The Miami Dolphins have listed former Georgia football OL Solomon Kindley as a starter ahead of Week One.
Former Georgia offensive lineman Solomon Kindley was selected by the Miami Dolphins with the 111st pick in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Now, Kindley has been listed as a week one starter for the Dolphins, facing off against their AFC East rival the New England Patriots.
Kindley played in 41 games for Georgia, starting in 32 of those, after redshirting his freshman season.
He came to Athens as a three-star prospect but worked his way up to the starting lineup as a sophomore. Kindley was an essential piece to Georgia’s offensive line that ranked No. 1 in the country in 2019.
He helped the Bulldogs capture three straight SEC East titles, an SEC Championship, Rose Bowl and a Sugar Bowl.
The 6-foot-4, 335 pound pancake machine will mesh perfectly with Miami’s offense and act as some great insurance for the Dolphin’s new quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Kindley will be starting at right guard.
The Dolphins kickoff their season this Sunday, September 13th at 1:00 p.m. in Gillette Stadium.
With so many starting spots available, who will offensive line coach Matt Luke turn to during his inaugural season in Athens?
Following the departure of former offensive line coach Sam Pittman, the new head coach at the University of Arkansas, multiple Bulldogs he recruited to the University of Georgia followed suit.
Tackle Isaiah Wilson, a redshirt sophomore, declared early for the NFL Draft. Fellow tackle and projected first round pick Andrew Thomas did as well following his junior season. Relatively surprisingly, guard Solomon Kindley made the same decision despite qualifying for a redshirt senior season.
Cade Mays, the first Georgia Bulldog since Jonas Jennings to play all five OL positions in red and black, transferred to Tennessee to play with his younger brother in Knoxville for their father’s alma mater.
Center Trey Hill and guard/tackle Ben Cleveland are the only holdovers to start on the Bulldogs’ offensive line. Both players are entering their final season of eligibility.
With so many starting spots available, who will offensive line coach Matt Luke turn to during his inaugural season in Athens?
Xavier Truss:
Assuming Ben Cleveland gets early reps at right tackle (if not right guard), the left tackle spot will be wide open and thus attainable for the redshirt freshman Truss. At six-foot-seven and 330 pounds, he’s got the length and mass necessary to protect right-handed grad transfer QB Jamie Newman’s blindside. Combine that with the motor and footwork necessary to facilitate outside run plays and he may just be the Dawgs’ best fit at LT.
Warren Ericson:
Following injuries and the several aforementioned early NFL Draft declarations, Ericson started at right guard in January’s Sugar Bowl win over Baylor. In 2020, the redshirt sophomore may have to rotate behind seniors Cleveland and Justin Shaffer at either of the guard positions, but can put himself in a good position to secure solid substitute reps before Cleveland and Shaffer exhaust their eligibility. Matt Luke clearly sees something in Ericson.
Warren McClendon:
The younger of the OL’s two Warrens, McClendon shares with Ericson ample opportunity to break into the starting lineup. With both tackle spots ripe for the taking, McClendon can compete with Truss at left tackle, but seems more suited for right tackle as his size. The cousin of former Georgia running back Bryan McClendon saw limited action in 2019 but has the skills and build to impose his will upon SEC defenders in 2020.
Justin Shaffer:
Shaffer has patiently waited his turn to start on the Bulldogs’ offensive line, and an untimely injury extended that timeline. He made his first career start against Tennessee and started every play of the game. In his start against South Carolina, a neck injury sidelined Shaffer for the remainder of the regular season. After having fully recovered from his injury, he’s deserved his time to show out in the trenches for the Dawgs and is expected to be a mainstay on Georgia’s 2020 offensive line.
NFL Combine measurement results for every Georgia football.
This week, a number of former Georgia players are in Indianapolis for the 2020 NFL Combine, where they will be partaking in measurements, on-field workouts, team interviews and medical examinations.
So far, every player minus J.R. Reed has gone through the measurement portion of the week, and we have all results listed for you below.
Here is this week’s schedule for Georgia’s 10 players in attendance.
(Note, Georgia has no players in group 3 — Just 1, 2 and 4.)
Group 1: (Fromm, Cager, Woerner)
Sunday, Feb. 23: Arrive in Indy, Registration, Orientation, Interviews
Monday, Feb. 24: Measurements, Pre-exam at hospital, Interviews
Tuesday, Feb. 25: Media session, Medical exams, Position coach interviews, Psychological testing
Sunday, March 1: Limited testing, On-field Workout
Monday, March 2: Departure from Indianapolis
Here are the measurement results from the nine players so far:
Jake Fromm
Jan 6, 2018; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Jake Fromm (11) speaks during media day at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports
Georgia’s Jake Fromm has received his 2020 NFL Combine measurements. Fromm’s hand size, which is under nine inches, is somewhat concerning. Nine inches is considered the minimum hand size for an NFL quarterback.
Here’s how both Jake Fromm and Washington Huskies QB Jacob Eason measured at the combine:
Ultimately, hand size doesn’t have much correlation with cold weather performance and fumbles, so it shouldn’t drop Fromm too far. That being said, Fromm doesn’t have the measurables of the other elite quarterbacks in the 2020 NFL Draft.
LSU’s Joe Burrow did have nine inch hands as well. He’ll still be the first pick of the NFL Draft. One-eighth of an inch shouldn’t make too much of a difference for UGA’s Jake Fromm.
Georgia Bulldogs left guard Solomon Kindley is rated as one of the top guards in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Georgia Bulldogs left guard Solomon Kindley is rated as one of the top guards in the 2020 NFL Draft. Kindley has been compared to a former Arkansas Razorback ahead of the NFL Draft.
NFL.com compares Kindley to former Oakland Raider guard Denver Kirkland. Georgia Bulldog fans may recognize Kirkland from his days with the Arkansas Razorbacks in the SEC:
Nov 22, 2014; Fayetteville, AR, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks offensive lineman Denver Kirkland (55) during the game against the Ole Miss Rebels at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Arkansas defeated Mississippi 30-0. Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Who is Denver Kirkland?
Denver Kirkland was undrafted during the 2016 NFL Draft. He played several games for the Oakland Raiders during his rookie season, but ended up on IR during his second season. Following his injury, he spent time between Oakland and Arizona’s practice squads.
Georgia Bulldogs fans should expect for Kindley to find more success at the NFL level than Kirkland. For one thing, Kindley is projected to go much higher than Kirkland, who went undrafted.
Kirkland is 6-4 and weighs 340 pounds, which matches the size of Kindley.
Ten Georgia Bulldogs were invited to the 2020 NFL Combine. What UGA product has the most to gain?
Ten Georgia Bulldogs were invited to the 2020 NFL Combine, with the notable snub of defensive lineman Tyler Clark. Clark was a key part of a defensive front that didn’t give up a touchdown to a running back in the entirety of the 2019 season. Clark additionally helped UGA have the top rated scoring defense in the country.
The NFL Combine will go on without Clark. Overall, 337 players were invited. Here’s the ten UGA players who got the invite:
Kicker Rodrigo Blankenship
Wide receiver Lawrence Cager
Quarterback Jake Fromm
Running back Brian Herrien
Offensive lineman Solomon Kindley
Safety JR Reed
Running back D’Andre Swift
Offensive lineman Andrew Thomas
Tight end Charlie Woerner
Offensive lineman Isaiah Wilson
Georgia has five players who are projected to go in the first fifty picks on the draft. Some teams (Broncos, Rams) aren’t putting as much on the NFL Combine as they used to. Still, it is an event where players are comparable with each other and will inevitably have some standouts.
NFL coaches have specific measurements and times they look for at each position and if a player doesn’t meet these, then they may take them off their draft board. So which Georgia Bulldogs have the most to gain at the 2020 NFL Combine?
Charlie Woerner, Jake Fromm, Lawrence Cager, and D’Andre Swift are my candidates to boost their stocks the most.
Woerner was an excellent blocking tight end at UGA and may be able to carve out that role in the NFL. Woerner can separate himself as the best blocking tight end if he can score well on bench press and put together a good ten yard split in his forty yard dash.
Swift should put together an excellent forty time, which should be better than the other elite running backs. He can make a case as a first round pick with a sub 4.4 forty.
For Cager it is simple: run a decent forty yard dash to show he has some higher-end speed to get separation in the NFL and come back with a clean medical report on his shoulder.
Jake Fromm will get a chance to show off his underrated athleticism at the combine. If he can show teams that he has the physical traits to succeed, then they should already admire his intangibles and football IQ.
The Georgia Bulldogs will be well represented at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine.
The Georgia Bulldogs will be well represented at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine.
Ten Dawg lettermen will attempt to turn the heads of NFL scouts and coaches across a series of drills and exercises, all conducted between February 27 and March 2 in Indianapolis.
Today, the NFL released a list of all 337 players invited. Representing the Silver Britches will be (in alphabetical order):
Kicker Rodrigo Blankenship
Wide receiver Lawrence Cager
Quarterback Jake Fromm
Running back Brian Herrien
Offensive lineman Solomon Kindley
Safety JR Reed
Running back D’Andre Swift
Offensive lineman Andrew Thomas
Tight end Charlie Woerner
Offensive lineman Isaiah Wilson
With several surprising early draft declarations, Georgia is ranked among the top three in number of prospects invited per school.
The only school that matches Georgia’s number of participants is Alabama and the only school with more participants than both is LSU.
Good luck to every Dawg at the Combine. The Bulldog Nation is rooting for you.
Georgia has lost another offensive lineman to the 2020 NFL Draft. Via his Instagram account, redshirt junior guard Solomon Kindley said he will forego his senior season and pursue an NFL career. “To start, thank you God for everything, Coming to UGA …
Georgia has lost another offensive lineman to the 2020 NFL Draft.
Via his Instagram account, redshirt junior guard Solomon Kindley said he will forego his senior season and pursue an NFL career.
“To start, thank you God for everything, Coming to UGA from Raines High School has been far more than I could ever imagine. Over the past four years I’ve created bonds that will last a lifetime. Bulldog nation thank you for accepting me and always being there when I needed you. I’m forever grateful for all your support. Thank you to my athletic trainers that have taken care of my body and the equipment staff that made sure I always had everything I needed to compete and look good doing it. Coach Pittman thank you for recruiting me and changing my life. Thank you for always being there for me on and off the field. All my coaches thank you for making me a better man and getting me to where I am today. The state of Georgia and Athens will always have a special place in my heart. With that being said and after discussing it over with my family, I’ll be foregoing my senior season and will enter the 2020 NFL Draft.”
The 6-foot-4 332-pound Kindley joins line mates Andrew Thomas and Isaiah Wilson in leaving the Bulldogs early. They are joined by junior running back D’Andre Swift in entering the draft early.
Kindley started 32 games and saw action in 42 games over his UGA career. Best of luck to the Jacksonville product and all of DawgNation is hoping for a long and successful professional career.
