Georgia Bulldogs 23 for '23: No. 20 Earnest Greene
We’re less than a month away from the start of fall camp for Georgia, and what better time to take a look at the most important players for the Bulldogs in 2023?
Important can have different definitions. Some players’ importance for this season is based on their past performance and ability to repeat that this fall. For others, it’s about their potential and what living up to it would mean for Georgia and its chances at winning a third straight National Championship.
We continue the countdown from 23 to 1 today with the first of the top-20, No. 20 on our list, redshirt freshman offensive lineman Earnest Greene.
Earnest Greene
Position: Offensive Lineman
Class: Redshirt Freshman
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 330 pounds
Hometown (High School): Los Angeles, Calif. (St. John Bosco)
Not often that you’ll see someone with zero games played on this kind of list, but Earnest Greene makes the cut of Georgia’s most important players for a couple of reasons. First, a little bit of background on the California kid.
A four-star and top-50 player in the Class of 2022 according to the On3 Industry Ranking, Greene was the No. 3 interior offensive line prospect coming out of high school. He enrolled early at Georgia and went through spring drills, making early strides towards potentially being a piece of the rotation – as demonstrated by his spot on the travel roster for the early season SEC road game at South Carolina.
Greene battled injuries that entire time though. During fall camp, he missed a scrimmage with an “upper-leg injury” later identified as a hamstring problem. Still, Kirby Smart said he was getting in great work with both the offense and the scout team. However, come October, Greene was sidelined for the rest of the season after having back surgery for a nagging pain that they tried to treat but ended up taking care of under the knife instead.
Even though he didn’t play in a game, Greene made an impression that allowed him a shot at Georgia’s opening at left tackle this spring. Both he and Austin Blaske are in the running for the job, and Greene’s spot on his is a bit of a prediction. For whoever wins, it’ll be important that they can hold down the spot at left tackle well, and while the battle is far from decided – and both will probably play a good bit given the rotating Georgia does on its offensive line – I’m giving Greene the upper hand here. Starter or not, it’s important that Greene continues to come along in his development as an offensive lineman for Georgia.
Know the Quote
“Earnest is doing a really phenomenal job as well,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said during spring practice. “Earnest gives us something we didn’t have in the last couple years, you know, in the run game. He’s really physical. He moves people.”
“Man Earnest came in, he was ready. He was very physical, heavy hands, good pass sets, good run blocking, good finisher. He showed all the attributes to play at a level like the SEC,” outgoing Georgia offensive lineman Broderick Jones said at the NFL Combine after being asked who his replacement might be. “If I’m being honest, I feel like he came in on a higher level than I did. Just because he had experience, his dad, trainers. Coming out of high school I wasn’t really training a lot with people. I feel like he really had an upper hand on me coming in … My guy Earnest. I like Earnest a lot. He was hurt this past season, but I believe when he is back healthy, he gets everything in order, he’ll be alright.”
Click here to find the complete rundown of our 23 for ’23 series
