Draft decisions continue to roll in for back-to-back champ UGA
ATHENS, Ga. — Three more University of Georgia football players are entering the NFL draft pool after helping the Bulldogs win their second straight national title.
Tight end Darnell Washington, defensive back Kelee Ringo and offensive lineman Broderick Jones made the announcements on their Instagram accounts.
Washington, a massive matchup problem for defenses at 6-foot-7 and 270 pounds, teamed with Brock Bowers to give Georgia a dominant 1-2 punch at an often overlooked position.
“My time in Athens has come to an end as I pursue my dreams of playing in the NFL,” said Washington, who was a key blocker and ranked fourth on the team with 28 receptions for 454 yards and two touchdowns this past season, his third at Georgia.
Jones (6-4, 310) started all 15 games for a line that helped Georgia average 296.8 offensive yards per game and protected veteran quarterback Stetson Bennett extremely well as the Heisman Trophy finalist was sacked just nine times all season. The Bulldogs also averaged 41.1 points per game.
Ringo will long be remembered for returning an interception 79 yards for a touchdown late in Georgia’s 38-18 victory in the College Football Playoff final to cap the 2021 season. The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder’s big play in Indianapolis sealed the Bulldogs’ first national title in 41 seasons.
The program made it two in a row with a 65-7 romp over TCU on Monday night in Inglewood, California. The day after completing the 15-0 season, standout defensive tackle Jalen Carter (6-3, 210) announced he would not return for a fourth college season. He is considered the potential No. 1 overall pick in this spring’s draft.
A title celebration is planned Saturday in Athens, with a parade to be followed by the traditional Dawg Walk for players and coaches into a ceremony at Sanford Stadium.
Ringo had two interceptions, seven passes defended, a forced fumble and 42 tackles this past season.
“To my Bulldogs who have been between the hedges with me both past and present, we have won in many areas, but on the field we’ve earned the title of national champions — two times,” Ringo wrote on Instagram. “We have helped build something special and I’m grateful to have had you as a teammate.”
A torch may have been passed Monday night, when sophomore defensive back Javon Bullard picked off two passes and recovered a fumble against TCU.
“I mean, this place is special,” Bullard said in the wake of the repeat championship. “Just growing up as a kid from the state of Georgia, playing for the University of Georgia, it’s special. So the word ‘dynasty,’ it’s something we’re building together. And that was built before us, and it’s going to continue to be built after us.”
Another Georgia tight end, sparingly used Ryland Goede, posted on Twitter that he will be entering the NCAA transfer portal. Two other backup tight ends, Arik Gilbert and Brett Seither, had already said they intend to transfer. Gilbert, an Atlanta-area native, was a Freshman All-Southeastern Conference selection in 2020 at LSU before transferring to Georgia.
The Bulldogs are still sufficiently stocked at that position with Bowers set to return for his third season and Oscar Delp (6-5, 225) — who was rated the nation’s No. 1 tight end in the 2022 recruiting cycle — coming off a promising freshman campaign after enrolling early last January.
Despite the returning talent at multiple position groups on his roster, Georgia coach Kirby Smart is looking to the 2023 season as its own challenge. The Bulldogs are already being labeled as favorites to make it three in a row, and the former Georgia defensive back sees the dangers that presents.
“Starting to think about the next one, I do think it’s going to be much tougher,” Smart said earlier this week. “And I do think we’re going to have to reinvent ourselves next year, because you can’t just stay the same. We have a lot of guys that are going to come back, and it’s easy to get comfortable. And comfortable does not win.”
Clemson adds Riley
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has hired TCU offensive coordinator Garrett Riley to reignite the Tigers’ attack.
The compensation committee for the school’s board of trustees approved a three-year contract Friday that will pay the 33-year-old Riley $1.75 million per season.
Swinney hopes the move invigorates an offense that had slipped since Clemson’s most recent College Football Playoff berth in the 2020 season.
It’s the first time Swinney has gone outside his current staff for a coordinator hire since bringing in Oklahoma’s Brent Venables to lead the Tigers’ defense before the 2012 season.
If Riley can have the impact Venables did from the start, it could spark an group that finished 30th nationally in scoring and 48th in total offense this past fall.
“Garrett has an incredible track record,” Swinney said in a release.
Riley, the brother of Southern California coach Lincoln Riley, helped TCU finish ninth in scoring offense and go from a five-win team in 2021 to the national championship game this season.
Swinney cleared the way for Riley when he fired long-time staffer and first-year offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter on Thursday.