On Saturday afternoon, former Bulldog offensive lineman Solomon Kindley was selected by the Miami Dolphins with the fifth pick in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, the 111th pick overall.
Another #Dawg is off the board‼️ Big congrats to "Big Solly" @KindleySolomon 💪#NFLDraft
— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball) April 25, 2020
📺 LIVE: @ESPN, @ABCNetwork, @NFLNetwork pic.twitter.com/lAFJOk7uEU
The 6-foot-3 and 337 lbs Kindley signed with Georgia as part of the Bulldogs 2016 recruiting class out of Raines High School in Jacksonville, Florida. Kindley was part of Kirby Smart’s first recruiting class at UGA in 2016, and he made his collegiate debut as a true freshman versus Missouri that same year. However, injuries kept him from seeing the field outside of that game. Kindley was able to take a redshirt in ’16 and came back with a vengeance in 2017, playing in 15 games, starting in seven of those at right guard. Kindley moved to left guard for the 2018 season, starting all 14 games for the Bulldogs.
This past fall as the team prepared to take on Florida in the annual SEC East grudge match down in Jacksonville, Kindley as a redshirt junior reflected back on his youth and growing up in “J-Ville.”
“This game means a lot to me because growing up in Jacksonville, Florida, the type of scene it is and the type of environment I grew up in, it shows kids around the neighborhood, kids that came up from the same high school that came up in, they can do it no matter what; they can do it no matter what anybody tells them,” said Kindley in an October 28, 2019 interview. “Just stay focused and keep moving, you never know what you’ve got in your future. I really like to go back home and show the kids back home that I did it, so can you.”
Kindley finished his 2019 season playing in 13 games for Georgia, starting 11, with the last one being 26-14 Sugar Bowl victory over Baylor in New Orleans, LA. That would be his last game as a Bulldog as he announced the following week he would forgo his last year of eligibility to enter the 2020 NFL Draft.
In all, Kindley played in 43 games, starting 32 at left and right guard, during his collegiate career at the University of Georgia. Head coach Kirby Smart reflected on Kindley’s time with the Bulldogs in a video on Twitter.
What a player @KindleySolomon is. The @MiamiDolphins are going to be so lucky to have him !! pic.twitter.com/cWFzk6D9oK
— Coach Kirby Smart (@KirbySmartUGA) April 25, 2020
Solomon Kindley marks the third Georgia offensive lineman taken in this 2020 Draft. Offensive tackles Andrew Thomas and Isaiah Wilson both were drafted in the first round on Thursday night. Thomas was picked fourth overall by the New York Giants and Wilson 29th overall by the Tennessee Titans.
Running back D’Andre Swift is another Bulldog to already have his name called and was the only Georgia player drafted on Friday night, being selected third in the second round by the Detroit Lions. He’ll join former Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford (2006-09), who the Lions selected with the first overall pick back in the 2009 Draft, as well as defensive lineman John Atkins (2013-17), who signed with the Lions in 2018.