Georgia Football: How UGA’s offensive line turned it around in 2017

‘Big Ben’ looks like he’s found a home:

It took a bit longer than I was expecting, but it looks like Ben Cleveland has found a home in Athens. Cleveland is a tremendous physical specimen, he’s nearly 350lbs and I swear, pretty much all of that is muscle. However, he came into the program incredibly raw and was only 17 when he arrived in Athens.

Cleveland needed his redshirt year. Like a lot of guys his size, he struggled with bending his knees and he needed time to learn how to play with leverage. Size doesn’t matter if someone else is able to use it against you. That lack of knee bend also makes him a much more natural fit at guard. It’s a new position for him however so it has taken him some time to prove that he was ready.

His insertion into the right guard spot after the first Auburn game has changed this line. There are plays where he gets caught playing high and has trouble. There are others as well where he is still unsure of who he needs to hit. But his physicality is clear for everybody to see. The guy is an absolute monster when he gets his hands on people.

When you watch him on that video, you can see a guy who can take 2 defenders out on a play. That is not something that most guards can do. It’s one of the things that makes him a potentially special player. The Dawgs did the right thing, giving Cleveland time to show that he was ready. I think there is a good chance that patience pays off in a big way. ‘Big Ben’ looks like he could be a franchise level guard in 2018.