The way Tyler Catalina described his official visit to Georgia in early February, one might have thought he had just returned from a family vacation to Disney World.
“I realized it was a magical place,” Catalina said Monday in a telephone interview with UGASports.com. “I felt comfortable there, I loved the coaches and just having a chance to sit down with them and talk, talk football, their plans for me, how they see me helping the team ... it was great.
“I met some of the guys while I was down there and I thought I really connected with them. It just felt like the right place to be and I think it gives me the best opportunity to get to the next level.”
By now you know Catalina’s story.
An All-Conference offensive tackle who played the last three years for FCS member Rhode Island, Catalina will graduate next month with one year of eligibility remaining. He will use that year at Georgia as a graduate transfer once he arrives in Athens on June 2.
At 6-foot-5 and 320 pounds, Catalina – who originally was going to transfer to Iowa State - is anxious to prove that he belongs in the SEC.
“It’s a huge difference, not just going from the FCS to the FBS but to the SEC. But I know I can do it,” Catalina said. “I know I have the ability to do it and I’m looking forward to getting there Day 1 in camp and showing everybody what I can do.”
He’s ready for whatever opportunity comes his way.
“Right now they have me at left tackle,” Catalina said. “Obviously, nothing’s guaranteed, so I’m going to have to come in, work out the entire summer, train and get to know these guys and when the pads come on, that’s when you earn your spot.”
Head coach Kirby Smart said Catalina will have every opportunity to make a quick impression.
“He’s got a great opportunity to make our team better,” Smart said. “I like his maturity, he’s a competitor and he’s got a really good body-type for left tackle. I’m looking for him to come in and compete right away.”
Catalina said he’s already been hard at work to make sure he’s ready to jump right into the fray the moment get gets to town.
“I’m doing a lot of work. I go home on the weekends and train with some guys there,” he said. “It’s tough not being able to participate in spring ball, so I have to make sure I’m doing all the necessities on my own. I think I’m doing a pretty good job.”
Smart and offensive line coach Sam Pittman got to see for themselves when they flew up to Catalina’s home in Worchester, Massachusetts, this past Friday night for what amounted to an in-home visit.
“It went excellent. They got to meet the family, we had a nice dinner, just talked and had some fun,” Catalina said. “We cooked a nice, big Italian dinner for them.”
If Catalina’s family didn’t already know why he felt so strongly about Smart and Pittman before the visit, they did once they met.
“He’s (Pittman) a very straightforward guy. His track record is proven,” Catalina said. “He knows how to coach offensive line, he knows what he’s doing and on top of being a great guy and a great coach, he’s got everything that you want as a player.”
Smart said told Catalina what to expect once he arrives.
“It’s not like it’s a deal where you can sit down there and say you’re coming in fourth string. You’ve got to come in and compete and get out there and challenge,” Smart said. “It’s going to be a big deal for him to come in and learn and pick up the system really fast, too. He’s going to be learning something totally new to him.”
Catalina says he can’t wait.
“Right when we got there (on his official visit), everything just felt right. In one of the articles I heard we went dark when we got home but at the airport we walked, weighed out all our options, discussed it with the family, and like I said, it just felt right,” Catalina said. “I made my decision from there, I didn’t take my visit to Auburn and that’s saying something to how comfortable I felt with Coach Smart, his system and what their plan was for me.”
