IMPORTANT UPDATE REGARDING UGA FOOTBALL’S SPRING PRACTICE:
Friday, March 13, 2020, 4:00 p.m. ET: The SEC announced that all organized team activities, including competitions, team, and individual practices, meetings, and other organized gatherings, will be suspended through April 15th. This includes spring football practices, scrimmages, and games.
Tuesday, March 17, 2020, 3:00 p.m. ET: The SEC has announced all regular-season conference and non-conference competitions are cancelled for the remainder of the 2019-20 athletic year This includes all spring football games and remaining SEC championship events, due to continuing developments related to the coronavirus.
On Friday, we looked at the Georgia wide receivers, but there is another position group that could be on the receiving end of some air mailed pigskins. While the Bulldog tight ends have been asked to block, and block a lot, in Georgia’s offense, fans are hopeful that new offensive coordinator Todd Monken will look to utilize them more as receivers than the previous coordinator James Coley, where Charlie Woerner, Eli Wolf, and John FitzPatrick caught a combined 23 receptions for 294 yards and two touchdowns over the 2019 season.
Out of those three, FitzPatrick is the lone soul returning for 2020. The 6-foot-6 and 230 lbs redshirt sophomore signed with the Bulldogs as part of UGA’s 2018 recruiting class out of Marist School in Atlanta, GA. FitzPatrick played in 11 games for Georgia but only was credited with one reception for 22 yards early in the season versus Murray State. FitzPatrick won’t be alone, however. Ryland Goede and Brett Seither return and are ready to show Dawg Nation what they can do after redshirting in 2019.
Both Goede and Seither were part of Georgia’s 2019 recruiting class, and both tight ends saw limited action last year, playing in only two games versus Murray State and Arkansas State. Goede was coming off a right knee injury he suffered in high school where he tore his ACL, meniscus, and sprained his MCL. Goede had a further setback when he injured his wrist in Fall Camp in August.
Reports indicate that Goede is healthy entering spring and he, along with Seither, look to join FitzPatrick in competing for playing time. After spring, there will be two new faces joining the tight end group, Tre’ McKitty and Darnell Washington.
The Bulldogs signed five-star tight end Darnell Washington out of Desert Pines High School, Las Vegas, NV. Fans are excited to see what the 6-foot-7 and 260 lbs talented athlete can do but will have to wait till summer and Fall Camp when he joins the team after graduating high school. You can check out his highlights in the video below.
Another newcomer at tight end Georgia fans are eager to see in red and black is graduate transfer Tre’ McKitty out of Florida State. The 6-foot-5 and 245 lbs McKitty originally signed with the Seminoles as part of their 2017 recruiting class out of IMG Academy. While at FSU, McKitty hauled in 50 passes for 520 yards and two touchdowns in 20 games from 2017-19.
Up next, we take a look at special teams on Sunday.
2020 Georgia Football Primer Series:
I. Quarterbacks: Bulldogs look for a new field general under center
II. New offensive line coach Matt Luke tasked with replacing three starters
III. The next chapter in “Running Back U”
IV. Young and talented receiving corps led by George Pickens