Georgia Bulldogs Will Miss David Andrews Most in 2015
The Georgia Bulldogs are losing (as always) a number of talented players in 2015, but center David Andrews will be missed more than anyone.
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Each year at Georgia, there is an exodus of high-caliber players who have either used up their eligibility or have opted to leave school early for the money available to them in the NFL. There are always some players who have everyone questioning, how can they be replaced?
This year Georgia is losing a couple of talented receivers (Michael Bennett and Chris Conley), an All-American running back (Todd Gurley), some key defensive players (Ray Drew, Damian Swann and Ramik Wilson) and a few other familiar names as well.
But none of those players will leave quite the gaping hole (literally) that center David Andrews will when he moves from Saturdays on college campuses to Sundays in the NFL.
Andrews has been the anchor and leader on Georgia’s offensive line for three seasons, stepping in right after another longtime center, Ben Jones. It seems the center position at Georgia has been uncontested forever, and always manned by a top player.
But with Andrews leaving, the Bulldogs are faced with something they haven’t dealt with in well over a decade…a position battle at center.
It’s easy to become accustomed to knowing who was going to be there in the center of the offensive line, and never having a single doubt that the job would be done in top form. Offensive linemen in general are unheralded, but the center position can oftentimes be taken for granted.
Andrews was the locker room and on-field leader of Georgia’s line. He was the guy who checked blocking assignments. He was the guy who made sure that Aaron Murray and Hutson Mason spent more time upright and watching their passes sail into the waiting arms of a receiver, rather than crumpled in a heap on the turf asking what truck just came through. He was the guy who helped pave the way for Gurley, Chubb, and others to make their spectacular runs.
Georgia Bulldogs
Replacing Todd Gurley will be (forgive us, TG3) easy with Nick Chubb and the rest of the running backs on the rosters. Finding people to make the catches that Bennett and Conley used to make will be a matter of getting a young receiver accustomed to more targets. Even replacing those solid defenders seems like a process of “next man up” in Jeremy Pruitt’s defense.
But if the center position isn’t filled with as much heart, hard work, leadership and talent as David Andrews brought to the field, then all of the hard work mentioned above will be for naught.
Will the others be missed? Without a doubt, yes. But finding someone to take the place of David Andrews is the toughest task Mark Richt has this year.