Channing Tindall explains senior season was 'do or die' for him, his future in football
Former Georgia linebacker Channing Tindall was drafted in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft No. 102 overall by the Miami Dolphins on Friday, but it might not have happened had he not had the kind of senior season he did with the Bulldogs. Tindall, a native of Columbia, S.C., finished tied for third on the team in tackles as he made a huge jump in production.
During his first three seasons in Athens, Tindall totaled 41 tackles in 35 games. In 15 games during 2021 though, Tindall had 67 stops including 7.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks, more overall tackles and just slightly fewer tackles for loss and sacks than he had in the previous three years combined.
“I went with Coach Schumann, my position coach at Georgia, and took extra time to watch film with him,” Tindall said, talking about what made the difference for him in 2021. “I felt like I knew what I had to do. I was on a mission the entire season, before the season started. I was on a mission, I have to get this done. So I want to say the biggest thing was probably my mindset. My mindset was do or die.”
Tindall’s pickup in production was a result of the time and effort he spent dedicated to football, but the decision to do so was a result of something else. He wanted to be the best version of himself and knew what it would take to get there.
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“The biggest thing was, I wanted to be the best version of me. I knew that I wasn’t doing everything I could to be the best version of me,” Tindall said. “So when it came down to it, I knew, ‘This season I can’t just wait. It needs to happen now to be the best version of me, and I need to keep it continuing. What am I waiting for?’ We all say we know what we need to do better or know what it is that you have to do to be better, work harder. This season was my year to be like, ‘From here on out the sky is the limit.’ I’m trying to go as high as I can, even outside of football.”
Tindall, one of 15 Georgia players picked in the 2022 NFL Draft including a three-round record seven on the defensive side of the football, now takes his talents to the next level with the Dolphins, a team that just barely missed the Playoffs last season.
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