When checking the need boxes for Georgia’s Class of 2020, you would have been hard pressed to put anything higher on the list than tight end.
The Bulldogs addressed that need in a major way on Thursday with the public commitment of five-star tight end Darnell Washington during the Under Armour All-American Game.
“Everything," Washington said on ESPN when asked what put Georgia over the top. "When I first when there, I just had a feel, and it’s all about the feel and the coaches. I gave it a lot of thought. It’s best for me and my family and everyone.”
"I'm just going to say that place is different," Washington told Trent Smallwood in Orlando earlier this week. "I think Dell McGee. McGee was like an honest coach, even though he's a running back coach. At the time, he was the one recruiting me, and I just think he's a good-hearted dude."
With Charlie Woerner graduating and grad transfer Eli Wolf having completed his one remaining year of eligibility, the experience in Todd Hartley’s tight end room is lacking, and numbers are low, especially true after the departure of Luke Ford at the end of his freshman year.
Now the Bulldogs have a 6-foot-7, 255 pound do-it-all athlete in Washington, who ranks as the No. 17 overall player in his class, as well as the No. 2 overall tight end.
"It's Coach [Todd] Hartley and Coach [Kirby] Smart. Good dudes. You know, even though they coach a lot and take everything serious, they still just find a way to have fun with us," Washington said of Georgia in early September. "Like on the last days that I was there (in late July), Coach Smart was on the water slide with his son. Coach Hartley was out there eating pie, all that. It was just fun coaching. I feel like the coaching there, when it's time for business, they get into business. I know it's not always supposed to be fun. There's time to get the work in."
While Georgia fans may be rejoicing to have the news finally public, Washington says the staff was not surprised by his decision.
"I'm pretty sure he already knew I was coming. We have the best relationship. Ever since they offered, they kept communicating. Some schools offer and fade away and try to come back in the end, but this was like a daily thing, so I'm pretty sure he already knew I was coming," Washington told Smallwood earlier this week.
