Earnest Greene reflects on year one as starter, areas he can still grow
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia entered the season with four returning starters on the offensive line. Sedrick Van Pran was the man in the middle having made 30 consecutive starts. Tate Ratledge and Xavier Truss to his sides at the guard spots had been in there consistently as well, and even Amarius Mims at right tackle had starting experience. However, protecting the quarterback’s blindside was going to be somebody who hadn’t played a single snap of college football before: Earnest Greene.
Greene, who missed the majority of the 2022 season with lingering injuries before being shut down for a surgery on his back, stepped in and executed excellently. He started all 13 games, helping the Georgia offensive line to a Joe Moore Award finalist status. The Bulldogs both paved the way for the playmakers in their offense and protected the quarterback to allow him to distribute.
That’s not to say that Greene’s season didn’t come without his fair share of learning experiences. Playing at Auburn, he described it as a ‘Welcome to the SEC’ moment. There were matchups against the likes of Dallas Turner and James Pearce Jr., two of the league’s top pass rushers, and Greene was forced to get better.
“Well, you know, that’s what you come to a school like this for,” Greene said. “You know, I knew that coming here. I wanted to compete and play the best, and I felt like I got the opportunity to do that this year. It brings the best out of yourself when you play against elite-level guys like that every given Saturday.”
“I would say honestly communication,” he added asked where he’s grown the most in 2023. “That was one of the biggest things: just being out there, communicating, echoing calls. Sometimes you see something and you’ve got to get it all the way down to Sed. Because that’s one of the biggest things about being an offensive lineman is really communication, echoing everything and all the calls and making sure everybody’s on the same page. I would say communication is one of the things I tried to improve myself on throughout the year.”
As for where he’s still got to grow? Greene wants to get better in all areas. Selected for the Freshman All-SEC team in 2023, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that this time next year the former top-50 prospect in the Class of 2022 could be pondering whether or not to go pro and declare for the NFL Draft after three years. He’ll be a returning starter for Georgia in 2024 and knows the importance of his improvement.
“I feel like nobody’s perfect, so I like to improve my game in all aspects,” Green said this offseason will be about for him. “So back to the drawing board day one just working on everything and trying to improve at everything.”
Greene and Georgia take the field for the final time this season on Saturday opposite of the fifth-ranked Florida State Seminoles. The 90th playing of the Orange Bowl pits the first two teams on the outside looking in on the College Football Playoffs, and the Bulldogs are big favorites. Kickoff time for Saturday’s showdown between Georgia and Florida State is set for 4:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.
