University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Eli Wolf
December 04, 2019 | Football, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Georgia tight end Eli Wolf is listed at 6-foot-4 and 236 pounds. With his size, blond hair and as square a jaw as you'll find anywhere, he could easily play Ivan Drago if they ever decide to remake "Rocky IV."
Wolf began his collegiate career as a walk-on at Tennessee, joining his older brother Ethan as a Vols tight end. They weren't the only jocks in the family, either — their sister Delanie played basketball at Division II Ashland University.
That's three college athletes from one family in the tiny town of Minstrel, Ohio. Wolf, having already earned a degree from UT, came to Georgia for his final collegiate season. And Saturday afternoon he and the No. 4 Bulldogs will take on No. 2 LSU in the SEC Championship Game.
During a Quick Chat after practice Tuesday, Wolf talked about home, coming to Georgia, Saturday's game and much more. Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: Tell me about Minster — when I looked it up on Wikipedia it described it as a village, so what is it like?
Wolf: It is a village, I'd say there's maybe 2,500 people there, so it's a small town. We moved there when I was in about fourth grade and I graduated with about 65 people. We had nine seniors on our football team.
It was awesome, though, growing up in a small town where everybody knows everybody. Even now when I go back home and go to the grocery store, the IGA, I know everybody. It's fun, it's cool and it's a unique experience.
Frierson: What is a high school football team like when you're at school that small? I'm guessing everybody you played with on the team you'd already been playing with for years. And there probably weren't a lot of subs.
Wolf: Yeah, everybody's playing both ways — I remember I was playing receiver and outside linebacker. It is unique because you know everybody on the team and you've known them for years, so if you don't block for your quarterback and he gets hit, that's your boy, that's your brother.
It makes you play that much harder because you want all those guys to succeed and rise with you since they've been your buddy since you were young. It's awesome.
Frierson: What is it like being recruited at such a small high school? It seems like it would be harder to get noticed at a school that small.
Wolf: My brother came through high school the year before me and he made it look easy. His sophomore year he was getting Big Ten offers and eventually SEC offers, so I looked at that and was like, it can't be that hard. But when I came through it was like, this is going to be harder than I think.
Nothing came knocking on my door and I ended up having offers from Eastern Michigan and Jacksonville State and that was it. I'm assuming it was a little bit harder coming from a small area, so I said, hey, I'm just a small-town kid and I'll go take my shot and that's what led me to Tennessee, following my brother there.
I walked on there and said, hey, I'm going to give it all I've got, because why not?
Frierson: When you come in as a grad transfer, you come in as a guy with a lot of experience and already a college degree in your pocket, but do you also have the nerves of the new kid in class on the first day of school?
Wolf: It helped that I had been to a similar place, but any time you're going somewhere new, where everybody knows the expectations and everybody knows the standard, it does make you a little nervous. I was nervous and I was excited at the same time.
The players here and the coaches here did a great job of welcoming me in. They were like, we know you've put in work somewhere else but you're here now and here's the expectation and just match it and you'll be all right. They did a good job of helping me transition and within weeks I felt right at home.
Frierson: Which do you prefer: breakfast, lunch or dinner?
Wolf: Dinner, 100 percent. I've never been a huge breakfast guy — I like breakfast food but not in the morning, if that makes sense. But dinner, at around 8:30 or 9 o'clock, when I'm shutting it down, I get really hungry and I can eat just about anything.
Frierson: So what is your perfect dinner?
Wolf: You can't go wrong with a rib-eye steak, some mashed potatoes, green beans — but they've got to be good green beans, I'm pretty picky about those — and then I like Hawaiian rolls.
Frierson: That's just classic meat and potatoes, maybe the Midwesterner in you coming out.
Wolf: Yeah, I don't know what's much better than that.
Frierson: Do you have a creative side? Is there something creative you do or wish you could do?
Wolf: I love music and I love to try to learn different things. I picked up the guitar senior year of high school and just kind of taught myself through YouTube how to play that, and I love trying to make new things. I love listening to music and listening to songwriters do their work.
Frierson: We're heading toward the holidays, so what's the best present you've ever given someone?
Wolf: This wouldn't be a Christmas present, it was a birthday present: my mom's 50th birthday was actually this year, on the bye week, and she said, "Hey, were you planning on coming home for the bye week?" And I said, "Mom, flights are pretty expensive and I don't think I can make it." And my dad was like, we're going to get you home and you're going to surprise your mom.
The whole family hasn't really been together for however long — my brother played college ball, my sister played ball and so one of us has been missing around this time of year. We all came in, the whole family was there and we surprised her. She teared up a little bit and I think that was one of the most awesome memories that I have, and it was awesome to be there for her and her birthday. That was a good experience for me.
Frierson: As a guy coming from Tennessee, which has had some tough seasons lately, how would you rate your excitement level about playing in the SEC Championship Game?
Wolf: I'm very, very excited. I think everybody in the SEC wants to be competing for the title and only two teams get to do, so to be on that team is a blessing and everybody on the team I think sees that.
The expectation here is the SEC championship and I don't think it gets lost on the players, but it is the expectation. I kind of look around at the other guys and am like, do you guys realize the opportunity we have? And they're like, yeah, we expect to be here, this is why we came to Georgia. It's awesome and I'm super excited and I can't wait to play.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
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.
