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Juan Gaston's physical presence is impressive to Georgia teammate

On3 imageby: Jake Rowe08/13/25JakeMRowe
Juan Gaston Georgia
Georgia offensive lineman Juan Gaston Jr. (73) during Georgia’s practice session in Athens, Ga., on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Tony Walsh/UGAAA)

ATHENS, Ga. — Big humans don’t always standout on the Georgia practice field. The Bulldogs are loaded with offensive linemen who stand 6-foot-5 or taller and tip the scales at over 320 pounds. Mammoth freshman Juan Gaston, however, is easy to notice.

At over 6-foot-7 and around 350 pounds, the former four-star prospect is working at both offensive tackle and guard in his first preseason camp. He was a lot heavier when he got to Georgia’s campus in January, but at least on teammate has noticed something different about Gaston when he’s putting in work on the practice field.

“I’ve been really impressed with Juan,” Drew Bobo, a fourth-year junior, said on Tuesday. “I think he’s done a really good job. Just, I mean, he’s huge. He takes up space. He literally, when he’s blocking somebody on film, it looks like he just engulfs them, because you can’t even see him (the man he is blocking) anymore. But I’ve enjoyed playing next to him when I’ve gotten a chance to.  And I think he’s done a really good job.”

When the dust settled on the 2025 recruiting class, Gaston had climbed into impressive company. He finished the cycle ranked as the nation’s No. 62 overall prospect and No. 4 interior offensive lineman per the Rivals Industry Rankings, a weighted average that includes all three websites that publish recruiting rankings. He was the No. 8 player in the Peach State.

Reporters were invited in to watch a portion of the Bulldogs’ first practice this preseason. Gaston stood out for a couple of reasons. As previously mentioned, he’s one of the biggest people on the field. Secondly, he was working at left tackle with the second-team offensive line.

Recent intel gathered by DawgsHQ suggests that he’s getting a lot of work at right guard, the most up-in-the-air spot along the offensive line. He even spent significant time with the first team in Georgia’s first preseason scrimmage on Saturday as he battles Daniel Calhoun and Michael Uini for a starting spot.

But none of that is to say that the former Westlake High School standout is a finished product. There’s still plenty that he can workout. Bobo was asked for a piece of advice that he would lend to Gaston and he pointed to technique and the finer points of playing the position. Based on how hard Gaston plays and how strong he is at the point of attack, cleaning up the little things could go a long way toward getting him on the field.

Kirby Smart also has some things he’d like to see Gaston improve upon. It’s something that he’s constantly mentioning when talking about the biggest Bulldogs on the team.

“Juan has got to get in better shape,” Smart said before Tuesday’s practice. “He’s a talented player, but he plays a lot of snaps. And as his volume goes up, he struggles to sustain, which is usually the case with freshmen. They just can’t handle the volume, the practice load that they get. And he’s growing at that. He’s lost 25, 30 pounds since being here, but he continues to work hard and work with the ones and the twos in pickups, pass pro pickups, and the different things he has to do.”

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