Georgia football: 30 greatest players of the Mark Richt era

• First-Team All-SEC (2011)
• Second-Team All-SEC (2010)
• 94 receptions for 1,370 yards and 10 touchdowns

Though Arthur Lynch, Leonard Pope and Benjamin Watson were all great in Georgia uniform, the only tight end of the Mark Richt era to make this list is Orson Charles. He comes in at No. 27, and for good reason. Charles was fantastic during his three years with the Dawgs.

As a senior in high school, Charles transferred to Plant High School in Tampa, Florida, where he played in the same offense as quarterback Aaron Murray in 2008. Trust me, we’ll get to Murray here in a bit, but for now, it’s all about Charles.

So what made Charles so dynamic playing in Richt’s offense? During the Richt era in Athens, the Dawgs played in your prototypical pro-style offense. This means the quarterback would spend his fair share of time under center, as well as having tight ends in this offense both block and receive. Charles was excellent in both departments.

In three seasons with the Dawgs, Charles got increasingly better as a pass catcher. Sure, it absolutely helped that he had an already built-in chemistry with Murray in the passing game. As a true freshman in 2009, Charles had 23 catches for 274 yards and three touchdowns. Keep in mind this was with Joe Cox slinging him the pigskin, as Murray had to redshirt that campaign.

With Murray as a redshirt freshman in 2010, he and Charles picked up right where they the left off in Tampa. Charles had 26 catches for 422 yards and two touchdowns. Charles made Second-Team All-SEC in 2010 as well. While Georgia went only 6-7 that season, it laid the foundation for a solid 10-4 campaign the following fall.

Yes, 2011 was the beginning of the second great wave under Richt. Georgia won the SEC East outright for the first time since 2005. Though the Dawgs played in the SEC Championship, Georgia stood little to no chance against the vaunted LSU defense headlined by Tyrann Mathieu.

During the 2011 NCAA season, Charles set collegiate highs in receptions (45), receiving yards (574) and receiving touchdowns (five). He would be named to the All-SEC First-Team and be a finalist for the John Mackey Award for being the best tight end in football.

Charles would leave Athens a year early with 94 career receptions for 1,370 yards and 10 touchdowns. He would be a fourth-round pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2012 NFL Draft. Now on his fifth NFL team, Charles looks to make headway as a tight end for the 2018 Cleveland Browns.