Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Tavarres King's Time to Shine

Tavarres King came to Georgia as a member of the 2008 recruiting class, in which he was raned as the #22 receiver in the country. For most teams, getting a top 25 player at wide receiver is a big deal. But the 2008 class also included uber-recruit AJ Green and King has spent his first three seasons in Athens in the shadow of #8.

Before I go any further, let me state for the record that Tavarres King will be a redshirt junior this fall. I have seen a number of places call him a senior, but anyone who follows Georgia closely knows that King is only a junior. He played in 4 games in 2008 and made a spectacular 41 yard catch against Arizona State. But his season ended early and he was granted a medical redshirt. For that reason, King is only a junior this fall.

King has spent the last two years starting opposite AJ Green at the splint end position for the Bulldogs. In 2009, he caught 18 passes for 377 yards and one touchdown, a 50 yard grab in the shootout victory over Arkansas. Last fall, his production increased once again, as hauled in 27 passes for 507 yards and three touchdowns. His most impressive highlight was a 63 yard touchdown against Florida.

With the graduation of Kris Durham and the departure of Green, the Dawgs will be without their top 2 receiving threats from last year. While the tight end position is deep in experience, the wide receiving corp is not. TK will move to the vacated flanker position this fall and will need to become the go-to receiver for Aaron Murray. Success for King should open up the other side of the field for the likes of Marlon Brown, Michael Bennett, and maybe Malcolm Mitchell.

If King continues to show the progression he has during his first three years, a 50 reception, 850 yard season with 7-9 touchdowns is a perfectly reasonable expectation.

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