Since head coach Kirby Smart took over the duties, Georgia football has had a solid offensive line. He and his staff have done a great job adding the right amount of depth and talent there without jeopardizing other positions.
At times during Mark Richt’s tenure, it felt like the offensive line was not a priority, especially in his last five classes. However, now that the offensive line is in better shape, the Dawgs can really depend on having a solid unit year-in-and-year-out.
There is no offense to Richt and what he did, but what Smart took over, the offensive line needed work, and bringing in Sam Pittman worked wonders on that position group. That continues with Matt Luke, which is why the 2022 group will be one of Georgia’s strongest positions.
As spring practice approaches, let’s take a look at each position and discuss what each group looks like for the spring.
Georgia football will see a veteran offensive line in 2022 with a lot of confidence.
Even with losing Jamaree Salyer and Justin Shaffer to the NFL Draft, the Dawgs return the rest of the offensive line and will even get a player back from injury.
Georgia returns these scholarship offensive linemen for the 2022 season:
- Aliou Bah — FR.
- Drew Bobo — FR.
- Earnest Greene — FR.
- Jacob Hood — FR.
- Griffin Scroggs — FR.
- Tate Ratledge
- Christen Kinnie
- Warren Ericson
- Micah Morris
- Broderick Jones
- Austin Blaske
- Clay Webb
- Sedrick Van Pran
- Amarius Mims
- Warren McClendon
- Xavier Truss
- Owen Condon
- Chad Lindberg
- Devin Willock
- Jared Wilson
- Dylan Fairchild
There are 21 scholarship linemen on the roster at this point, and the Dawgs only lost two guys. They will have to replace Salyer and Shaffer.
Broderick Jones will likely replace Salyer at the tackle spot as he did toward the end of the season when Salyer had to see a couple of games out due to injury. He also took over there when they made the adjustment during the playoffs, and it made a massive difference.
Tate Ratledge will return from injury. That will help the interior portion of the offensive line out because experts predicted he would have a big season before he hurt his ankle and had surgery.
Some guys that need to step up this season are Amarius Mims and Micah Morris. These two guys came out of high school highly recruited and expected to do big things early in their college careers.
Now they have a great chance to take advantage of the spring and do just that.
They need to find a way to implement themselves into the consistent rotation because both are talented. It’s time they push past the ‘I was the best player in high school, so that entitles me to play’ mindset and realize hard work puts them on the field.
There are plenty of others that need to buckle down and prove why the Dawgs recruited them to play on the offensive line.
While it’s never great to lose players to the transfer portal, the Dawgs could see a couple of these guys transfer to another program if spring doesn’t go well for them.
This unit has talent, but it’s time to see what they do without Salyer and some of the veterans they’ve had the last few years. Warren McClendon should have a massive third season with the Dawgs as he kept getting better as the season progressed.
Sedrick Van Pran is another that excites us because he is so good at the center position. So with him and starting quarterback Stetson Bennett already knowing how each other works, it helps out the whole picture.
Georgia is over their scholarship maximum right now, so the Dawgs will make cuts, and this position could be one that could afford it.