Georgia Football: Top 5 tight ends since 2000
#4: Orson Charles
The No. 4 tight end on the list is Orson Charles. He played at Georgia from 2009-2011. During his career at Georgia, he caught 94 passes for 1,370 yards and 10 touchdowns.
His best season was his final one in 2011 when he had 45 catches for 574 yards and five scores.
Charles comes in at No. 4 on this list because he was one of my favorites during this period of Georgia football and because who doesn’t remember him and Aaron Murray and their relationship.
It reminded me a lot of the relationship that seemed to be between Jacob Eason and Isaac Nauta and then Nauta and Jake Fromm.
He also comes in at No. 4 on this list because he leads Georgia’s tight ends in receiving yards. Charles was also a finalist for the Mackey Award in 2011.
As soon as Charles stepped on campus, he was a star. He was on Phil Steele’s Freshmen All-America first team, along with the SEC All-Freshman Team by the SEC Coaches and Sporting News.
Charles notched three starts as a freshman, but played in 12 games. Then as a sophomore he had 12 starts and played in 13 games. He was on the All-SEC Second Team by the SEC Coaches and fourth team on Phil Steele.
The highlight of his sophomore year came against Georgia Tech when he had two catches for 67-yards against the Yellow Jackets. One of those catches was for a 32-yard touchdown that helped the Dawgs beat their in-state rival, 42-34.
However, in his final year at Georgia is when the tight end showed out and did incredibly well. According to his georgiadogs.com bio, he was First Team All-SEC by the Associated Press, ESPN, Phil Steele, and the SEC Coaches.
He started all 14 games for the Dawgs as well and led the team most of the year. Despite the Dawgs opening up the season 0-2, they found a way to Atlanta.
Charles started the season hot with a career-high game against the Broncos. He had six catches for 109 yards against Boise State, even though that wasn’t enough to help get a win. He helped get wins over SEC West opponents Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
However, the most memorable game in his senior year was the Florida game. Despite not scoring any touchdowns, he had four catches for 44 yards and helped the Dawgs get down the field to beat the Gators 24-20.
He is on this list for always being a guy Murray could count on and had sure hands. Charles was also one of those players who always had a smile on your face, and you couldn’t help but love him. He will go down as one of the best tight ends to wear the ‘G.’
Charles would be higher on this list if he would have returned for the 2012 season. Maybe the outcome of that year would have been different if the Dawgs had this tight end on the roster in Atlanta.