Georgia football: offensive seniors deserve extra appreciation for what they’ve endured

The Sugar Bowl tomorrow night will be the last game of the careers of four Georgia football seniors in the two-deep chart on offense.

Terry Godwin, Lamont Gaillard, Jayson Stanley and Kendall Baker. Those are the names of the four seniors listed as either starters or second-stringers on the Georgia football offense for tomorrow’s Sugar Bowl game against Texas.

It’ll be their last time wearing the red jersey’s and helmets, and the silver britches. Their last time in the huddle, on the sidelines, running through plays, celebrating big moments and hunkering down in stressful ones. If there’s any group of seniors who deserve a rightful sendoff, it’s them. I think the turmoil they’ve all faced in their careers has gone forgotten.

They are more than just the last group of players to play for Mark Richt. When they committed to Georgia as members of the 2015 recruiting class, they weren’t just chosen by Richt, but also by former offensive coördinator Mike Bobo; offensive line coach Will Friend; and wide receivers coach Tony Ball. Except for Baker, a redshirt senior, who spent one year under Bobo and Friend’s coaching.

Before the other three signed with the Dawgs, Bobo, Friend and Ball all left to take other jobs. Bobo went to Colorado State to become a head coach, Friend joined him as offensive coördinator. Ball left to join LSU’s coaching staff. So now, in 2015, this group of four offensive freshmen are no longer playing for coaches who recruited them besides Richt. They committed to a school known for the explosive offenses which lit up the fields from 2011-to-2014. Now, they had to slow down and play a more methodical offense with new offensive coördinator Brian Schottenheimer. Rob Sale joined the staff os O-Line coach, and Bryan McClendon moved over from coaching running backs to coaching receivers.

We all remember how bad the 2015 offense was. That certainly was not the kind of offense Godwin and Stanley signed on for. The mediocre offense of that season played a role in Georgia firing coach Richt. Every offensive coach was let go as well.

If you’re keeping score, that’s two offensive coordinators, two wide receiver coaches, two offensive line coaches and one head coach gone. Godwin, Stanley, Gaillard and Baker could have packed up and left to a school with more stability. They were talented players who deserved better. But they stayed through their second head coach third set of offensive coaches in their year’s since being recruited. Early on, the transition was not smooth. Georgia’s offense lacked identity with new coördinator Jim Cheney; o-line coach Sam Pittman; and receivers coach James Coley. Godwin struggled to get on the field early in 2016 despite having a solid freshman year. Stanley was relegated to special teams duties.

But looking at the offense today, there’s no sign of the turmoil Georgia faced just two years ago and those seniors deserve much of the credit. Godwin became a fantastic receiver in 2017 and he caught the two biggest touchdowns of the Dawgs’ wins over Notre Dame and Auburn. His production in 2018 dropped off because of a sidelining injury, but he was still a leader whose presence on the field and on the bench made everyone around him better.

Stanley embraced the block-to-play mentality Smart and the coaches enforce on offense. He doesn’t get targeted often, and you’d think he was a benchwarmer looking at those stats, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Stanley has an important role in helping the run game excel in passing formations. He’s done an amazing job at that, evident by how quick Smart is to praise him in interviews.

Gaillard became one of the best centers in the SEC. Some defensive coaches flat-out said he’s the best. He leads a dominant offensive line that helped accomplish something no other Georgia offense has ever accomplish, have two running backs rush for over 1,000 yards. And if Elijah Holyfield has a big day tomorrow, Georgia’s offense will repeat that. Holyfield, D’Andre Swift, Nick Chubb and Sony Michel receive all of the attention for that statistic, but they’ll all give loads of credit to Gaillard and the offensive line. Baker is a part of that line. Even though he’s a back-up, he could easily start anywhere else and he still gets his playing time. This is after all, the deepest o-line in America.

What this group has endured since committing to Georgia out of high school deserves extra appreciation. Georgia didn’t just begin going through coaching transitions when they arrived on campus, those transitions began before they even signed with the team. With their leadership and dedication, Georgia’s offense rose from the dark ages of 2015-16 to the explosiveness we enjoy watching today.