Can the Oregon Ducks Contain Georgia Bulldogs Elite Tight Ends?

Dan Lanning and defensive back Bennett Williams broke down the elite set of tight ends the Bulldogs have at their disposal.

Author:
Graham Metzker
Publish date:
Sep 2, 2022 11:56 AM EDT

Fresh off of their first national championship of the decade and another top-five recruiting class in 2022, it's no surprise that the Georgia Bulldogs are entering this season absolutely loaded.

Kirby Smart's latest iteration of the Dogs is a scary enough sight altogether. But one position group has been grabbing eyes lately -- the tight ends.

Made up of 2021 All-American First Teamer Brock Bowers, Darnell Washington, and LSU transfer Arik Gilbert, Georgia's tight end group for this season isn't just one of the best in the nation -- it could be one of the best groups college football has seen.

Nobody is more aware of this than Dan Lanning.

Lanning provided some insight this week on the challenges Georgia's tight ends present when putting together a defensive game plan.

"I think it's arguably one of the best groups in the nation," Lanning said. "It's hard to find a group that has as much talent in their tight end room. Obviously we really love our tight ends here, but they've got a great group. A lot of talent."

Georgia's offensive coordinator Todd Monken has knows how to get the most out of that group, drawing up crafty ways to get the tight ends involved and throw off a game plan.

"You can call them tight ends, but the reality is they're a matchup issue as a wideout as much as they are at tight end," said Lanning. "If you decide to go big and play physical, which obviously Georgia can do, you might be outmatched. If you decide to go smaller and put yourself in position to cover, well now they might outmatch you when it comes to bully ball."

"Coach Monken is obviously an elite play caller, and does a great job of recognizing what you're in and creating open sets when you're big, and creating condensed small sets when you're small. So, it'll be fun to see them."

Georgia using tall but quick tight ends in a multitude of positions will be something of a chess match for Oregon to decipher throughout the game.

One wrong move could be check-mate for the Ducks -- especially considering that Bowers led Georgia in receiving as a true freshman last season with 882 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. Now you can add in a former five-star recruit in Gilbert.

If Oregon elects to go small for the benefits of better coverage, they will be relying on defensive back Bennett Williams among other defenders. The senior Duck broke down how what he's seen from the film earlier this week.

"I feel like we have the guys and the scheme that can at least limit them," said Williams. "We're not gearing our whole offense to stop [Bowers], they got a ton of threats. We'll put in some different defenses to give them some different looks ... we're gonna play our game."

A sure-fire starter at the safety position, Williams will be the first one called on to stop Bowers and the Georgia tight ends from a smaller, quicker defensive look.