Georgia football cruised through Columbia Saturday afternoon with a 41-17 blowout win over the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Another week brings another overreaction about Georgia football. This time, the biggest overreaction I heard was about Georgia’s tight ends, or the perceived under use of them. Which, at first glance, it does seem like they’re under used.
Former no. 1 tight end recruit Isaac Nauta, has two catches this season for 22 yards and one score. And he’s coming off a season where he caught just nine passes for 114 yards with two scores. Charlie Woerner only has one catch so far this year, and it was a six-yard reception. A year ago, he had nine receptions for 100 yards, and he’s yet to score a touchdown as a Bulldog.
The fear many have is that Georgia’s under-utilization of tight ends will lead to less highly ranked tight end recruits signing with Georgia in the future. But there’s one issue with that, idea; Georgia is recruiting tight ends just fine.
Luke Ford, the no. 3 tight end from the 2018 class, signed with Georgia during the early signing period. Nauta, Woerner, Jeb Blazevich, and Jackson Harris’s lack of catches didn’t impact his decision at all. But that’s last year’s class, Georgia not passing the ball to tight ends has to catch up with them eventually, right?
Not so fast. Georgia already has a commitment from Ryland Goede, the no. 5 tight end in the 2019 class. He committed back in February and hasn’t shown any signs of decommitting. It seems like the low amount of targets aren’t turning recruits from UGA.
Here’s the deal, playing tight end is about more than just catching passes. That’s only half the job. Blocking is the other half. A tight end can be a great receiver, but if they can’t block, their chances of making an NFL roster are slim. But if a tight end can block, their chances of making the league increase greatly.
But the first step to getting drafted is to simply appear in college games. Georgia’s tight ends might not be on the receiving end of many passes, but the coaches keep at least one tight end on the field at all times. Two tight end sets aren’t uncommon either. They’re getting on the field and play an important part of almost every snap.
Could and should the coaches call more plays for the tight ends in the receiving game? Maybe, but including the returning healthy tight ends, running backs and wide receivers, Georgia has 10 solid options in the receiving game. But Jake Fromm only averages 19.12 attempts per game (a number that is skewed by five games of over 26 passes).
It’s always going to look like someone is being under used. Riley Ridley only caught 14 passes last year. Former four-stars Trey Blount and Jeremiah Holloman are still fighting for playing time. And Tyler Simmons is basically an undersized tight end because all he does is block.
The final point against the notion of Georgia under using tight ends, is that it all comes down to who is open and if the quarterback can get them the ball. The first target isn’t always open, Fromm has to go through his progressions. That might have been his weakest trait last year. He leaned heavily on Terry Godwin, Javon Wims and Mecole Hardman last year. No one else had more than 20 catches.
So far in 2018, 13 players have made at least one catch. Nine players have at least two receptions, and four players have at least three. Fromm has improved in his ability to see the field, with that has come an improved relationship with his receivers. Hardman and Ridley have benefited the most from that so far.
But defenses will try to cover them better as the year goes on. That will leave other players open. There might come games where Nauta and Woerner are left alone by the defense and Fromm slings a lot of passes their way.
After two games in 2018, it seems like Fromm is looking for his tight ends more. But that isn’t to say they’ve ever been underutilized. They just don’t appear on the stat sheet very often. But they’re always on the field, blocking and running routes. The recruits look at that more than they look at the lack of catches. They want to go where they’ll play and eventually get drafted, right now, Georgia is still a place where they can accomplish both.