College football fans across the country are constantly looking at their team's depth chart and fretting over playing time at certain positions, be it running back or wide receiver or even quarterback in some cases. Rarely do fans ever fret over the tight end position but that is exactly what Georgia fans are doing as winter drills will soon become spring practice. The Georgia Bulldogs already boast a boatload of talent at the TE spot with Orson Charles entering his junior season and returning standout Aron White returns for his final go in Athens. However the Bulldogs also list Arthur Lynch, a redshirt sophomore and Jay Rome on the depth chart and honestly, there are not enough balls to go around, especially to the tight end even in Mark Richt's offense that utilizes the position moreso than at other programs. White has shown that he can make the tough catches in traffic and Charles is truly a special player and a mismatch nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators. Georgia fans may not remember much about Lynch from 2009, but he appeared in eleven games and snagged a pair of passes early in the season but mostly blocked during his in-game experience. He redshirted last season but comes ready to play once again at 6-5, 256. While he was mostly a blocker his first season between the hedges, Lynch showed in high school that he was plenty capable of hauling in the big catch and it shouldn't surprise fans to see him catching, turning and running for big yardage this season.
Now Jay Rome will be thrown into the mix, one would think. Rome was a big-time get for Mark Richt and his Dream Team recruiting class and while it might make sense for him to redshirt because there may not be the ideal amount of playing time available, he didn't come to Athens to sit on the bench. Having seen Rome play several times last season, it is clear to see that he is READY to be a tight end in the SEC right now. So many "tight ends" in high school are just slow wide receivers or tall offensive linemen, but Rome is the perfect blend of size and speed that he knows how to get open down the field and make some moves once he has the ball, but he can also block the way a tight end is supposed to block and does it correctly without holding or being out-shifted by athletic defensive ends. Rome is certainly capable of earning immediate playing time as he is a ready-made tight end.
So what does Mark Richt do? He might make Orson Charles a full-time H-Back as his current crop of fullbacks aren't exactly JT Wall or Shaun Chapas. If Richt wanted to drop into a bit of a shotgun with Isaiah Crowell and Charles split around Aaron Murray with Lynch blocking and Rome or White running patterns that certainly could fly. Or he could constantly use a two-tight end set as his wide receivers get their feet wet and try to replace AJ Green. One tight end could be Rome opposite Lynch or White opposite Charles while one blocks and the other goes out in a route. Richt has plenty of options and might we actually see a three-tight end set this year when PASS is the playcall?
Green has moved on to the NFL and no receiver on the roster seems capable of duplicating his production from last season. Maybe that is OK as there are four ready and willing tight ends ready to move the sticks for Mark Richt and company. As good as AJ Green was, he never took Georgia to great heights. Maybe these four tight ends can bring the glory back to Georgia. Some programs would kill for one of these tight ends. Georgia has four All-SEC caliber players at the TE position and it is a nice problem to have.
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