Coach Speak: Georgia tight end Ben Yurosek, ‘the ultimate throwback football guy’

There’s been much ado made of Stanford tight end transfer Ben Yurosek since his arrival to Athens, with plenty of background chatter regarding his on-field performance and a recent feature in our 24 for ’24 series .

Kirby Smart himself chimed in on the new addition recently.

“At the end of the day, a lot of these that come in, it’s hard to be ready for SEC physicality, and I think he is. He’s got great size, great work ethic,” Smart said. I really admire him because I’ve seen hime on multiple occasions. We talk about connection and all the stuff in our locker room. He goes over to people, sits down with them, eats with them, meets them, and really tries to get to know them. I think the buy-in part has been really good from his part.”

But while Dawg fans know that they have a graduate student stepping into the Brock Bowers role, there’s more to the Yurosek story than just his work with the Cardinal and his lunchtime meetings under Smart’s watch.

Just ask Darren Carr, head coach of Bakersfield Christian, who coached Yurosek in high school.

And, before you ask, yes, he’s from the Carr family that came to mind first.

“In 2015, I became the head coach at Bakersfield Christian High School. I was an assistant at Bakersfield before that, and after my first year, our president got a call from Ben’s dad, Derek. The president called me and said, ‘Hey, this family wants to bring their kids here, and they’ve both like 6-foot-5 or so.’ Of course, as a coach, you’re thinking, ‘Yeah, sure. Everyone says that.’ I told him I’d take the call, and Derek called to say they were moving back to town from Washington and that his sons wanted to come play,” Carr told DawgsHQ.

Much to Carr’s appreciation, the elder Yurosek had not fudged the details about his talented young sons.

We went back and forth, and then a couple days later, they showed up. Calvin is his older brother, and he’s a big kid, like 6-foot-3, 6-foot-4. Then, Ben walks up behind him, and he’s like 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5. My coach mindset kicks in, and you’re like, ‘Oh man, this dad was not kidding around.’ That’s how it all started, and it’s grown since with the family,” Carr said. “They’re phenomenal. They love their boys. They’re very tight knit. You can look up in the stands and see the whole Yurosek family. It’s evolved from coach-player to being close as families. We still reach out whenever Ben needs us. There’s just so much that goes into being a good, well rounded kid like he is and watching him mature over the years. I can’t say enough about the kid.”

For Carr, who’s been around the heights of the game, it’s easy to see much of that reflected in the new Bulldog.

“His work ethic…you can just tell. I’m from a football family with two brothers who’ve played in the league. We are around a lot of those guys. You can tell the kind of work ethic it takes to get to that spot. We call it that professional work ethic, and Ben has it,” Carr said. “He cares a lot about football, his teammates, and doing a good job. When he would mess up in high school which wasn’t a lot and we had to correct him, it was ‘yes sir’, ‘no sir’. He always put his head down like he’d let the entire world down. He’d hang his head, not for a lack of confidence, but because he felt like he’d let his people down. He takes it personally when it’s his time to show out.”

It all came back to Yurosek’s dedication.

“His work ethic, though, he’d go from football practice in the morning and lift with us then he’d go play basketball in the gym and get his shots up,” Carr said. “He’d get that in, then come back to football in the afternoon, get that practice in. Then, he’d head back to basketball. He was just dedicated to being great. His work ethic is what separates him the most.”

That drive has allowed Yurosek to flourish throughout his career, no matter where he found himself on the field.

“His frame as a freshman at 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5 as a freshman, you worry, ‘Is he going to put on weight quick enough?’ He was also just always going. The metabolism is burning hot. I’ve seen him mature, get bigger. I was his defensive coordinator when he was here, and he was playing defensive end for us. I thought, ‘This kid can put on some weight and get about 250, and he’ll be a phenomenal outside linebacker.’ I think UCLA recruited him there and liked him there,” Carr said. “I thought he’d roll into that because he had a defensive mindset, which I loved. He wanted to get to the quarterback and knew how to stop the run. I’ve seen him mature as a football player, though. When he was here, he was both sides of the ball. He played receiver for us. He punted for us. You could put him all over the field, and you knew you’d have success. He was always a mature kid. You never had any off field problems. Watching him mature as a player has been so fun to see, and he was definitely a game changer on both sides of the ball for us.”

Ben Yurosek — an old school approach in a new world

There’s one clear instance for Carr that epitomizes the player, the person, and the mentality the comes along with it that the Dawgs are getting in Yurosek, however.

“He cares a lot. He’s going to give Georgia everything he’s got. He’s going to give you everything he has and can muster on Saturdays. He’ll do what he has to do to help you guys win. One story that’s my favorite was in 2017, and we traveled to Las Vegas to play Faith Lutheran. He’s playing both sides of the ball. I want to say on offense he was blocking or did something, and his helmet rammed up and broke his nose. He came off, and there’s blood everywhere,” Carr said. “I caught him and told him to go get it fixed with the trainer. It was early in the game, and I’m thinking, ‘Great. We just lost our best player.’ We get our subs in, and we kick the ball. Defense starts to go out on the field. Here comes No. 10 running past me. I run out and grab him, and he say, ‘Where are you going? What are you doing?’ He has two cotton balls shoved up his nose soaked in blood. He says, ‘No, I’m fine.’ He goes out there, makes two tackles, knocks down a ball, and we force the punt. He comes off, and I say, ‘Bro, are you ok?’ He pulls the cotton balls out, and the blood starts flowing again. I said, ‘Man, you’re done. This is a preseason game.’ In my mind, I’m thinking, ‘This guy is the ultimate throwback football guy.’ He wants to go out, and it’s not for him. He was relatively unknown. He was just doing it for the boys. He didn’t go back in because he didn’t want people thinking he was a psychopath. He went and got it lined back up and was on film the next day. It tells you how he approaches the game and his teammates.”

It’s what’s made it easy for the entire support system to be so thrilled with the landing spot for Yurosek.

“We’re all happy he’s going to a great team and getting his shot,” Carr said.

Ben Yurosek projects to be Georgia’s tight end No. 1 in the 2025 season.

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