Tight End

FOOTBALL

Orson Charles is one of the best tight ends in the country, he has been named to the Coaches Pre-Season All SEC first team, he is on the Mackey Award watch list and most importantly he’s on top of quarterback Aaron Murray’s most comfortable to throw to list.

The 6-3, 245 pound junior may be the best athlete on the team and is likely to bolt to the NFL next summer. He has started 15 of the 26 games he has appeared in catching 49 passes for 796 yards and 5 touchdowns. He’s averaging 16.2 yards per catch, his longest reception is a 44 yard touchdown against Arkansas in 2009. Charles is nearly impossible for a linebacker to cover with his speed and creates a huge mismatch with his size against defensive backs, expect him to have an All American year as Murray’s primary target.

Aron White has been more of a co-starter at tight end, the 6-4, 239 pound senior has started 16 games of the 36 he’s played in. He has 25 catches for 411 yards and 6 touchdowns. He averages 16.4 yards per reception, his longest is 48 yards against LSU in 2008.

White also has the size and speed to create mismatches, he is very effective inside the red zone, every 4th catch has been for a TD.

Arthur Lynch is more the prototypical tight end at 6-5, 272 pounds, the redshirt sophomore sat out last season to gain class separation. Lynch is a superb blocker and has much softer hands than most realize, he should get significant playing time this year, especially on running downs. He has one start and appeared in 11 games with 2 receptions as a freshman in 2009.

Freshman Jay Rome is another Valdosta product that will play early and often. At 6-5, 245 pounds, he is a physically gifted athlete with the ability to contribute from the opening kickoff of the season. Rome has great hands along with the size and speed that will force opposing defenses to account for him on every play.

The tight end position is the deepest and most talented on the team, all four will play significant roles this season.

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