The Red & Black caught up with Trinton Sturdivant, and Sturdivant spoke at length about his future plans.

When Sturdivant went down in the spring with his third ACL injury since 2008, it was assumed his playing career at Georgia was over. But Sturdivant told the Red & Black that there is “nearly ‘a 100 percent chance'” that he will return. Sturdivant, who has slimmed down to 255 lb. from his playing weight, would like to return to the team not as an offensive lineman but as a tight end.

Georgia’s tight end position in 2012 looks about as deep as it does this year. Aron White will be gone, but redshirting freshman Jay Rome will be ready to go. Orson Charles might return for his senior season, and Artie Lynch isn’t going anywhere. Sturdivant sees a potential role as “one of the blockers of the bunch.”

It’s not out of the realm of possibilities for a former offensive lineman to have the athleticism to play other positions. Michael Lewis in The Blind Side discussed how left tackles have evolved, by necessity, to become some of the more athletic players on their teams. Many, like Lewis’s subject Michael Oher, were basketball standouts. Sturdivant believes that he has the hand-eye coordination to be an effective tight end that does more than just block.

Given the recent attrition, it’s not really a numbers concern. Georgia should be able to welcome back Sturdivant while signing a full class. He’ll have to apply for a medical exemption that would grant him a sixth year of eligibility, but he’s the classic case for such an exemption. The real question is whether this is a wise move. With three major knee surgeries in his past, does he need to push his luck coming back one more time at a position at which the Dawgs will already have plenty of talent?

Sturdivant, already a graduate of the Terry College of Business, has plans to attend law school. His future should be bright with or without football. He still has to talk to Georgia’s coaches about his plans. It will be a long shot for him to get on the field, but he seems set on the idea. If that’s the case, we hope he has the opportunity to come back and go out next year with his final memory in Athens a win over Georgia Tech rather than crumpled to the ground on the practice field.