After what Tate Ratledge was able to get done with the Georgia football team, it's easy to understand why so many Bulldogs fans were following Day 2 of the NFL Draft closely. Ratledge was patiently waiting for his name to get called.
Thankfully, the Detroit Lions traded up and selected the standout offensive guard with the No. 57 overall pick. This is a tremendous fit for Ratledge. He was fantastic at the NFL Combine and impressed a lot of scouts/coaches during interviews. There's a good reason Detroit moved up three spots to land him.
Now that Ratledge is officially off to the NFL and Detroit, he's going to have a lot of people in Athens following his career. The list of course includes head coach Kirby Smart, who didn't waste time in sending an emotional message of support to his playmaker after the Lions came calling:
What a player @tateratledge22 is. The @Lions are so lucky to have him !! You provided a lot of energy and life to this program and I can’t thank you enough for your leadership here. You’ve got a bright future ahead of you. GO DAWGS !! pic.twitter.com/zcWudZJTwq
— Coach Kirby Smart (@KirbySmartUGA) April 26, 2025
Kirby Smart has Georgia fans emotional following his awesome Tate Ratledge draft tribute
Smart has been sending these kinds of messages to all of his players getting drafted. He did so for all of his first-rounders on Thursday night too. This is so awesome from Smart for so many reasons. For one, it shows that he truly wants the best for every single one of his players who moves on to the pros.
On top of that, if you're a 4-star or 5-star recruit and you see all of these Georgia players getting drafted, you've also got to love seeing Smart show this kind of support. Ratledge was no question fun to watch during his time on campus, being a force in the trenches for Smart and his staff.
The 6-6, 320-pounder spent five memorable seasons in Athens, winning two National Championship titles. Ratledge always gave his everything for the program and people in the area are always going to be thankful for what he was able to get done. Just because he's leaving UGA doesn't mean he'll be forgotten. Smart is confident too that he'll live up to the hype in the NFC North moving forward.