UGA Football Coach Kirby Smart Tells The Truth About Georgia's Tight Ends
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ATHENS - Through the first two games of the season it’s clear the Georgia Bulldogs have some issues they need to work out on offense.
They need more explosion. Better execution. More consistency. From everyone.
It starts with Gunner Stockton, but the offensive line also needs to step up and play well this weekend. So do the running backs. And so do the pass-catchers.
Then there’s the tight ends. There’s lots of two tight-end sets out there, but they’re not catching the ball and Stockton is barely even looking their way.
The tight ends can be safety valves for a struggling quarterback. Gunner Stockton had some real trouble last week getting into a rhythm and finding options down the field. But for whatever reason, he never found a tight end.
Not a single tight end caught a pass against Austin Peay.
This wasn’t a game-plan issue. Sure the offense has been somewhat vanilla to start the season, but the vanilla game-plan still needs to be executed at a high level. Last Saturday it wasn’t.
The tight ends have to be part of the passing game against Tennessee and Kirby Smart knows it.
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“I don’t think that would be true to say that we didn’t target tight ends”, Kirby Smart told reporters this week. “There’s multiple plays that a tight end was the number one option, but he was either not there or he was missed or there might have been a misread. We had a tight end wide open where somebody fell down in coverage. He was targeted, but we ended up going to the check down. You go with the read, but there’s no rhyme or reason – we can’t call a play where we say, ‘This ball’s going to the tight end.’ There is no such thing. There’s just plays where he’s one, two or three in the read.”
So there’s a lot to unpack. But the point remains the same.
If you’re playing in 12 personnel, it’s important to target the tight ends and keep defenses off balance.
Unfortunately, the Bulldogs will be without freshman Ethan Barbour who suffered a “significant” ankle injury at the end of the first half.
That means more playing time is up for grabs. Veterans Oscar Delp and Lawson Luckie will continue to see the field, but this could be an opportunity for second-year player Jaden Reddell to make an impact.
“He's a great size, speed guy and has helped us on special teams”, Smart said about Reddell. “He's been physical, and he’s a weapon. He's getting better and his growth is getting better. It's hard when you come in from never being a true blocker or doing any blocking to having to do all that. He has improved in that through the weight room and through physicality, and he continues to improve. We'll need him to step up and be able to play even more snaps.”
Last season, Delp was a big weapon during Georgia’s win over Tennessee. Carson Beck did a great job working the middle of the field for Delp’s first touchdown before hitting him efficiently in the red-zone for another score.
Georgia needs to open it up in Knoxville. They need more from the tight ends and it’s up to Stockton to make sure they’re involved.
