Georgia offensive line still searching for the right combination

Georgia’s offensive line still hasn’t found its footing through two games.

Sure, the Bulldogs have had injuries. Juan Gaston and Earnest Greene, who started at right guard and right tackle in the season opener against Marshall, suffered injuries a week ago and did not play in week two against Austin Peay.

But after a somewhat lackluster 28-6 victory over the Governors, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart isn’t using injuries as an excuse.

“I mean, we’ve had injuries every year we’ve been here, right? I don’t run from injuries,” Smart said. “We’re certainly not who we need to be with Earnest out, Juan being out as a factor. But, I mean, it’s not like — I mean, Juan wasn’t here last year. Earnest has played more football. But it’s the moving parts right now, you know? This guy’s bouncing around. This guy’s here. This guy’s there. But that’s part of it. When you have injuries, you’ve got to have a guy step up and be ready to play.”

Even those who go against the unit every day in practice acknowledge that injuries have made things tough.

“I think they’re doing the best they can,” linebacker Justin Williams said. “New people are coming in, new people are out, you’ve got to adjust to that. I think the whole line is doing a great job of adjusting to what they have and just focusing on the things that they need to get better at, for sure.”

There were some positives on Saturday against Austin Peay. Georgia ran for 190 yards and four touchdowns while averaging a tick shy of five yards per carry. The Bulldogs saved their best for last, going on a 99-yard, run-heavy touchdown march in the fourth quarter to go up 28-6.

But there were also some low moments, highlighted by an ugly sequence late in the first half.

After having first and goal on the one, Georgia ran five plays without scoring before the half expired. Two were runs, a shotgun toss sweep to Nate Frazier and then a handoff to Chauncey Bowens, who tripped as he got the ball.

“Looking back, I probably wish we would have ran the ball earlier,” Smart said. “But the thought was that you don’t run it when you don’t have a timeout, you know, until the end. And we didn’t have a timeout. So, it was disappointing. And give them credit. The best part is it created a little adversity for us, so I’m glad we had some.”

Injuries or not, Georgia will need to get things figured out in a hurry. SEC play begins next week with a road game at Tennessee. After an off week, Georgia will welcome Alabama to Athens for a titanic SEC showdown.

Smart feels the offensive line needs to step up not just in the run game, but in the pass game for Georgia.

“It’s not pressures. It’s somebody’s trying to stop the run. If people try to really sell out and stop the run, sometimes they just keep on coming. And we’ve got to do a good job picking them up,” Smart said. “That should help on your overs and your play action because there’s nobody in the underneath coverage … But they’re getting home before we can get it protected. And we’ve got to shore that up because that’s an identity of who we are for the last three or four years.”

For a group where cohesion is so important, the injuries have made things tough. Smart hopes the mishaps will become less and less as the group continues to gel.

“It’s more communication, execution,” Smart said. “They had a slip up at pass pro, slip up with a guard, let them run through and get Gunner on an RPO. I mean, a couple mishaps that we have to overcome. But we’ve got to find ways to be explosive. I mean, you’ve got to be able to throw the ball downfield and take shots. And that’s probably the toughest thing that I’ve been most disappointed in.”