Georgia football brings back Todd Harley as TE coach
Georgia football has announced that UGA Alumn Todd Hartley has been brought in from Miami and will coach tight ends in Athens.
Kirby Smart is bringing another UGA alumn into the program. It was announced this morning that Todd Hartley, a ‘Double Dawg’ who graduated both as an undergraduate and graduate from Athens will return to the football program and become the next tight end coach. He will replace Jim Chaney when it comes to coaching tight ends for the Georgia football team.
Hartley was a part of the Georgia program back when Mark Richt was in town and he built a strong reputation during that time. Since then, he has coached at West Virginia and Marshall before joining Richt again in Miami as a part of the Hurricanes staff.
His hire fits the profile that Kirby Smart is looking for. Hartley is a young, hungry and up and coming coach who did a great job on the recruiting trail in Miami. In 2018, he brought in Brevin Jordan last year who was ranked as the top tight end in the entire country. He recruited him to South Florida from all the way in Las Vegas and was able to beat out West Coast powerhouses like USC and UCLA for his signing. That’s a big deal and it shows just how capable Hartley is on the trail, something that will always be a priority coaches under Smart.
He’s more than just a recruiter, however. During his time at Miami, Hartley was responsible for the development of David Njoku, a physical freak who was a 1st round draft pick for the Cleveland Browns two years ago. Jordan also saw solid development in his first season, accounting for just under 300 yards and 4TD’s in his freshman season. Hartley’s departure will be a blow for a Miami program that really needs to keep solid offensive coaches.
Hartley was also the special team’s coordinator at Miami and will likely get involved in that phase of the coaching set up as well. That’s another good thing for this program because I felt that the Dawgs took a bit of a step back there this past season. Shane Beamer worked alongside Scott Fountain on that unit in 2017 whereas Fountain alone handled that responsibility last year. I fully expect Fountain to continue to lead that unit, but having Hartley on board gives them a spare pair of hands with experience. That can only be a good thing in my mind and the Dawgs should benefit from that.
Next. James Coley to be next UGA offensive coordinator. dark
Overall, I’m very happy with the Hartley hire. Like I said, this is the type of coach that Smart has had a lot of success with recently. Dan Lanning, Tray Scott and of course Dell McGee have all impressed in Athens despite being young and inexperienced. I can see Hartley having a similar sort of impact even though he’s coaching a position group that isn’t as sext. Throw in the special teams experience and I think this is a win-win situation for UGA.