Big questions were coming into the season at tight end after Isaac Nauta decided to declare for the draft early. It looks like the Bulldogs have another big-play tight end in Eli Wolf.
When Isaac Nauta left the program and declared for the NFL Draft, Georgia football had to find someone to replace him, and the Dawgs found Eli Wolf.
Wolf was a two-star recruit from Minster, Ohio. He was the 98th overall tight end recruit and the 125th overall recruit in Ohio from his recruiting class and committed to Tennessee back in 2015.
He caught eight passes for 78 yards and a touchdown, averaging 9.8 yards per catch while playing for the Vols.
During the offseason, Wolf joined Georgia as a graduate transfer. Georgia was the only school that he visited after entering the transfer portal. Wolf already has five catches for 84 yards for Georgia; this leads all Bulldog receivers this year.
More from Dawn of the Dawg
- Georgia Football: Top 5 Nick Chubb Moments at Georgia
- Georgia Football: Know the enemy UAB Blazers
- Nick Chubb is America’s running back, and he will return
- Georgia Football: Should laundry list of injuries be a cause to panic?
- Georgia Football: Report cards for Week 3 game against South Carolina
Four of Wolf‘s five catches this season have gone for first downs, including two to convert third downs.
All of Wolf’s catches have gone over ten yards other than the catch he made for four yards and fumbled against Murray State.
He had another catch against Murray State for 14 yards, but an illegal formation penalty negated it.
Wolf has only played in two games for Georgia and has already outperformed the two seasons that he played in Knoxville.
The Tennessee coaching staff had no idea what they had in him. He is quite the downfield threat proven in his 16.8 yards per catch with Georgia.
Not only can Wolf stretch the field but he is also strong as a blocker, sealing the edge and giving Georgia’s running backs room to run.
Before the season started, I thought that Charlie Woerner was being slept on, but it might have been Wolf.
I think if he and Fromm keep building this connection it could bode well for the Dawgs later in the season. Georgia needs a big-bodied tight end to go over the middle on third down and help in the red zone.
After seeing receivers emerge in the first game, the only thing that was a question mark was who would be the security blanket on third down.
I think we have answered that with Wolf. With guys like Demetris Robertson and George Pickens stretching the field on the outside having a guy like Wolf that can get up the seam of the defense is going to be hard to stop.
The tight end group is very thin for Georgia this year, so the emergence of Wolf is a pleasant surprise. I have a feeling his best is yet to come.