Georgia offensive line on 'continuum' to find best five up front

An offensive line coach’s job is to find the best five guys, and no, I’m not talking about the burger joint. On Saturday, Georgia rotated seven different offensive linemen in during the first half. From left ot right, Broderick Jones, Xavier Truss, Sedrick Van Pran, Tate Ratledge and Warren McClendon started, but by the third drive, Amarius Mims was in. That led to McClendon playing some on the left side. Devin Willock also got some work in early. The only constants in the first half: Truss at left guard and Van Pran at center.

Then, in the second half, there was more rotating. Some of that likely had to do with the score, but some was also part of the plan. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart says it’s all a part of the constant search for finding the best five.

“Yeah, you’re constantly in search of the best five guys, right? It’s not on a marker where we say we’ve got the best five. It’s a continuum,” Smart said this week as the Bulldogs prepare to take on Samford Saturday. “It’s, like, what did they do today at practice? Because you’re only as good as your last practice. So how are they going to perform today, how are they going to do tomorrow, how are they going to do the next day, how do they do the next matchup, how do they do when things get tight and pressure grows, when things don’t go well? We didn’t see that. You know, we didn’t have a situation where there’s a lot of adversity or required a lot of composure. So we’ll figure out who those best guys are as we go along.”

“Amarius did a good job in the game. He came in, I think, the third series. Played with some confidence,” he added, speaking on the substitutions. “Those guys getting some experience, it’s critical so they’re ready to play when their opportunity comes every down. And I think early in the season, especially, those guys’ conditioning level, it helps to have three guys playing at those positions.”

Ratledge agrees. From a conditioning standpoint, he said he wasn’t tired, but having fresh legs and lungs on the sideline that can come in without any sort of drop off is a luxury that Georgia has.

“It’s nice knowing that if you’re dying tired — which I don’t think any of us were, we are all pretty well — it’s good to know that whoever’s in there after you, you can trust to go get the job done,” Ratledge said.

“I think it’s pretty rare for an offensive line to be able to rotate people,” he continued. “I think we have a really solid two-deep that can play … I think it takes reps in practice. I’ve had reps next to Mims, I’ve had reps next to Warren, I know how they’re going to play and how they’re going to do things different. Other than that, I think it’s just trust. They’re going to do their job and I’m going to do my job.”

Georgia takes on FCS opponent Samford this Saturday at 4:00 p.m. ET on the SEC Network in another opportunity to get good work in and find the Bulldogs’ best five up front.

Offensive Line Groupings (Left to Right) – New positions for players in-game are bolded

First Drive – Broderick Jones, Xavier Truss, Sedrick Van Pran, Tate Ratledge, Warren McClendon

Second Drive – Broderick Jones, Xavier Truss, Sedrick Van Pran, Tate Ratledge, Warren McClendon

Third Drive – Broderick Jones, Xavier Truss, Sedrick Van Pran, Tate Ratledge, Amarius Mims

Fourth Drive – Warren McClendon, Xavier Truss, Sedrick Van Pran, Devin Willock, Amarius Mims

Fifth Drive (Start of Second Half) – Broderick Jones, Xavier Truss, Sedrick Van Pran, Tate Ratledge, Warren McClendon

Sixth Drive – Broderick Jones, Devin Willock, Sedrick Van Pran, Tate Ratledge, Warren McClendon

Seventh Drive (Carson Beck in at Quarterback) – Warren McClendon, Xavier Truss, Warren Ericson, Devin Willock, Amarius Mims

Eighth Drive (No Starters in at This Point) – Austin Blaske, Devin Willock, Warren Ericson, Jared Wilson, Amarius Mims

Ninth Drive (Kneel Down) – Austin Blaske, Jared Wilson, Warren Ericson, Dylan Fairchild, Chad Lindberg