John FitzPatrick joins the ranks of Dawgs headed for NFL
Following Georgia’s 33-18 win over Alabama in the National Championship, many of Georgia’s upperclassmen have announced their plans for the future. Now, that list includes tight end John FitzPatrick, who announced this evening that he will forgo his senior season in order to enter his name into the NFL Draft.
“Thank you to the University of Georgia for the best four years of my life. I received an amazing education, made lifelong friendships, and had the opportunity to challenge myself in the classroom while playing a game that I love, surrounded by fans who love it just as much. Thank you to Coach Smart, Coach Hartley, Ron Courson and the rest of the UGA staff. You believed in me, challenged me and supported me to become a better player and person. Thank you to my family. Without you, none of this would have been possible. I have the greatest cheering squad I could have imagined watching me and watching over me, and I count my blessings every day for that. Thank you to the teammates who made me better each and every day. I am luck to have competed against and trained with you guys, and I know that my toughest opponents were forever the other Dawgs I played against in practice – we all held the same goal, and we achieved it. I came to UGA because I wanted to play at the highest level and to help UGA win a national championship. With that goal achieved, it is time to move toward my next goal and begin preparing for the 2022 NFL Draft. I’m excited and hopeful to see what is next. Go Dawgs!,” FitzPatrick said via a release on social media.
John Fitzpatrick is proof that the quality of a player can not always be determined by the stat sheet. In his Georgia career, the redshirt junior caught 17 passes for 200 yards and a touchdown, which came against Arkansas in the 2020 season opener. In Georgia’s bowl game against Cincinnati, the tight end caught 4 passes for 41 yards, which were both career highs for a single game.
Georgia’s tight end situation without John FitzPatrick
FitzPatrick was eligible to take his talents to the NFL after the 2020 season but decided to return to Georgia for another season. The redshirt junior leaves the Georgia tight end room in a much better shape than it was when he arrived. While FitzPatrick’s blocking and leadership will be missed, Georgia will have Brock Bowers, Darnell Washington, Oscar Delp, Brett Seither, and many more in their tight end room next year.
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