Freshman Spotlight: Georgia TE Orson Charles

Orson Charles is out of Plant High in Tampa, Fla., where he was a SuperPrep All-American and was selected to play in the Army All-American game in 2008.

Charles is a 6′3″, 230-pound TE, who chose to play for the Dawgs over schools such as USC, Tennessee, Florida State, Miami, and Florida.

During his senior season at Plant High, Charles was a dominant TE, hauling in 75 passes for 1,440 yards and 21 touchdowns.

He also played as a DE, recording 27 tackles, seven sacks and three fumble recoveries for touchdowns to help lead Plant to a 4-A state championship in Florida.

He was listed on Rivals.com as a four-star athlete and the No. 7 WR in the country and Scout.com had him listed as a five-star athlete and the No. 3 TE in the country.

Listed as a tight end on Georgia’s depth chart, Charles hopes to continue in a long line of TEs to make it to the NFL out of Georgia’s pro-style system.

The list includes Larry Brown, Jermaine Wiggins, Randy McMichael, Ben Watson, Leonard Pope and Martrez Milner.

Charles has been impressive during his short time in Athens; during the team’s first scrimmage he caught three passes for 55 yards and two touchdowns. In the second scrimmage, he caught two passes for 49 yards.

It seems as though the plan in the beginning was for Charles to back up Aron White in 2009 and join QB Aaron Murray, who was Charles’ teammate at Plant High, as possible starters in 2010.

But with Bruce Figgins suspended for the first six games and White struggling with injuries, I would not be surprised if we see N0. 7 hauling in passes during his freshman year between the hedges.

Georgia has shown in the past that having a TE that is a weapon and not just a run blocker is vital to their pro-style offense.

With Charles’ 4.5 speed in the 40-yard dash, he is sure to be a match-up problem for most of the linebackers the Dawgs will face week in and week out.