The Georgia Football team has high expectations for the 2018 season, but which players are going to take the step up needed to take the Dawgs to the promised land?
It’s game week Dawg fans! The Georgia Football team takes on Austin Peay this week in their first game of the 2018 season. Dawg fans are hoping that their team will once again be playing significant games in January this year. For that to happen, they are going to need several different players to step up.
The Dawgs boast star power across the board. Jake Fromm and D’Andre Swift are Heisman candidates. Deandre Baker and Jonathan Ledbetter could both be first-round draft picks. Even in special teams, the Dawgs have some star power, Rodrigo Blankenship is a potential All-American if he continues his development.
But today we’re not looking at stars. We’re looking at some players that the Dawgs need to take a leap in 2018. To start with, we have a rather large human being who could become one of the best guards in the nation.
Ben Cleveland, OG:
There aren’t many people who look like Cleveland. It’s hard to find many 6ft6 people who carry 340lbs like it’s nothing. Now, the redshirt sophomore isn’t the finished article by any means. Despite going into his 3rd year in Athens, Cleveland only just turned 20 years old, so in a lot of ways, he’s still just a pup. With 5 games under his belt as a starter, he’ll go into the season looking to improve on a solid start to his career.
Stiffness is the biggest concern for Cleveland. There is no doubt that he’s got all the size and strength that his coaches could want. However, it’s taken him a while to work on his technique and become flexible enough to move in the way Sam Pittman wants.
We saw last season just how good he could be in the run game. With Isaiah Wilson starting beside him, the Dawgs have nearly 700lbs of men lining up on the right side of the offensive line. That’s a huge amount of power that could potentially tip the balance in the SEC.
Cleveland needs to keep improving. Not only for the team to get better but for him to hold onto his starting spot. The Dawgs have a lot of talent that will be pushing him for playing time. If Cleveland does continue to get better and live up to his potential, he’s a potential All-SEC level talent. The Dawgs have 4 linemen who all have the talent to see those honors by the time the year ends. I think that Cleveland will end up finally earning that recognition when December comes around.