The deadline for underclassmen to have declared for the NFL draft has passed, and while those juniors and redshirt sophomores can still return to school, you have a general idea of who is leaving and who is staying. After last weekend’s playoffs you get the idea that athletic tight ends are quickly becoming the new rage in the League, and the University of Georgia’s Orson Charles has thrown his hat into the ring.
Charles came to the University with plenty of fanfare, waiting until after National Signing Day 2009 to official sign with the Dawgs along with teammate Aaron Murray. At 6-foot-3, 241-pounds with incredible hands, Georgia fans thought they were getting a matchup nightmare that would exploit defenses all the way to All-American status.
Well that never really happened, which is curious. Georgia has a decorated history of using tight ends with great success, but Charles never reached the blow-away level. His career high was six catches in a ball game, which he pulled off twice. He did have 109 receiving yards against Boise State earlier this year, but his last touchdown catch came against New Mexico State last year and he only caught 10 touchdown passes in his three-year career.
As a junior Charles led the team with 44 receptions, but really, just 44 catches? Wasn’t Charles going to step in and be The Guy now that AJ Green was in the NFL? He had just five scores this season, three coming against non-conference opponents in the regular season. Two touchdowns as a sophomore after three as a freshman? 1,368 career yards and 10 scores on 93 catches, that is what Georgia will have to replace. Honestly, I am not certain that Mark Richt is necessarily worried about that. Not with Jay Rome redshirting this past season (Rome had nearly the hype that Charles did coming out of high school), and not with the best returning group of wide receivers in the conference.
Would it have been nice to have Orson Charles stick around for his final year of eligibility? Sure. But let’s not start fretting over the loss of a tight end that only managed three touchdowns per season in an offense that thrives on play-action in the red zone. Georgia’s offense will be just fine.
No comments:
Post a Comment