Jamaree Salyer Ready to Play Any Position
There's a revolution taking place on Georgia football's offensive line, as the group leaves its "size matters" persona behind to adopt a quicker and more athletic identity.
For the older offensive linemen on the roster, the task this spring is to adapt or yield to the younger talent that already fits line coach Matt Luke's philosophy. It's an ultimatum that has created competition at every position on the line.
One of the linemen having to adapt the most is Jamaree Salyer, who is working on a permanent move from left tackle to guard. Salyer started nine games at left tackle last season before moving to guard in the Peach Bowl.
Salyer claims he doesn't care what position he plays. All he wants is to help the team achieve its goal of winning a national title in 2021.
"I have no preference," he said. "I like to think of myself as a Swiss Army Knife, I can do anything, whatever the team needs to win I don't care. I'll go give a snap, I'll go punt the ball, I don't really care; whatever it takes for the team to win. I want to go out there and be the best teammate I can be so that we can get the result that we want to get which is a national championship.
"If coach says go out there and play left tackle, then I am going out there and play. If he says you are playing center, if he says you are playing left guard then I'm putting my head down and playing. As far as practice, we rotate. I get left tackle reps, I get guard reps, I get all over because I can play everything, so I have to be ready to play everything. I mean it doesn't matter to me. I just want to play ball and I want to win."
Salyer is fortunate because he's transitioning from arguably the most important position on the offensive line. Week after week, Salyer lined up against the SEC's most ferocious edge rushers and he typically came out on top. Salyer believes that experience will help him at any position he plays.
As far as last year, I think I did some great things, just being able to play left tackle. It is really fun actually," he said. "I was very nervous about it going into the season, but just being able to be out there for a full season, I mean this is my first full season. I was very excited about it because it was just different.
"Tackle is something that I played in high school, but playing left tackle in the SEC is like OK, you must be a grown man; you have to play a certain way. Just knowing that you have to lead in that position was a different experience. It changed the way I look at football."
While the plan is for Salyer to move to guard permanently, that might not be the end result. Xavier Truss is the only other player on Georgia's line with starting experience at left tackle and he struggled in his one start. If no one else is up to the task, Salyer will play left tackle again. Clearly, that's alright by Salyer.
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