Mark Richt didn’t have to turn very far to find his new tight ends coach. UGASports.com is reporting this afternoon that Richt’s friend and former Florida State colleague John Lilly will accept the position left vacant by David Johnson’s departure to West Virginia.

While some of Richt’s past hires have required a bit of connect-the-dots to make sense, Lilly was an obvious target from the beginning. He was offered a position at Georgia in 2001 when Richt originally assembled his staff, but he chose to remain at FSU. Seven seasons later, Lilly has decided to make the move and will join Richt and Dave Van Halanger in Athens.

News of this move breaking before Signing Day is a little surprising; Lilly has a reputation as an outstanding recruiter, and his departure will surely have an impact on the Seminoles’ recruiting efforts. He has been FSU’s recruiting coordinator since 1998. With Georgia’s 2007 recruiting class more or less finished, Lilly won’t have much of an impact this year except perhaps to shore up the commitment of TE Dwayne Allen.

For future classes the addition of Lilly will give the Georgia program an impressive roster of recruiters. Rodney Garner is still Georgia’s recruiting coordinator of course, but Lilly gives Georgia some flexibility down the road. Garner is happy at Georgia, but we can’t blame the guy for eyeing his dream of a head coaching opportunity. In the meantime, Garner, Lilly, and Bobo are as good as it gets as recruiters, and they all complement Mark Richt well.

Lilly’s challenge on the field will be to continue the recent legacy of successful Bulldog tight ends that goes back over a decade now. Brandon Warren was a freshman All-American tight end at FSU in 2006, but he left the Seminole program before the 2007 season.