Georgia's Offensive Line Being Tested in Camp
Coming into camp, the Georgia Football offensive line had question marks, but appeared to have a solid balance of experience and talent. While they have had their high moments during camp, they have also struggled at times.
In his presser Saturday afternoon, head coach Kirby Smart said the following when asked about the offensive line:
"It’s hard to measure as a whole in the spring. I would reserve judgement on today until I see it. We had some pressure inside and I don’t know if it was guys getting beat or guys making mistakes. I don’t know which one it was. We had a couple times where there was a tough call whether it was a sack. We’re obviously not live, so you’re trying to judge that and gain speed. The depth, I hope, is there."
Georgia's offensive line should expect some struggles in camp. Not only are there several position battles going on, with players trying to find continuity between one another, but they are competing against some of the nation's premier defensive linemen. These comments from Smart aren't alarming at the moment. There are many younger players on the offensive line, so inconsistency is expected in the beginning.
Tackles
Part of being a college player is dealing with the lows, and these offensive linemen are doing that now. One of the lone consistent bright spots has been right tackle Warren McClendon. McClendon played at a freshman All-America level a year ago and has been consistently the best tackle on the roster this spring.
That leaves three talented — and monstrous — players in Xavier Truss, Broderick Jones and Amarius Mims vying for the second tackle spot. Truss had the upper hand coming into spring camp considering he finished the season as the starter at left tackle. According to sources, neither Truss nor Jones has grabbed hold of the left -tackle battle at the moment and both were beaten a good bit during the first scrimmage.
Mims will be a star on the offensive line in the very near future, but if he's to make an impact as a true freshman, he needs to get much much stronger this summer.
Guards
Jamaree Salyer has been limited throughout the spring with soreness in his knee that he had scoped this offseason, leaving room for redshirt freshman Tate Ratledge to step in and compete. Ratledge needs to learn to play faster according to sources, but Smart loves the strength he's acquired since his arrival on campus in 2020.
Justin Shaffer has been the steady veteran this unit needs. He's readily available on a day-to-day basis and he competes. That's why Georgia asked him back for a fifth year of eligibility and it's paying off.
After that, there's a mixture of names like Clay Webb, Chad Lindberg and Devin Willock that everyone needs to know. Willock is the player at Dawgs Daily on SI.com we hear about regularly. He's insanely large and if he puts it all together, he will be a force on the interior of this offensive line.
Center
When line coach Matt Luke needed someone to fill in at guard in the 2019 Sugar Bowl against Baylor in his first official game as UGA's offensive line coach, he quickly turned to Warren Ericson. A year ago, Ericson was the swingman on the interior of the offensive line. If Ben Cleveland tweaked an ankle, Ericson would hop in. When Trey Hill went out for the season to have his knees scoped, it was Ericson that immediately stepped in and filled the role at center.
He's the guy at center for now, and according to sources, Luke loves what he provides the offense. However, Sedrick Van Pran-Grainger is the future of the position. Even as a freshman a year ago, SVP was fluent in the playbook and was physically capable of moving bodies on the interior.
After Ericson and SVP, there's Austin Blaske. Blaske is a Dawgs Daily favorite to make the travel squad this year for two reasons: He's versatile, can play all five positions and he's nasty. Blaske was another name we constantly heard about a year ago. His work on the scout team did not go unnoticed by the coaching staff.
The line will hopefully continue to improve throughout camp. They now have two scrimmages in the books and will play their final one next Saturday for the general public.
Here's how we see the G-Day rotation working out
1s
- LT: Xavier Truss/Broderick Jones
- LG: Jamaree Salyer/Justin Shaffer
- C: Warren Ericson/Sedrick Van Pran-Grainger
- RG: Justin Shaffer/Tate Ratledge
- RT: Warren McClendon
This first unit will all depend on whether or not Salyer is a full participant or not. Sources have indicated that Salyer has been in a black jersey during the scrimmages and most of spring camp.
Either way, Ratledge, Van Pran-Grainger and Jones will still get looks with the first unit.
2s
- LT: Broderick Jones/Amarius Mims
- LG: Clay Webb/Devin Willock
- C: Sedrick Van Pran-Grainger/Austin Blaske
- RG: Tate Ratledge/Warren Ericson/Chad Lindberg
- RT: Owen Condon/Amarius Mims
We believe Jones and Mims will swing from left to right tackle occasionally, providing the coaching staff with film on each at both spots. Ericson is also a wild card here. He has been repping at guard in the second unit whenever he can just to remain fresh at the guard spot in case he needs to play it again this fall as he has the previous two seasons.
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