If you walk up to Tate Ratledge off the football field, you see a big, country young man that is laid back, that loves to fish, and one that prefers to stay out of the spotlight. Then, you see him when he puts the pads on and steps onto the field, he becomes a violent, punishing and aggressive football player.
You hear the phrase “flip the switch” often in football; and Ratledge is one who definitely does that.
He goes from a quiet, somewhat reserved young man off the field to a punisher that plays with an edge play after play. The offensive tackle out of Rome (Ga.) Darlington has gotten a few personal fouls in his time, and that is his aggressive nature between the lines. The Georgia commit is one that is now pushing for another star.
LIVE EVALUATION
I saw Ratledge play at Dalton last week in Darlington’s spring game, and like always, Ratledge was very impressive. Ratledge is not one who camps a lot and gets out to many events away from his school, so seeing him against a very good team in Dalton showed me a lot.
He is one I have liked since I saw him playing tight end in middle school at 7-on-7 events. He has grown into one of the top offensive tackles in America, and he may be one that deserves a fifth star after this fresh evaluation.
Ratledge continues to win battles against the guy in front of him. At his size, he is very light on his feet, he is a natural bender with flexibility, he fires off the ball, he drives defensive linemen backwards, he is athletic and there are not many, if any better finishers in this class. Ratledge wants to completely punish the man in front of him, and he did that again last Thursday night.
Sure, the defensive ends were smaller, but that pushed Ratledge to play lower, with better leverage and to move well against the quicker ends. There was really no competition for him in the pass rush department due to his size and strength. In the run game, Ratledge played with a flat back, he kept his feet under him, and he was dominant.
For me, I have seen enough. He checks the boxes as an elite offensive tackle. I plan to push for Ratledge to move up and become a new five-star on Rivals.com this update. When you look at his size, athleticism, feet, strength, attitude, dominance, and upside, there is hard to find much to concern me.
There is no better evaluation than live competition fully padded, and Ratledge again, showed me he is a special talent. This time, it may have been enough to be put him in that elite five-star class of 2020.
LOOKING AHEAD
The speed of the game is always the biggest question, especially on the offensive line at tackle. The SEC is a tough league, and offensive tackles face big, physical and fast edge rushers week in and week out. That will be the biggest question when Ratledge arrives in Athens. Some wondered the same about Andrew Thomas a couple of years ago. Like Ratledge, Thomas played at a private school, but Thomas came into Georgia and started as a true freshman at right tackle.
Will Ratledge follow the same path? It is hard to predict that, and those are extremely lofty expectations, but Ratledge has a great frame, he is stronger than Thomas was at this stage, he has the same maturity level of Thomas did in high school and Ratledge will come in ready to compete or take that job away from someone.
Combining Ratledge’s talent with Sam Pittman’s coaching, you have to think playing on Sundays is a very strong possibility for the one I am ready to stand on the table for.
