Tag: Darnell Washington uga

Watch: Georgia recovers fumble, scores 2 plays later

It’s all Bulldogs right now in Nashville.

No. 2 Georgia is demolishing Vanderbilt in Nashville right now. UGA was up 14-0 before Vanderbilt fumbled on a kickoff, which gave the Bulldogs a short field. Running back Zamir ‘Zeus’ White took it from there.

White took it in from yard out to put Georgia up 21-0  with over 7 minutes to play in the first quarter live on the SEC Network

Vanderbilt has yet to make a first down.

 

Watch: Georgia strikes first with a Brock Bowers TD

It’s No. 2 Georgia at Vanderbilt right now on SEC Network. Check out UGA’s first score here

It didn’t take long for No. 2 Georgia to find the endzone at Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs now lead 7-0 early in the first quarter thanks to this touchdown rush from freshman tight end Brock Bowers.

UGA’s stout defense forced a three-and-out and quarterback J.T. Daniels led a strategic drive for a score on the first possession.

There’s plenty of football left to be played in Nashville. The game is live now on SEC Network.

 

What Vanderbilt media is saying about Georgia

It’s No. 2 Georgia versus Vanderbilt this Saturday. Here’s what Vandy’s media is saying about the Bulldogs.

No. 2 Georgia (3-0) travels to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt (1-2) this Saturday at noon.

The Bulldogs are coming off of a 40-13 win over South Carolina in the SEC opener and the Commodores return home after a 41-23 loss to Stanford.

Vanderbilt, under first-year head coach Clark Lea, has a tall task ahead in trying to contain Georgia’s high-powered offense and score against UGA’s top-ranked defense.

Here’s what Vanderbilt media is saying about Georgia ahead of kickoff:

Georgia HC Kirby Smart gives injury updates for Darnell Washington and Tykee Smith

When will TE Darnell Washington and DB Tykee Smith be back for Georgia? Kirby Smart gives an update here…

Georgia football has been without two of its most talented players since fall camp. Both tight end Darnell Washington and transfer defensive back Tykee Smith have been recovering from ankle surgeries the last five weeks.

Sep 26, 2020; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Georgia Bulldogs tight end Darnell Washington (0) starts his route during the second quarter of the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Georgia won the game 37-10. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports

UGA coach Kirby Smart gave a status update for Washington and Smith in his Monday press conference ahead of Georgia’s matchup with Vanderbilt this Saturday.

Nov 14, 2020; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers safety Tykee Smith (23) celebrates after defeating the TCU Horned Frogs at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

“We haven’t ruled out this weekend,” Smart told reporters. “They were back running last week, weight-bearing, like running on their own. So we’ve thought all along that this would be the target, this week or next. But can’t say they’re going to be cleared for this game. I’ll find out a lot more today because they’re going to be able to run, do some exercises. Not necessarily be in their groups but they’re going to be running and accelerating on their own…They’re on 100 percent of their weight as of Thursday/Friday. We’re moving them forward and we’ll see where they are today.”

Smart added that both Bulldogs targeted this week’s matchup with Vanderbilt as the return date.

The fact that Washington and Smith are progressing to the point where they are running and cutting is great news for the Bulldogs, who have been riddled with injuries early on.

Star receiver George Pickens is still working back from an ACL tear in the spring, but the media caught a glimpse of the junior straight-line running and catching passes in practice on Monday. Smart said wideout Dominick Blaylock was almost back to 100% from an ACL tear until he tweaked his hamstring, signaling it will be sometime before he’s ready for gameplay.

It’s not like UGA doesn’t have guys who can step in and make plays, though, Adonai Mitchell was named SEC Freshman of the Week for his play against South Carolina, racking up four catches for 77 yards and his first career touchdown.

On defense, other than a few chunk plays versus the Gamecocks, UGA’s young secondary has played well without Smith, the top returning defensive back in college football, according to Pro Football Focus.

The addition of Washington and Smith – whenever it may be – can only be a boost to the No. 2 team in the land.

 

Former Georgia defensive end Ray Drew joins J.C. to talk his UGA career, big games in Sanford Stadium, his welcome to the SEC moment and more in a new episode of ‘UGA Football Live with J.C. Shelton’. Listen here:

 

 

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Big game for Big O: UGA TE Darnell Washington finally gets some love

UGA freshman TE Darnell Washington had a career day in Georgia’s 49-14 win over Missouri.

Georgia freshman tight end Darnell ‘Big O’ Washington was one of the most highly rated recruits in the country when he signed with Georgia as a member of the Bulldogs’ No. 1 ranked recruiting class of 2020.

The 5-star prospect from Desert Pines High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, was rated as the No. 2 athlete and No. 23 prospect overall at six-foot-seven, 270 pounds.

For most of his first season in Athens, Big O has played as an in-line blocker at the tight end position, only recording two catches before Saturday’s game at Missouri.

Against the Tigers, we got a chance to see what he could do in the passing game when properly utilized as he recorded a career-high two catches for 61 yards.

Big guys aren’t supposed to move like that.

 

The 36-yard snag marks Big O’s longest catch of his short career.

Hopefully we will see his name in the receptions category much more moving forward, because he poses a nightmare of a matchup problem for opposing defenses at the very least.

Watch: Georgia freshman TE Darnell Washington’s insane high school tape

Watch the former 5-star recruit’s highlight tape here!

5-star Dessert Pines recruit Darnell Washington signed with Georgia as the No. 2 athlete, the No. 1 player in Nevada and the No. 23 overall recruit in the Bulldogs’ No. 1 class of 2020.

At 6-foot-7 260 pounds, Washington is already a miss match for opposing defenders.

The Under Armor All-American will wear No. 0 for the Bulldogs, which should make for a great target for Georgia quarterbacks when the Bulldogs kick off versus Arkansas on Sept 26.

Watch Washington’s dominant high school tape here:

Washington could be an absolute monster for Georgia, and with the departure of tight ends Eli Wolfe and Charlie Woerner, the Bulldogs will need to find production in the middle of the field.

 

All rankings via 247Sports 

5-star Georgia signee Darnell Washington recruits 2021 top TE Brock Bowers to UGA

5-star Georgia football TE Darnell Washington makes effort in recruiting top 2021 TE Brock Bowers to UGA.

The efforts of current Georgia players, signees and commits in recruiting some of the top players in the country have not gone unnoticed.

These current and future Bulldogs have been virtually recruiting the America’s top high school prospects to come join them at UGA. This all started with 5-star quarterback commit Brock Vandagriff Tweeting at recruits with their picture in a Dawgs jersey.

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5-star UGA tight end commit Darnell Washington, who signed as a member of Georgia’s 2020 class, is joining in on the fun, replying to 4-star 2021 tight end and heavy Dawgs prospect Brock Bowers via Twitter.

Washington replied to Bowers’ tweet of an old practice video of him running through tackles to open grass.

“Looks like a UGA DAWG to me,” Washington said.

 

Bowers, the Napa, California native, is listed as the No. 3 tight end in the 2021 class, according to 247Sports.

Georgia looks to be the leader for Bowers, who has a top eight of Cal, Georgia, Notre Dame, Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State, UCLA and Washington.

Related: Is Georgia the favorite for Brock Bowers?

Georgia offered Bowers back in September of 2019. He and his family took a trip to Athens in January for an unofficial visit.

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Georgia football makes huge TE’s top schools

Moliki Matavao, a four-star tight end, plays football in Henderson, Nevada. He named UGA among his top schools.

The Georgia Bulldogs landed a huge tight end from Nevada in the class of 2020 in five-star recruit Darnell Washington. Kirby Smart and the University of Georgia will look to do that for a second straight time with the class of 2021.

Moliki Matavao, a four-star tight end, plays football in Henderson, Nevada. He attends Liberty High School. Matavao has an impressive frame at 6 foot, 6 inches and weighs in at 240 pounds. He’s not quite the size of Darnell Washington (6’8″, 260 pounds).

Matavao recently named his top ten schools via his Twitter account:

Matavao will decide between Miami, Georgia, UCLA, Penn State, Tennessee, LSU, Oregon, Ohio State, Michigan, and Washington. He’ll have to pick between east coast and west coast.

Matavao has lots of directions he could go. We’ll keep you updated on his recruiting process and on the rest of the class of 2021.

Georgia recently secured another commitment in the class of 2021. It’ll be fun to watch Darnell Washington this upcoming season.

Jul 2, 2019; Frisco, TX, USA; Tight end Darnell Washington plays in the 7 on 7 tournament at the Ford Center at The Star. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

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New additions should open up the Georgia football passing game

With the addition of an elite tight end recruit and a grad transfer, UGA football improves on offense.

The University of Georgia Bulldogs have the top recruiting class in the whole nation as of noon on National Signing Day. In the Early Signing Period, head coach Kirby Smart and his subordinate recruiters were already able to sign 19 key incoming high school recruits, including a run on top talent from out of state. None looms larger than 5-star Darnell Washington, the 6-7 tight end out of Las Vegas, considered one of the elite athletes at any position.

Under outgoing one-year offensive coordinator James Coley, the Bulldogs struggled to pass the ball to the middle of the football field, and at times had trouble converting on third downs. Thusly, the defense had to keep UGA in low-scoring games. With Air Raid expert Todd Monken taking over the play calling duties, and a couple other very experienced coaching minds added to the offensive think tank, scoring should increase in 2020.

Dec 30, 2018; Tampa, FL, USA;Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken prior to the game at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The spotlight shines brightest on Wake Forest grad transfer Jamie Newman, the presumed starter under center in Athens. But also keep an eye out for FSU grad transfer Tre’ McKitty (6-5), another tall tight end weapon.

Newman’s dual-threat arsenal includes his ability to run the football, which will draw defensive attention. The plan seems to be for Monken to open up the passing offense. Georgia loses stud runner D’Andre Swift to the NFL along with four offensive line starters, but the middle of the football field should be relatively open for tight ends to roam free and move the chains.

Will Georgia finish with the No. 1 recruiting class?

These five star prospects can still get Georgia football to the No. 1 spot in the recruiting rankings.

With two 5-stars, 14 4-stars and three 3-stars, Georgia currently has the No. 4 recruiting class in the 2020 cycle.

After early signing day came and went, Georgia fans were pleased with the No. 4 class but still felt like there were some pieces missing.

That’s because of the high expectations that Kirby Smart has set during his time at Georgia, routinely landing top-three recruiting classes.

But then three names emerged as Georgia leans that have either silently signed or intend to do so during February’s signing day.

Georgia still has a great chance to land these three 5-star prospects, which could very well catapult the Dawgs to No. 1 in the rankings.

There’s running back Zach Evans, who is trending heavily to the Bulldogs.

Evans is a 5-star back out of Houston, Texas who ranks as the nation’s No. 14 overall prospect and No. 1 ball carrier in the 2020 class. 63% of 247Sports’ Crystal Ball predictions say Georgia.

If Evans does wind up a Bulldog, he will form a tandem with Kendall Milton,  another top back who ranks as the No. 6 player at the position.

“Evans is expected to commit on air during an all-star game,” wrote Dean Legge of DawgPost.

Darnell Washington is another name to keep an eye on.

He is a 5-star out of Las Vegas who is listed as an athlete but will play tight end in college. Currently, Georgia is the heavy favorite to land Washington, the No. 10 overall player in the country and No. 1 ranked athlete.

Tight end is a position that Georgia needs to fill before this class is wrapped up. As of now Georgia has no tight ends committed or signed to the program.

Washington is a 6-foot-7, 261 pound beast that will be a matchup nightmare at the collegiate level.

He is expected to announce his decision on January 2nd at the Under Armour All-America Game.

Kelee Ringo is a 5-star cornerback out of Scottsdale, Arizona and is currently another heavy Georgia lean. He plans to announce at the All-American Bowl on January 4th and it is not known whether or not he has already signed with a program. Ringo is the No. 8 overall player, No. 1 cornerback and No. 1 overall recruit in the state of Arizona.

Right now, Georgia has one cornerback signed for 2020, 4-star Jalen Kimber who ranks as the No. 127 player in the class.

Ringo is a player that will likely start from day one wherever he goes.

We mentioned 5-star defensive end Jordan Burch today as well. The No. 5 overall player out of Columbia, South Carolina committed to the Gamecocks on early signing day but has not actually signed yet.

His high school coach said that Burch wants to wait and sign with his teammates, however, since he is not signed yet that means Georgia can still contact him until he does. He’s a name to keep an aye on but I would not get too excited just yet.