INDIANAPOLIS — Georgia offensive guard Tate Ratledge made a name for himself with physical blocking on the field and a colorful personality off of it.

Ratledge, who shared permanent team captain honors with fellow 2025 NFL Combine attendee Jalon Walker, held an engaging media session on Saturday at the Indiana Convention Center.

“I think Im one of the tougher players in this draft,” said Ratledge, who overcame tightrope surgery last season and will take part in the drills at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday.

“Teams will be getting a physical, tough, hard-working player.”

A handful of players at the NFL combine said Ratledge was the most physical of the Georgia offensive linemen last season, and on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Ratledge and former UGA offensive line teammates Jared Wilson and Dylan Fairchild will have the opportunity to show their combine skills (TV: NFL Network).

Individual accolades are one thing, but Ratledge was the first to admit that it was not a banner year for the Bulldogs’ offensive line, as injuries and a difficult schedule led to Georgia finishing 15th of the 16 SEC teams with just 124.4 yards rushing per game.

Georgia, which was third in the SEC in passing, also allowed 1.79 sacks per game, which was fifth in the league.

That was the take-off point for Ratledge’s first key observation, as it pertained to UGA offensive line coach Stacy Searels.

Here are some issues Ratledge addressed

1. Fans critical of OL coach Stacy Searels

“If you watch that film most of it is on us, it’s not coaching its execution, taking the right steps, the little things,” Ratledge said. “So I think a lot of our success, or not having success last year, was more so on the players because it starts up front with us. Everyone knows we didn’t have our best year, we take full accountability for that.”

2. Former quarterback Carson Beck

“Carson is a great kid, and honestly, Carson is one of my best friends since I’ve been at Georgia …. me and him have a different relationship.

“I knew how to approach Carson at different times, and knew how the way I talked to him would affect him

My goal throughout the season was to keep him as level-headed as possible, Carson is a great kid and very misunderstood.

“I think Carson has the opportunity to be the top quarterback coming out next year. He’s shown it before, he just had a little bit of an off year this past year, and that’s nothing against him.

“Him going down there (to Miami, Fla.) is a great place for him to rebound to what happened this past year and have a great year.”

3. Difficulty of winning SEC championship vs. national championship

“That’s something Coach Smart has told us, it’s harder to win an SEC Championship than a national championship.

“He told us throughout his years, he has more national championships than SEC championships. I guess with us, facts prove it.”