Ryland Goede announces decision to transfer
Georgia tight end Ryland Goede became the second Bulldog set to enter the transfer portal today, announcing his decision on Twitter Thursday afternoon. Goede saw action in nine games this season. He’s the third tight end from Todd Hartley’s group to enter the transfer portal joining Arik Gilbert and Brett Seither. Luckily, Mackey Award winner Brock Bowers returns along with Oscar Delp.
“Those hedges, the family, that G. What started out as a childhood dream slowly turned into a reality of playing for my hometown team and winning BACK-TO-BACK national championships. It was something our class said we’d do once we got here and we did it,” Goede wrote.
“I am blessed to have been a part of THE BEST tight end room to ever play the game and have loved getting to learn from those in front of me. To all my teammates and coaches, thank you for the family y’all have been to me and the life-long friendships that we have formed. Thank you especially to Coach Smart for blessing me with this opportunity to play for and graduate from this university in May. The culture at UGA is so special, and because of that it was important to me to finish this the right way. This is one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made, but with TWO YEARS of eligibility remaining, I’ll be putting my name in the portal as a GRADUATE TRANSFER.”
Goede saw action in two games as a freshman before being forced to miss the entire season his sophomore year in 2020 due to shoulder surgery. In 2021, the Kennesaw Mountain native and former four-star saw his first action in over two years against UAB before playing against South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Charleston Southern and Georgia Tech. Goede was the nation’s No. 9 tight end according to the On3 Consensus coming out of high school in 2019.
Goede did not catch a pass in his Georgia career but will be remembered fondly by his teammates. Many have joined him and offensive lineman Tate Ratledge on their podcast, Real Talk with Ryland Goede and Tate Ratledge.
Following the departures of Gilbert, Goede and Seither, plus the expected one of Darnell Washington for the 2023 NFL Draft, Georgia is left with just two returning tight ends on scholarship – Bowers and Delp. The Bulldogs did however sign two more in the Class of 2023 and are in pursuit of a third with Duce Robinson, the No. 1 player at the position according to the On3 Consensus. Georgia has an advantage in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine to land Robinson, who will sign in February. The nation’s No. 7 tight end Walker Lyons is also a possibility with UGA leading in his RPM as well. If Robinson and/or Lyons does end up at Georgia, they would join Pearce Spurlin and Lawson Luckie in the class – both of whom are top-10 tight ends for 2023. Meanwhile, Bowers led the team in receiving and Delp was the No. 2 tight end in the country for the Class of 2022 meaning Georgia should be just fine despite the recent departures.
