ATHENS — Channing Tindall didn’t have a start for the Georgia defensive last season, but the 2022 NFL Draft prospect had plenty of finishes.

Tindall, projected to be selected in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft, has one of the higher ceilings remaining among his UGA teammates.

“Channing is a big, explosive guy with a ton of upside, still relatively

Inexperienced from a football standpoint, just hasn’t played a ton of reps,” said Jim Nagy, a former NFL scout with four Super Bowl rings who now serves as the executive director of the Senior Bowl.

“When we started to watch this Georgia team, his speed stood out on special teams, and his willingness to collision and strike, just an innately physical guy.”

Tindall, who despite not starting finished third on the Georgia football team with 67 tackles, is also an energetic and freakishly athletic player.

At 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds, Tindall turned heads with a blazing time of 4.42 seconds in the 40-yard dash along with an incredible 42-inch vertical jump and explosive 129-inch broad jump.

Tindall’s NFL combine workout ranks among the best in Georgia football history, with his 40 time and vertical jump the best among Bulldogs’ linebackers.

That’s saying a mouthful considering the company Tindall still keeps, as he talks to former Georgia linebacker teammates now in the NFL: Roquan Smith, Monty Rice, Natrez Patrick and Tae Crowder.

Tindall is eager to carve his own niche.

“I feel I can do it all, I can rush from the edge, do the run fits and cover,” Tindall said. “I’ve shown that on tape.

“It just depends on what the team wants …. it’s what scheme they put me in, I’ll do whatever they want me to do.”

Tindall showed off all of those skills at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., earlier this year, earning high praise from Nagy.

“Channing is what the league is looking for in terms of run and hit linebackers,” said Nagy, who proceeded to compare Tindall to six-time NFL Pro Bowl linebacker and likely future NFL Hall of Famer Bobby Wagner.

Tindall, Nagy said, became more effective reading and reacting with each game, showing off incredible closing speed and sharp angles.

“You saw the processing get better and better over the season,” Nagy said, “and he did a nice job Senior Bowl week.”

Tindall’s most productive games correlated when he was given the most opportunities, as he recorded 8-tackle outings against Tennessee and in the CFP Championship Game against Alabama.

Tindall had three sacks against the Vols, and he came through with a team-high 5 QB pressures and a sack in the 33-18 win over the Tide, certainly among the most valuable performances of the night.

“What you see is what you get with me,” Tindall said. “My passion shows for the game when I’m out there, just the energy I provide, I’m just being me.”