University of Georgia Athletics
Fromm and Woerner Have A Lasting Connection
December 29, 2019 | Football, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
NEW ORLEANS — Charlie Woerner came to the University of Georgia four years ago with little idea of what was to come, little idea of just how life-changing his college experience would be.
"I feel like freshman year, I was rolling up to the dorms and I was a scared kid from Tiger, Ga., not knowing what I was getting into," Woerner said during the Bulldog offense's Allstate Sugar Bowl media session Sunday morning.
In hindsight, was he pretty clueless about life and football and pretty much everything else?
"So clueless," he said, smiling and shaking his head. "Man, it's crazy how much you learn in four years of college, and how much you grow as an individual. I would say I was dumb as a freshman, I knew nothing compared to now."
On Wednesday night at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, the senior tight end — now a Georgia graduate — will play his final game for the Bulldogs as No. 5 Georgia takes on No. 7 Baylor.
"It has definitely flown by," said Woerner, the nephew of Georgia legend, and College Football Hall of Famer, Scott Woerner.
The 6-foot-5 and 245-pound Woerner, who has 34 career catches and countless invaluable blocks, will take the field with a full heart, with a mind full of extraordinary memories and with a future that he cannot wait to embrace. In particular, there's a wedding date in June, when he will marry former Georgia volleyball player Sydney Gillam.
"I'm super excited for it," he said of the wedding. "I think it's 179 days or 180 days from today, I might be off a day or two, but man, I'm so excited to marry her. I don't deserve her but she's one of the best things to ever happen to me, for sure. She's my best friend."
Also ranking pretty high on his list of friends is quarterback Jake Fromm, his roommate the past three years and a fellow outdoorsman. Woerner said he first met Fromm during the 2016 spring game, when Woerner was a senior in high school and Fromm was a junior. What they discussed that day won't surprise anyone that knows them.
"That spring game when we met, I think we were talking about turkey hunting or something — I guess that's how we first started to become friends and that's why we were roommates from the start, because we had similar interests," Woerner said.
A year later, they were teammates, roommates and fishing and hunting buddies.
"Charlie's been great — a really great teammate but an even better friend," Fromm said Sunday.
When they go fishing, Fromm said, a successful day isn't measured by who caught the most or biggest fish. Those outings are mostly about being with people you like, often several other Bulldogs join them, and just enjoying the outdoors.
"It can look 100 different ways," Fromm said of the fishing trips, "there's no right way, there's no wrong way. It usually starts with a bunch of guys saying, hey, let's go fishing. We get on a big boat, we go out, we fish.
"Usually, I'm the guy catching the most fish — nah, I'm just kidding. [Laughs.] It's fun, you know. It's not always about the fishing, it's about the time spent together and really enjoying God's creation."
Fromm and Woerner came to Georgia as avid outdoorsmen, always eager to get on a lake or out in the woods. Over the years they have taken a lot of teammates with them, including those that wouldn't know Roland Martin if he walked up and handed them a rod and reel.
"Believe it or not, Jordan Davis, he loves to fish," Fromm said of the 6-6, 320-pound sophomore defensive lineman from Charlotte, N.C. "I really kind of got him hooked [no pun intended] on it. It's fun to bring new guys into it and to see their love and to kind of light a fire — it's fun to see them get going with it, as well."
A big man brought a big rod.
"I remember kind of setting up the trip to go fishing and Jordan shows up with his own pole. You know, Jordan's a big guy and he shows up with like a shark-fishing pole, the thing's ginormous," a laughing Fromm said, adding, "It was an awesome experience; it was so fun and you got to see guys out of their element have fun with each other and we get to fish."
For Woerner and Fromm, their time together at Georgia has featured a lot of winning, a lot of good times away from football and, at last, one touchdown throw from the QB to the tight end. Woerner has been a very good blocker for the Bulldogs, and an effective receiver when the ball has been thrown his way. But it wasn't until the regular-season finale, Georgia's blowout win at Georgia Tech, that Woerner got his first touchdown as a Bulldog.
It was late in the first quarter of the 52nd game of Woerner's Georgia career. Fromm took the snap, waited a beat for his roommate to get free in the end zone and first a ball on the money. It was two good buddies playing catch, only they weren't in the front yard of their house near campus, they were in Bobby Dodd Stadium helping Georgia roll to a 52-7 win.
Maybe they'll connect again Wednesday, adding another indelible memory to the many they've already accumulated. If not, there will other opportunities for them to connect. There are countless lakes around the South and beyond for them to explore together, after all.
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
