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Darnell Washington 'feels good,' National Championship status still uncertain

On3 imageby: Jake Rowe01/07/23JakeMRowe

Los Angeles, Calif. — Georgia tight end Darnell Washington isn’t yet sure what he’ll be doing on Saturday. He’ll be inside SoFi Stadium as his team takes on TCU for the National Championship, but even he doesn’t know if he’ll be able to play. That’s the bad news. The good news is that he is making progress.

Washington suffered a foot/ankle contusion in the first half of Georgia’s Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl win over Ohio State. The Bulldogs lost a physical presence in both the run and passing games. That was seven days ago and while Washington has progressed, he’s still not doing much in terms of physical preparation.

“I feel good,” Washington said on Saturday. “I’ve done a little something here on the side.”

That’s better than it was last Saturday when he was in a walking boot and using crutches. Kirby Smart initially called it an ankle sprain, saying he wasn’t sure whether it was the usual low-ankle sprain or the dreaded high-ankle version.

Some to find it out was more a bruise and a strain per what Smart told ESPN’s Marty Smith earlier in the week. That apparently increased Washington’s chances of being available.

When the Bulldogs arrived in La-La Land on Friday, Smart echoed the same thing he has been saying for days. UGA is “hopeful” that he will play. Video of Washington boarding the bus as the team left Athens showed a slight limp. That same limp was there when he arrived in L.A.

The 6-foot-7 265-pound tight end is one of the Bulldogs most effective blockers both when he’s attached to the line of scrimmage and when he is split out. He’s also one of four players on the team with more than 400-yards receiving. He has 27 grabs for 426 yards and two scores on the year. There’s zero doubt that the Bulldogs would benefit from having Washington on the field and effective, but even he admits that missed reps are hard to overcome. Still, he has been following along as closely as possible.

“Kind of, but not really,” Washington said when asked about being set back by missing practice time. “During practice, I stay out there. I watch all the new plays we put in. Mentally, I’m there. It’s more from a physical standpoint.”

If Washington is unable to go, Georgia will turn to true freshman Oscar Delp. He served as UGA’s second tight end last week as the Bulldogs overcame two separate 14-point deficits to knock off Ohio State 42-41. Delp held his own then and Washington expects that to be the case again — if necessary.

He did it in the semifinal game,” Washington said of Delp. “We’re all great players. We practice against one of the best defenses in the nation. So if we can do that, yeah, he can do it”

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