Georgia tight end John FitzPatrick apparently played more than half of last season with broken bones in both of his feet, head coach Kirby Smart revealed at UGA’s Pro Day on Wednesday.
FitzPatrick may not have received the same level of fanfare as a Brock Bowers or Darnell Washington, but his display of toughness and grit en route to the Dawgs winning it all should not go unnoticed.
And Smart made sure the redshirt junior tight end received proper recognition on Wednesday, speaking on FitzPatrick’s toughness prior to discussing any other player.
“He’s a guy that probably needed surgery about halfway through the year,” Smart said.
“He chose not to have that surgery, he wanted to play out the year, he did that and did a really good job for us.”
FitzPatrick underwent surgery on January 12, two days after the Dawgs were crowned national champs, to repair stress fractures in the fifth metatarsal bone area on his left foot. Four weeks later, he had surgery on his right foot to repair his fifth metatarsal bone area.
FitzPatrick, who signed with UGA as a 4-star tight end out of Marist high School (Atlanta, GA) in the class of 2018, did not put up the biggest numbers last year. He had six receptions for 83 yards and did not record a touchdown.
But where FitzPatrick excels is in blocking situations. He did a great job in his two meetings against Alabama in limiting the effectiveness of All-American Will Anderson and helped to shut down Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo in the Orange Bowl.
FitzPatrick understood the ramifications of playing through the injuries and delaying his surgery. It guaranteed that he would be unable to partake in both the Senior Bowl and NFL combine workouts.
“It was a no-brainer for me,” said FitzPatrick, regarding his decision to play through the pain.
“If I was able to go, I was going to go, no matter what I was playing through. You see how special of a team it is, you want to be on the field contributing any way that you can, and I was able to do so. I was proud to be a part of the team and how we closed it out.”
As he said, he came to Georgia to win and he was not going to let his injuries step in the way of him accomplishing that.
“I came to Georgia to accomplish certain things, one being a degree, two being a national championship,” FitzPatrick said.
“I played with many great tight ends throughout my career and I see them excelling, and I’m ready to move on to the next chapter, as well.”
Smart mentioned that FitzPatrick will be healthy for NFL preseason workouts. He also noted that NFL teams wanted the tight end to “bulk up some,” which FitzPatrick has since done.
“The good news is he’ll be healthy for all the minicamps and all the OTA days whenever he gets to the league,” Smart said. “He’s bulked up some, I think he’s jumped to 265, (because) they want him to be able to play the “Y,” so he’s added some weight.
“He hopefully will get to work out maybe in April for some teams when he’s healthy.”
FitzPatrick discussed his plan going forward and also how he’s been training with two surgically repaired feet.
“Right now, I start running next week,” said FitzPatrick.
“I’ve been in the weight room the last 2 1/2 or 3 months, all I’ve been doing has been the weight room, and I think it’s paid off.”
That TE room was built different…
FitzPatrick was not the only Georgia tight end to play through injuries last season, though he likely did so for the longest amount of time. Freshman Brock Bowers played through a torn labrum for the last few games of the season. Bowers will miss spring practice after having shoulder surgery to repair it in February.
We’re not sure when exactly the shoulder injury took place, but head coach Kirby Smart made the following comment on it following Georgia’s playoff win over Michigan on New Year’s Eve:
“He’s had a shoulder for a couple of weeks,” Smart said after the Orange Bowl win over Michigan. “We’ve had him practicing in a black jersey limiting his contact some. He’s a tough dude, man, he’s a warrior. He wanted to get back in there tonight, and we just didn’t let him.”
Bowers had to leave the Orange Bowl late after aggravating the shoulder. He still recorded 5 catches for 55 yards and a touchdown. 10 days later, Bowers balled out again on that injured shoulder, this time in the national championship. He had 4 catches for 36 yards and a crucial second half touchdown.
He’s expected to make a full recovery and be back in action for fall camp.
