Georgia "Settling" at Offensive Line
Beyond the recent questions of who will be available offensively when Georgia takes the field on September 4th inside Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte is who will trot out as the starting five along the Georgia offensive line?
There are just two weeks left until the Dawgs officially open up the 2021 season, and they will have to choose a starting offensive line definitively. Saturday marked the official end to the camp portion of the fall; it was the second of two scrimmages this preseason and will allow Georgia to focus on the Clemson Tigers fully.
Smart spoke to the media following what he described as a “really productive” scrimmage that left him feeling pleased with what he saw out of the team.
Georgia’s head coach would also give a glimpse at the status of the offensive line and where Georgia stands in the process of finding its starting line for the 2021 season.
"We have really settled in with the five that have been getting reps with the ones.” But then, Smart said, “We just rotate to get depth and just to rotate guys around.” Despite dealing with an offense that was nowhere near fully healthy, it seems offensive line coach Matt Luke is close to finding his starting five upfront.
Luke is overseeing “good competition” at both tackle and center, the two remaining question marks heading into the season. So far, Georgia looks to have Warren McClendon at right tackle, Justin Shaffer at left guard, and Tate Ratledge at right guard as the primary contributors at those positions.
“Then (Justin) Shaffer and Tate (Ratledge) have been the primary at guard, but we have shuffled some guys around at guard to get them in there.”
Sedrick Van Pran is getting the reps with the ones on offense at center following the injury to Warren Ericson’s hand. Ericson returned to action this week with a cast on his snapping hand, making things trickier for the junior interior linemen as we countdown the days to kickoff.
Meanwhile, all indications are pointing to Jamaree Salyer starting week one back at left tackle. The senior started in nine games a year ago at that same spot, before moving back to guard for the Peach Bowl, in a less than stellar overall performance upfront for the Dawgs.
Smart also added on Saturday that he thought both Amarius Mims and Broderick Jones, two competitors at left tackle, are having a good camp to this point. But he felt that Mims hadn't gotten the reps needed to play the position at a high level after dealing with some “back issues.” Nevertheless, Smart remains confident that both will grow into really talented players for Georgia in the future.
Georgia is taking Sunday and part of Monday off this week before going back to work Tuesday as they begin a two-week preparation for a top-five matchup against Clemson. These next 13 days will see Georgia likely shift most of the reps to the first-team offensive line while still sprinkling in others to build depth. At this point in the preseason, it is paramount that Georgia settles at each position.
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