The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Holyfield, Hardman, Ridley, Nauta decide to leave for NFL
ATHENS — Georgia saw three of its major pass-catchers from the 2018 team declare for the NFL draft Friday, as Mecole Hardman joined Riley Ridley and Isaac Nauta in making early exits.
Running back Elijah Holyfield also declared his intention to turn pro, and Georgia also saw freshman tight end Luke Ford announce his intentions to transfer to Illinois. All this came on the day when news broke of quarterback Justin Fields’ decision to transfer to Ohio State.
Underclassmen have until Jan. 14 to declare for the draft, which takes place April 25-27 in Nashville. The NFL combine is scheduled for Feb. 26-March 4 in Indianapolis.
“We wish the best to Mecole Hardman, Elijah Holyfield, Isaac Nauta and Riley Ridley as they pursue their careers at the next level,” Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart said in a statement. “All four of these juniors contributed significantly to our success during the last two seasons and we look forward to them making the best out of their shot at the NFL. As with all our players, we also will encourage them to complete their degrees to get prepared for the next chapter of their lives.”
Hardman scored at least one touchdown in each of the first four games of this season, including a two-touchdown performance against Middle Tennessee that featured a punt return for a score.
The 5-foot-11, 183-pounder is widely considered one of the fastest players on Georgia’s team.
Texas kept the ball away from Hardman in the Sugar Bowl, as he had just one catch for 3 yards and one kick return for 28 yards in the 28-21 loss to the Longhorns on Tuesday night.
Hardman finished this season with 34 catches for 532 yards and seven touchdowns — but he had only 10 catches for 174 yards over the final seven games.
Hardman also had 14 kick returns for 353 yards, an average of 25.21 yards.
Ridley led the Bulldogs with 44 catches for 570 yards and nine touchdowns this season.
The 6-2, 200-pounder had five catches in the Sugar Bowl for a team-high 61 yards.
Ridley came on the national radar with his sixcatch, 82-yard performance in the College Football Playoff Championship game in Atlanta last season.
Ridley’s season-high receiving yardage in 2018 came against Missouri when he had 87 yards on five catches.
Against Georgia Tech, Ridley had a career-high two touchdown catches.
“I am thankful that I chose the University of Georgia and was a part of an outstanding program. I could not imagine any other program preparing me for the next the way this one has,” Ridley wrote in a Twitter post. “Thank you to coach Smart and the entire phenomenal coaching staff for molding me into the athlete I am today. My experience here has been nothing less than absolutely amazing.”
Holyfield, one of four team captains selected for the Sugar Bowl, joined D’Andre Swift in rushing for more than 1,000 yards this season, marking the second consecutive season in which Georgia has had dual 1,000yard rushers.
Nick Chubb and Sony Michel each had more than 1,000 yards rushing last season.
Holyfield, the son of former heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield, led the Bulldogs with 62 yards on 12 carries in the Sugar Bowl, giving him 1,018 on the season.
The 5-11, 215-pounder averaged 6.4 yards per carry — the same as Swift — and his seven touchdowns tied for third on the team behind Swift (13) and Ridley (9).
A three-year starter for the Bulldogs, Nauta finishes his college career with 68 catches for 902 yards and eight touchdowns. He might have been underutilized as a receiver, following a freshman year of 29 catches with a sophomore season of nine. But he had 30 this past season and finished with a career-best 430 yards. He caught just one pass for 3 yards in Tuesday night’s loss to Texas.
Ford came to Georgia as the nation’s No. 3 tight end in the 2018 recruiting class out of Carterville, Illinois. Ford appeared in nine games this season and recorded just one catch for 4 yards.
Ford’s departure leaves Georgia with only Charlie Woerner and John Fitzpatrick as scholarship tight ends. Georgia has signed 4-star tight end Ryland Goede as a member of the 2019 class. He will be an early enrollee, but he is recovering from an ACL injury.