Pearce Spurlin joins CSU from Georgia after comeback from heart surgery

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Pearce Spurlin III’s journey to Colorado State will be one of the most unique in college football.

Spurlin was one of the top high school recruits in the country. He was the No. 2 tight end, No. 18 player in Florida and No. 72 in the country in the Class of 2023, per 247Sports.

He went to powerhouse Georgia and the tight end was an understudy to Brock Bowers and potentially the next big star at the position for the Bulldogs.

Then his career was derailed. In February of 2024 doctors told him he could no longer play football due to a congenital heart condition. He had to medically retire from Georgia, where he remained part of the team and on scholarship, but not playing, for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

Then the big news he had looked for came.

Spurlin had surgery at the Cleveland Clinic to repair his aortic valve, which should allow him to have a normal active life without restrictions, according to a story in the Athens Banner-Herald.

Because he had medically retired, NCAA rules meant he could not return to Georgia to play. So, Spurlin entered the transfer portal.

Now he’s landed at CSU, where he’ll be part of Jim Mora’s first team leading the Rams in 2026.

New CSU offensive coordinator Pryce Tracy worked as an assistant tight ends coach at Georgia (under former CSU coach Mike Bobo, Georgia’s offensive coordinator) from 2022-24 and would have worked with Spurlin.

He joins a growing list of transfers to CSU, which will number more than 30 by the time the 2026 roster is set.

Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on X and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: CSU football adds Georgia tight end Pearce Spurlin

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