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Todd Hartley living the dream with Georgia tight end talent

Palmber-Thombsby:Palmer Thombs•02/24/23•

palmerthombs

Georgia (41)
Tony Walsh / UGA Sports Communications

Georgia tight ends coach Todd Hartley is one of the top position coaches in all of College Football. From a recruiting standpoint, the talent that’s coming into town speaks for itself. Then, when they get there, Hartley makes sure he develops them and molds them into future professional football players.

The Bulldogs have had a tight end taken in each of the last four NFL Drafts dating back to Isaac Nauta in 2019 and including Charlie Woerner (2020), Tre’ McKitty (2021) and John FitzPatrick (2022). That streak is all but guaranteed to continue in 2023 with Darnell Washington considered a potential first round pick and likely even longer with the likes of Brock Bowers, Oscar Delp and others coming down the line. However, in his eyes, it’s not the talent that makes his job easy. Instead, it’s the kind of people that his players are that accomplishes that.

“Talent aside, they’re great kids. They are truly the tip of the spear,” Hartley told DawgsHQ just days before Georgia’s 65-7 National Championship Game victory over TCU in Los Angeles. “They love football, they love each other, they love Georgia, they love preparation, practice competing. That’s what makes my job easy. I always say, the talent is a plus, but these kids are unreal man. From Brock and Darnell all the way down through the rest of our scholarship kids and our walk ons, everybody contributes. Everybody has their own role within the organization, and that role is vital and important to seeing the success we’re having.”

Buying into the role has been big, and those tight ends that are on the field each and every Saturday have had big roles themselves. Bowers enters his third season at Georgia with nearly 2,000 total yards to his name already (1,824 receiving yards on 119 career catches and 165 rushing yards with just 13 carries). He’s totaled 24 touchdowns and his presence has opened countless others up.

For recruits, seeing those kind of performances is absolutely attractive. That’s part of what’s helped Hartley and the Bulldogs bring in the top tight ends each and every year. Bowers was the nation’s No. 1 tight end according to the On3 Consensus. Before him it was Washington and since then Delp. Don’t forget about the fact that two of the top 10 tight ends in the country – Pearce Spurlin and Lawson Luckie – signed with Georgia in the Class of 2023 this past December or that the Bulldogs still have a chance to add the nation’s No. 1 tight end and only unsigned five-star Duce Robinson. And even if they don’t land him, Landen Thomas – the nation’s No. 1 tight end in 2024 – is already committed.

“Georgia sells itself. I truly believe it’s the best school in the country. I’m biased obviously being a Dawg myself, but we play and work for the best head coach in the country,” Hartley, a 2008 Georgia graduate, said. “He’s the best at building relationships and the thing we do that separates us is we’re real. We’re genuine. That’s who we are. I think people appreciate the realness, and we’re going to get the guys we’re supposed to get, and the ones we’re not, we’re not worried about that. We only worry about the ones that we do get, and I think people appreciate that.”

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