Tate Ratledge doesn’t make any predictions, but he did make a promise. It pertained to his upcoming freshman season with Georgia.

“I’m going to be somebody who’s going to get in there and go to work,” the five-star offensive lineman said during a telephone interview with UGASports.

Knowing Ratledge, that was never going to be a problem. One doesn’t earn five-star status without being willing to put in the grind, and the former Darlington standout certainly did that enroute to becoming one of the integral pieces to Georgia’s top-ranked 2020 class.

Even in this time of uncertainty, while the nation endures the coronavirus (COVID-19) shutdown, Ratledge isn’t spending his time waiting for the all-clear sign before getting ready for his Bulldog career.

In fact, he’s never stopped, working out at a friend’s gym until the day he’s ultimately able to arrive at UGA.

Ratledge’s story is a familiar one to Georgia fans.

The nation’s second-ranked tackle and No. 12 overall player according to Rivals committed to the Bulldogs in May of 2019, and all appeared right in Ratledge’s world until Sam Pittman—the man who recruited him to Athens—accepted the head coaching job at Arkansas.

“My head was spinning,” Ratledge said. “I didn’t know what I was going to do.”

Fortunately for Georgia, new offensive line coach Matt Luke came to the rescue. The former Ole Miss head coach had only been on the job a matter of hours before he made a trip to Rome to make his own pitch to Ratledge and his family.

He made quite the impression.

“He came to Darlington a day or two after he got hired and stayed with me pretty much the whole day."

Ratledge said the two hit it off quickly. "I gained a relationship with him really fast, probably faster than with any coach I’ve had,” he said. “It was good. That was the moment when I said, OK, I’m staying there.”

No doubt head coach Kirby Smart breathed a huge sigh of relief.

According to Ratledge, Luke’s passion is what solidified his commitment to the Bulldogs.

“Just his energy,” Ratledge said. “He had great energy the whole time, and really put a lot of time into getting to know me and my family.”

Luke’s efforts stopped other competitors for Ratledge’s services dead in their collective tracks.

“Clemson started talking to me a lot, Tennessee too,” Ratledge recalled. “(Tennessee) came back by the school, but before I decided to do anything with that, I told myself I was going to meet this new offensive line coach and see how I like him, and that was going to be my decision.”

Luke’s current message to Ratledge through the ongoing pandemic is a simple one.

“Just come in the best shape possible,” he said. “As soon as I get there, I'll start working on my craft and technique.”

At 6-foot-5 and 295 pounds, Ratledge’s future position appears to be offensive tackle, although he said nothing is set in stone.

Once he arrives, Ratledge will join the rest of Georgia’s incoming freshman class, which many are touting as the most impressive group of linemen the Bulldogs have signed in years.

Along with fellow five-star Broderick Jones, Georgia will welcome former four stars Sedrick Van Pran and Chad Lindberg, along with Cameron Kinnie, and the underrated Austin Blaske, Ratledge’s roommate for the upcoming year.

Ratledge said he’s looking forward to the competition.

“It means a lot. I’m going to push them to get better, and they’re going to push me to get better. I think I play better when there’s competition,” he said. “If I know there’s somebody behind me, somebody coming for my spot that’s going to make me work harder.”