ATHENS — Georgia football has positioned itself to land Tennessee graduate transfer Eli Wolf in what could prove to be a pivotal offseason addition.
Wolf, a veteran tight end who coach Jeremy Pruitt chose to represent the Vols at SEC Media Day last summer, visited Athens last weekend and received an offer.
The 6-foot-4, 236-pound Wolf would seem to be the sort of impact player Georgia needs at the position.
The Bulldogs, obviously, have a pressing need after junior Isaac Nauta (6-4, 240) declared himself eligible for the upcoming NFL Draft and freshman Luke Ford chose to transfer back to his home state and play at Illinois.
That leaves rising senior Charlie Woerner and redshirt freshman John Fitzpatrick as the only healthy returning scholarship tight ends. UGA early enrollee Ryland Goede suffered a knee injury last season and may not be cleared at the start of fall drills.
Nauta was fourth on the team with 30 catches for 430 yards and three touchdowns last season. Departing Bulldogs tight ends coach Jim Chaney said in hindsight, he should have called more plays for the position.
“You would have to be a dummy to sit here and think you probably shouldn’t utilize that position a little bit more than we have in our offense,” Chaney said of the tight ends at the Sugar Bowl media availability in December.
Chaney, coincidentally, has since left Georgia and is now the Vols’ new offensive coordinator.
Wolf began his career at Tennessee as a walk-on but earned a scholarship before the 2017 season, starting the season-opening win over Georgia Tech before getting derailed by an ankle injury in the next game.
Wolf has grown bigger and stronger each year, and last season he started seven games for the Vols, proving capable of lining up at fullback as well as tight end.
The younger brother of former Tennessee tight end Ethan Wolf, Eli had catches in five consecutive games last season — Auburn, Alabama, South Carolina, Charlotte and Kentucky.
Wolf is originally from Minster, Ohio, and has one year of eligibility remaining.
Dan Harralson of VolsWire was the first to report the news Georgia had offered the scholarship.
If Wolf were to choose Georgia it would essentially complete a trade between the schools, as former reserve defensive back Deangelo Gibbs is headed to Tennessee.
Tennessee tight end Eli Wolf at SEC Media Day
