ATHENS – John FitzPatrick knows he scored some touchdowns at Marist School. He’s just not sure how many and exactly when the last one was. He thinks maybe it was in the playoffs his senior year.
Regardless, FitzPatrick finally caught that next TD pass, and this one was his first as a collegiate player at Georgia. The 6-foot-7, 254-pound sophomore hauled in a 7-yard pass from quarterback Stetson Bennett on a stick route over the middle at the goal line. He caught the ball just outside the goal line amid tight coverage by the Razorbacks' strong safety, but was able to turn and dive into the end zone for the score.
The touchdown gave the Bulldogs a 20-10 lead in what to that point had been a closer-than-comfortable contest. SEC Networks cameras caught FitzPatrick’s broad smile as he celebrated with his teammates in the end zone.
“It was an indescribable feeling. It really was,” Fitzpatrick said after practice during Georgia’s media day Monday. “Just an awesome moment.”
It was long in coming. Entering Saturday’s season opener, FitzPatrick had made only one other catch in his college career, a 22-yarder against Murray State in the second game of last season. FitzPatrick already has doubled that total. He had two against the Razorbacks for a total of 19 yards.
Indications are that FitzPatrick and his fellow tight ends will catch many more in the offense being installed by first-year coordinator Todd Monken. That position accounted for four receptions for 57 yards against Arkansas, with a long of 26 yards by freshman Darnell Washington. Redshirt freshman Brett Seither also caught a 12-yard pass in the fourth quarter. That set up the Bulldogs' last score of the game.
To put that in perspective, Georgia tight ends had just one game when they caught as many as four passes last season. They had five against Murray State, and Eli Wolf caught four of those.
As a group, the tight ends caught only 23 passes for 294 yards and two touchdowns all season last year. That’s an average of 1.6 receptions a game.
One game is a small sample size, but it’s reasonable to think tight ends will be a bigger part of the passing game this season. There certainly seems to be the talent there to do so.
The 6-foot-7, 260-pound Washington came to Georgia from Las Vegas as the nation’s No. 1-ranked tight end recruit. And we haven’t even seen Tre' McKitty, who supposedly is the most well-developed of the lot at this juncture. The graduate transfer from Florida State sat out the Arkansas game with a knee sprain. He returned to practice this week, but his status for Saturday’s home opener against Auburn is questionable.
“He’s coming along nicely,” coach Kirby Smart said after practice Tuesday. “He’s got a chance to play. It’s one of those deals that you’d like him to get some really good live action before he goes out there in the game, but I don’t know if we’re going to get the chance to do that. He has certainly improved and is getting in better shape.”
So has FitzPatrick, who has come a long way in two seasons at UGA. While FitzPatrick was a 4-star prospect at Marist, the War Eagles ran the triple option, so his pass-catching opportunities were as rare as they’ve been at Georgia. FitzPatrick’s blue-chip reputation was established as much on defense, as he was a standout tackle in high school.
“He was a very, very versatile player,” Marist coach Alan Chadwick said. “You know, we’ve been triple-option for 100 years here, but the last five or six we’ve gone to more spread, put in some shotgun, added some packages, this, that and the other. And, really, John had a lot to do with that. He was the first one we’ve had that really had the size you like throwing to, with the fades and slants and quick-game out wide. He’s such a big target and really made a great impression on us.”
And FitzPatrick has grown since he left Atlanta. He was 6-5-and-change and 230 pounds when he showed up at UGA.
Of course, he’s not the biggest at the position for the Bulldogs anymore. That distinction goes to Washington, who might be closer to 6-8 than 6-7 and has actually slimmed down to 260 pounds. A video of Washington knocking an Arkansas defender to the ground with a one-handed chip block went viral on social media Saturday night.
“I expect many big (video) clips from Darnell,” FitzPatrick said “His size and the way he moves, it doesn’t surprise me. He played an awesome game, and it’s been a blast playing alongside him.”
Notably, all four tight end receptions were over the middle. That has been a rarity the last couple of seasons.
“That group has worked really hard, and coach (Todd) Hartley has done a good job with them,” Smart said. “'Fitz' has had a really good camp. He got dinged up in one of the scrimmages and missed a little time, so it’s almost like he was just getting back when we got ready for (Arkansas). If he had had the entire camp he would be even further along. But what happened with Fitz and Tre' being out a little is Darnell has gotten a ton of work and so has Brett. Those guys are getting a lot of reps.”
If the tight ends make good on those targets, that should continue. While Monken runs a spread offense, he likes to utilize versatile tight ends as a blocker/receiver option on the edge. Game 1 showed Georgia’s group is able to fill that purpose.
For the record, Marist reports that FitzPatrick had three TDs his senior season. The last one came in the first round of the state playoffs, 28 yards in a win over Madison County. It was one of 39 catches for a total of 540 yards he had that season.
As for the latest TD, FitzPatrick gave the credit to Monken and quarterback Stetson Bennett.
“Coach Monken dialed up a great play,” FitzPatrick said. “We had gotten certain looks that we wanted. We talked at halftime and said if we got that look, (Bennett) was going to hit it on me. He did, and I just dove in the end zone.”
As one would expect, FitzPatrick’s phone blew up after his touchdown with attaboys from back home. Chadwick’s “way to go, John” text message was the first FitzPatrick received.
“He deserves it,” Chadwick said. “He’s very humble and down to earth, great attitude, great work ethic. All our kids are special to me, but he was really special.”
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