The Dawgs are Doing it Differently: Insight Into Georgia Football's Improved Group

The Georgia Bulldogs have one of the best offensive lines in college football.

The eye test tells you that when you see how the Dawgs win the battle in the trenches. The advanced metrics online say that Georgia’s offensive line is among the top groups in the country. The basic stats tell us that Georgia’s offensive line is performing at a high level.

Georgia 8th among Power Four teams in rushing offense. The Dawgs are 7th among Power Four teams in sacks allowed.

Kirby Smart and Georgia offensive line coach Stacey Searels have done something different this year compared to the rest of the decade. Georgia has hardly rotated its offensive line until the game is out of hand. In years past, almost a full backup unit would rotate in and out throughout the game. One tackle would play for a while, someone would move to guard, two new tackles would come in. Not this year.

This year, the Dawgs have their starting five on the line, and they have stuck to it.

From left to right: Earnest Green III (RS SR), Dontrell Glover (SO), Drew Bobo (RS SR), Zykie Helton (FR), Juan Gaston (SO)

The group has a blend of youth and experience, but even Glover and Gaston played a lot as true freshmen in 2025. Helton is the only freshman that is a starter, and some insiders said he could be the best guard on the team this offseason.

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Helton and Gaston have played the least prior to this season, but Smart thinks their intelligence is what sets them apart from other young players.

“[Zykie]’s very intelligent, sharp, and so is Juan [Gaston],” Smart said on Monday. “Juan is quiet, and he communicates well on the field. Juan understands football. He's an athlete. He gets concepts. They're both very bright kids, and having Drew [Bobo] there alongside those guys has been really good.”

Part of why young players are playing is because Smart feels the team is not as deep as it has been in the past. Yes, there are a lot of highly touted recruits on the bench, but they aren’t playing as much as before. The starters have stood out on this Georgia roster, and that does not exclude the offensive line.

Smart was also asked on Monday about players playing right away for Georgia on the offensive line. That was the case for Glover and Gaston last year and Helton this year. His answer was long-winded:

“I don't know that it's anything about what we do. It's our state. They have kids that grow up playing football from the time they're five years old. These kids have played padded football against some of the best football players in the country all their lives. They come from sophisticated offenses where they get run game, pass game. They're wise beyond their years. There's less guys available, so we're not as deep as we've been which forces more of them into a role to play. But Donnie's [Dontrell Glover] been one of the toughest kids we've had. He's been playing with injuries and banged up and just kind of embodies that group in terms of how they play and the demeanor they play with. He's a tough kid.”

Four out of the five starters are from the state of Georgia. Green III is from California.

This is a home-grown unit that is playing the entirety of some of these games- a couple things that are different for the Dawgs this season. It is clearly working.

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