Georgia Bulldogs senior tight end Arthur Lynch has been mentioned on some preseason All-SEC lists and recently was included on the watch list for the Mackey Award, which goes annually to the nation’s top tight end. And nobody is happier about that than Lynch’s position-mate, Jay Rome.
But Rome has some big plans for this season as well. In a recent interview Rome predicted he’ll have “a breakout year” for the Bulldogs after giving up basketball and focusing full time on football.
Georgia fans have seen glimpses. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound sophomore was coming on toward the end of last season. He scored a touchdown in the regular-season finale against Georgia Tech and in the SEC Championship game against Alabama. He finished the season with 152 yards on 11 receptions. Rome also had two catches for 73 yards in the G-Day game in April.
Here are some excerpts from a recent interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Q: What have voluntary workouts been like this summer?
A: The summer is a great time to get better. It's really when the bonding of the team takes place. There are no coaches out there, but if you were to come out and watch one of our workouts or one of our pass-skel sessions, you'd imagine that coach (Mike) Bobo or coach (Todd) Grantham was out there running things. We really try to have it structured, and (quarterback Aaron) Murray's doing a great job getting everybody organized.
Q: Sophomore tight end Ty Flournoy-Smith was dismissed for team rules violations earlier this year. How did you feel about that?
A: I talked to him early on, right around the time it happened, and I just kind of reached out to him. He's a guy from the same area that I'm from. I just wanted to let him know to not even think about it anymore. What's happened has happened, it's in the past, and there's nothing you can do about it now. All you can do is look forward and do what you have to do to get back to where you wanted to be. That should fuel you to work harder. We're all human, and that means everyone makes mistakes. So it's nothing that I hold over his head or anything like that. So I definitely tried to encourage him. And if he ever needs anything from me he can call me, and I'll do whatever I can to help him.
Q: How does his loss affect the position?
A: We're going to have to do some things because there are a lot of times we have multiple tight ends in the game. So me and (Lynch) are going to have to get some other guys ready. Hugh Williams is ready to play and is an outstanding blocker and has OK hands, too. We have some other guys, too. We have depth at tight end. Jordan (Davis) is coming, and from what I can tell, he's going to be a good player. We have depth at the position, and I think we're going to be all right.
Q: What have your impressions been of freshman tight end Jordan Davis?
A: Jordan is learning quickly. We've been doing some pass skel-type stuff and getting the young guys knowing the playbook so they can get out there and run around and do some stuff without the coaches. We upperclassmen, we're just trying to get everybody on the same page before the coaches can come in and work with us. Jordan's learning really fast. He's really athletic, and he has nice hands. So I'm definitely ready to see what he can do.
Q: What about your individual goals? Is this going to be a breakout year for you?
A: Personally, I try to make every year a breakout year. So, yeah, you could say this is going to be a breakout year for me; that's an accurate assessment. I really want to show people I'm even better than I was last year. I think I'm a lot better than I was last year, especially with putting basketball down this year. It was a tough decision, but I really do think it has benefited me. I can already tell just from all the lifting I did over the winter and so far this summer. I think I'm going to be a better player for it, and I'm excited to show people just how good of a tight end I can be. I think some people might be surprised.
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