending injury. Georgia went on to win the national championship that season. He reclaimed his starting guard position in 2022 and was an integral part of a Georgia offensive line that has continued to rotate players at that position since 2021. 

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Ratledge was a player that many thought would make this move a year ago. He, along with his close friend and former roommate Beck, decided to return to Georgia after a sour taste was left in their mouths following a loss to Alabama in the 2023 SEC Championship game that knocked Georgia out of the College Football Playoff. 

“I wanted to win the SEC Championship,” Ratledge said.

That was his response to a reporter asking about the meaning of earning a playoff bye this season. He noted that it was a huge reason as to why he returned to Athens for a fifth year. 

Other Georgia players that are expected to enter the NFL Draft with eligibility remaining: Malaki Starks, Jalon Walker, Daylen Everett (potentially), Arian Smith, Trevor Etienne (potentially), Mykel Williams, Dylan Fairchild (potentially), Jared Wilson (potentially). 

Xavier Truss is out of eligibility and Fairchild and Wilson will be ones to keep an eye on in this conversation. If all of them leave for the draft, then Georgia will have to replace four out of five starters on the offensive line this offseason. 

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