Mark Richt benefited from an ever-plentiful well of tight end talent during his time in Athens. Versatile players like Benjamin Watson, Orson Charles, Randy McMichael, Martrez Milner, and Leonard Pope turned productive careers in Athens into NFL tenures and helped UGA claim the title of “Tight End U.”
Then, something happened. Or, more likely, several somethings happened which had the net effect of reducing the tight ends’ significance to the Bulldog offense. During Mike Bobo’s final season as the Bulldog offensive coordinator in 2014 UGA tight ends snagged 31 passes for 394 yards and 3 touchdowns. That was down from prior years, though the Red and Black passing offense was actually effective on the whole, especially in the second half.