Georgia "One Block Away" From Sparking the Run Game
With a rash of injuries plaguing both the running back room and the offensive line along with general inconsistency in offensive line play, the Georgia run game has yet to hit its stride in 2023. At 148.6 rushing yards per game and 4.42 yards per carry through five games, the Bulldogs are currently on pace to set lows in the Kirby Smart era in both statistical categories. For a team whose offensive identity under Smart has been defined by establishing a physical downhill rushing attack that sets up the vertical passing game off of play action, the team's struggles to run the ball thus far in the season have been cause for significant concern and have been one of the primary factors behind the reduced margins of Georgia's victories this season.
Yet, when asked about the struggles of the Georgia offensive line to create space for the running game to prosper, Georgia center Sedrick Van Pran insisted that the Bulldogs are closer than some may think to spark their run game.
"I think we are one block away from having some big ones, I think. I think we've all taken turns messing things up. I think we've had numerous plays where it's four out of the five guys doing their job perfectly and one guy may mess something up and that's kind of the beauty of the position that we play. You need all five guys working in unison at all times for things to look pretty. I think that's kind of where we are just really understanding that at the end of the day no matter how big or how small your block may be for the development of the play it's still very important and you can't take that lightly."
Georgia center Sedrick Van Pran met with the media on Wednesday and addressed the struggles of the Bulldog rushing attack through the first five games of the season.
Van Pran's comments followed those made by fellow offensive lineman Tate Ratledge earlier in the week who also believes, despite the inconsistencies in their play to this point, that the offensive line is close to clicking and sparking a stagnant Georgia run game.
"I definitely want to see improvement in the run game. I'm going to take ownership of that. I haven't played up to my standard, our standard. I think that's just across the board, so we've got to go out there with the mindset, that we're going to run the ball and not let different things affect us. That's one thing that I would like to see improvement on, but I definitely think we've meshed together better with the last couple weeks of practice with Truss first going out there there were some bumps for him to go over but I think that he's done a really good job of getting over there and I think Dylan's really stepped up."
With a matchup against an extremely physical and effective Kentucky rush defense, the Bulldogs will need everything to click on the offensive line in order to kickstart the rushing attack that the Georgia offense has so often leaned on in recent years.
