From OnlineAthens.com
February 12th, 2016 12:03 PM
Offensive tackle is coach Kirby Smart’s biggest stated priority for Georgia’s 2017 recruiting class.
The Bulldogs are trying to shore up that spot sooner with a player visiting campus this weekend.
Tyler Catalina, a three-year starter at Rhode Island, is a free agent of sorts who will be eligible to play this coming season as a graduate transfer. He’s making the move up to the FBS level with one season of eligibility remaining.
“I talked to a lot of people throughout the year and they said I have the ability to play at the next level,” Catalina said. “Playing in the FCS, there’s good competition there but it’s not exactly what (NFL) scouts are looking at on Sundays. If you want to play on Sundays, I needed to up the competition and go play the best competition possible and go produce good film.”
The 6-foot-5, 315-pound Catalina says Georgia sees him playing either left or right tackle.
“I’m still just going through the process and enjoying every visit,” he said. “Once I’m done visiting all the schools I’ll sit down with my family and just discuss and talk about what schools are best for me.”
Catalina committed to Iowa State in December where he signed financial aid papers. Boston College also showed interest in the Worcester, Mass., native , but his recruiting picked up considerably in mid-January and now four SEC schools are involved including Georgia.
He already has visited Florida and is slated to go to Auburn in a week and Texas A&M “came into the mix,” he said.
Iowa State “is still there,” and he says he’s not counting anybody out yet.
"Until he actually enrolls in school, he's still a little bit of a free agent out there so we're just going to have to continue to work,” Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said on signing day, according to the Des Moines Register. “We talked with Tyler last night. He's fired up about being at Iowa State. Obviously he's being recruited by everybody in the country now and that's just a matter of us and hopefully our relationship and his trust in us continues to hold strong."
The recruiting pitch is similar from all his suitors, he said.
“It’s pretty much always been the same for every school,” he said, “that they have a tremendous need for a veteran guy to come in and have the experience of playing in a bunch of games and come in and compete for a starting spot and help the team win games.”
Georgia’s offensive line lost starters John Theus and Kolton Houston. The Bulldogs missed out on Archer offensive tackle recruit E.J. Price when he signed with Southern California.
Catalina started the past two seasons at left tackle and started at right tackle for a season before that.
He was named second-team CAA all-conference in 2015 for a Rhode Island team finished 1-10. He was name a third-team selection in 2014.
Catalina spent a season at prep school in 2011 and redshirted at Rhode Island in 2012. He says he can play every position and was the backup center last season at Rhode Island.
He is scheduled to graduate in May with a degree in Sociology, but doesn’t expect his decision to stretch too long.
“I would rather get this done sooner rather than later,” he said.
...READ MORE HERE...
February 12th, 2016 12:03 PM
Offensive tackle is coach Kirby Smart’s biggest stated priority for Georgia’s 2017 recruiting class.
The Bulldogs are trying to shore up that spot sooner with a player visiting campus this weekend.
Tyler Catalina, a three-year starter at Rhode Island, is a free agent of sorts who will be eligible to play this coming season as a graduate transfer. He’s making the move up to the FBS level with one season of eligibility remaining.
“I talked to a lot of people throughout the year and they said I have the ability to play at the next level,” Catalina said. “Playing in the FCS, there’s good competition there but it’s not exactly what (NFL) scouts are looking at on Sundays. If you want to play on Sundays, I needed to up the competition and go play the best competition possible and go produce good film.”
The 6-foot-5, 315-pound Catalina says Georgia sees him playing either left or right tackle.
“I’m still just going through the process and enjoying every visit,” he said. “Once I’m done visiting all the schools I’ll sit down with my family and just discuss and talk about what schools are best for me.”
Catalina committed to Iowa State in December where he signed financial aid papers. Boston College also showed interest in the Worcester, Mass., native , but his recruiting picked up considerably in mid-January and now four SEC schools are involved including Georgia.
He already has visited Florida and is slated to go to Auburn in a week and Texas A&M “came into the mix,” he said.
Iowa State “is still there,” and he says he’s not counting anybody out yet.
"Until he actually enrolls in school, he's still a little bit of a free agent out there so we're just going to have to continue to work,” Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said on signing day, according to the Des Moines Register. “We talked with Tyler last night. He's fired up about being at Iowa State. Obviously he's being recruited by everybody in the country now and that's just a matter of us and hopefully our relationship and his trust in us continues to hold strong."
The recruiting pitch is similar from all his suitors, he said.
“It’s pretty much always been the same for every school,” he said, “that they have a tremendous need for a veteran guy to come in and have the experience of playing in a bunch of games and come in and compete for a starting spot and help the team win games.”
Georgia’s offensive line lost starters John Theus and Kolton Houston. The Bulldogs missed out on Archer offensive tackle recruit E.J. Price when he signed with Southern California.
Catalina started the past two seasons at left tackle and started at right tackle for a season before that.
He was named second-team CAA all-conference in 2015 for a Rhode Island team finished 1-10. He was name a third-team selection in 2014.
Catalina spent a season at prep school in 2011 and redshirted at Rhode Island in 2012. He says he can play every position and was the backup center last season at Rhode Island.
He is scheduled to graduate in May with a degree in Sociology, but doesn’t expect his decision to stretch too long.
“I would rather get this done sooner rather than later,” he said.
...READ MORE HERE...
