Real Georgia Fans Don’t Miss the Dawg Post Newsletter - Sign up now!
ATHENS - After the first week of training camp it’s clear one room continues to stand out behind the scenes in Athens.
Surprise, surprise. It’s the tight end room.
Bulldog assistant Todd Hartley has assembled another outstanding group with several members likely seeing the field consistently this fall.
Kirby Smart has said all off-season that they need to be more explosive on offense and they have multiple tight ends who can help them accomplish that.
“We've got a tremendously talented room, but if you chart explosive plays, those aren't always the tight end room,” Smart told reporters last week. “I love our tight ends. We’ve got great tight ends, but they're not guys that all hit 22 and 23 miles an hour. They're guys that they can do all kinds of grunt work.”
DON’T FORGET YOUR FANDUEL BETS!!
According to FanDuel, the Atlanta Braves have -1500 odds to win the NL East this fall.
“They can catch balls in the flats”, Smart said. “They can block people. They can play on special teams. They can be explosive if we can run the ball, and explosive passes for tight ends usually come off of play actions. Play actions only work if you have the ability to run the ball. So our ability to run the ball allows us to utilize what may be one of our stronger rooms. But it is a talented room, and it's an extremely competitive room.”
The leader of the room is veteran Lawson Luckie. He’s made plays before in the passing game, he knows the offense, and can haul in a tough catch down the field while also being a dependable in-line blocker in the run game.
Sophomore Elyiss Williams is back for another year after flashing big-play ability as a freshman last fall. The big 6-foot-7 255-pounder can be a mauler in the run game, but he’s also a big target who can be a weapon in the red-zone.
As far as explosiveness goes, a lot of eyes will be on third-year tight end Jaden Reddell. The 6-foot-4 240-pounder from Missouri was one of the big winners this spring and sources say he continued to shine during the first week of fall camp.
“I thought he had an incredible spring,” Smart said last week. “He's had a great workouts this summer. He was one of four players singled out by the strength staff for work ethic, intensity, PFE, and buying in. I would say he was probably one of the most explosive and just most improved players. He played twitchy, he played fast and had a chip on his shoulder. We had not seen that before out of him.”
There aren’t many traditional tight ends who can be explosive, but Reddell isn’t a traditional tight end. He’s a natural athlete with plenty of speed who should help the Dawgs be more explosive.
ESPN and SEC analyst Cole Cubelic said during SEC Media Days last month that he also believes the tight ends can help the other pass-catchers bring more explosiveness to the offense.
“I think the tight end room can offset peoples concerns with the explosive nature of the offense. I think they can find it in other ways. They may not have that true alpha WR yet, but I think they can be explosive in different ways. Mike Bobo is good at his job. It’s not up for debate.”
Other tight ends to know include redshirt freshman Ethan Barbour, red-shirt sophomore Colton Heinrich, and several impressive freshmen fighting their way through their first fall camp.
It’s a loaded room, and if Georgia wants to bring home another trophy this winter, the tight ends will likely be a big reason why.
