Talented, experienced Georgia offensive line developing depth in spring
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia returns four of five starters from it’s National Championship Game offensive line. Broderick Jones is gone, as is Warren McClendon who started 13 of 15 games for the Bulldogs, but bringing back Sedrick Van Pran in the middle, Xavier Truss and Tate Ratledge at the guard spots plus Amarius Mims at offensive tackle, expectations are high for Stacy Searels’ group. Despite all the talent, it’s the depth that the Dawgs are developing standing out so far this spring to one of its members.
“I think one thing we figured out is that we have a good offensive line room and we’re deep,” Ratledge said on Thursday after Georgia’s fifth practice of the spring. “We have a lot of competition going on. Just competing every day and with a lot of depth.”
Guys like Austin Blaske, Earnest Greene and Monroe Freeling are in the heat of competition for the tackle spot opposite of Mims. Then there’s others like Micah Morris, Dylan Fairchild and Jared Wilson on the interior that are pushing for playing time – something Searels has shown he’s willing to give to guys outside of the starting five considering seven offensive linemen played more than 30% of Georgia’s total offensive snaps in 2022.
“I think one of Coach Searels’ goals is to find a starting five and then find a backup group where there’s not much drop-off. I think right now we do a lot where everybody gets a lot of reps, so there’s no telling,” Ratledge said. “People are getting a lot of reps every practice.”
“Coach Searels mixes us in and out, getting used to playing with different guys because we rotate like you saw last year,” he continued. “We’ve got to get used to playing next to different people.”
Speaking specifically about players that have stood out so far – some of whom the average Georgia fan might not think about as possibly being a big part of the plan on the offensive line – it was the depth-adding pieces as opposed to the established starters that have caught his eye.
“Micah Morris and Dylan Fairchild are both really impressive right now. Jared Wilson, he’s an athlete, he’s physical, he’s smart. There’s a lot,” Ratledge said. “Monroe [Freeling] came in, he’s athletic. He just shows how athletic he is. Of course, he’s got things to learn here and there just about college ball, but a lot of people have come in and started doing really well.”
Adding more on Blaske and Greene, toughness, effort and a willingness to do extra have his attention.
“A lot of toughness. He’s one tough kid. Effort. There’s not a day that he’s not giving his all for everybody out there. Like, everybody’s got a lot of respect for him. He brings it every day,” Ratledge said about Blaske. “I think Earnest kind of took to me with that a lot after I was hurt and didn’t get to play. I kind of just told him, ‘Stay in the film room. Just don’t let your football knowledge go to waste. Just try to learn as much as you can in this time.’ And I think it’s showing right now that he did.”
After Thursday’s practice, the Bulldogs are now a third of the way through the spring having completed five of 15 scheduled sessions. The culmination of Georgia’s effort this spring comes on April 15th with the G-Day spring game, set to air live at 4:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
