The top tight end in this year’s NFL Draft grew under the tutelage of Jim Chaney. Now, the Bulldogs are hoping more will do the same under the team’s new offensive coordinator.
Chaney, who worked with former Arkansas TE Hunter Henry for two years in Fayetteville, certainly has what he needs to do so in Athens with the tandem of Isaac Nauta (No. 1 TE for 2016) and junior Jeb Blazevich.
That could make for an awesome tandem in Athens.
According to Rivals.com’s Anthony Dasher, head coach Kirby Smart is excited to see all the things Chaney can do with the group.
“At Arkansas, he had the Hunter Henry kid but he also had A.J. Derby who was special. He (Derby) out-ran one of our safeties at Alabama for a touchdown,” Smart said. “So yeah, he uses those guys. He flexes them out, he lets them chip and help out with the tackles so he’s really creative with the tight ends.”
Last season, Georgia’s tight ends ranked 9th in the SEC with just 306 receiving yards. Only Missouri (279), LSU (222), Kentucky (149), Texas A&M (10) and Auburn (0) had less production from the group.
However, the team didn’t recruit Nauta for no reason, and Smart likes what he sees from the 6-foot-4, 237-pound Buford, Ga., native so far in spring practices.
‘He goes with the threes every reps and with the twos rotating in. When we go to our two tight end sets he works in with the twos,” Smart told Dasher. “He’s picking things up fast. He’s a really smart kid. He doesn’t struggle to get the game mentally.”
Born and raised in Gainesville, Talal joined SDS in 2015 after spending 2 years in Bristol as an ESPN researcher. Previously, Talal worked at The Gainesville Sun.
