Georgia offensive line playing with confidence no matter the lineup
ATHENS, Ga. — When you think Georgia offensive linemen, Warren Ericson and Devin Willock might not be the first two names that come to mind, but each of them played an important part in the Bulldogs’ win over Tennessee last Saturday. In the absence of Xavier Truss at left guard, Willock got his first career start. Meanwhile, Ericson, a starter of 14 games last season, rotated in on both the left and right side of the line. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart spoke on each of the two offensive linemen this week praising their versatility, physicality and overall attitude towards winning, something that’s helped the team even when they haven’t been in the regular rotation.
“Warren does a great job playing each week. He’s a guy that can play all five positions. He’s very versatile,” Smart said. “He’s very experienced. He’s a leader of that group. He commands respect of the men in the room because of the time he’s done and, really, the way he works. He has an extremely valuable role on our team, starting on punt because he makes a lot of calls for our punt team and he does a tremendous job of that and then his versatility.”
“Devin, I thought, did a good job,” he added. “I challenged Devin to play with more confidence. He’s got to play with confidence and play like a starter. And he really gets good movement on people. And his size allows him to do some things. He can recognize some things probably a little quicker. But you can tell, he came out with a demeanor of playing physical and I think that’s probably what he does best, is play physical.”
Ericson and Willock taking on bigger roles comes at a time where the Georgia offensive line has seemed to find a rhythm. That started with the lineup of Broderick Jones, Truss, Sedrick Van Pran, Tate Ratledge and Warren McClendon but has been extended to other groupings of guys when they’ve been called upon, like Ericson, Willock and Amarius Mims. Since struggling at times early in the season, namely at Missouri, the Georgia run game has gotten going and with it so too has the confidence of the offensive line, no matter who’s on the field.
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“I think they’re playing with more confidence. They’re focused. There is a lot of depth there,” Smart said. “They’ve played well, and I think they’ve played well through the year. I think the best is still ahead of them, and I think we can still get better with our communication and how we go about things. The physicality they play with has been good … I don’t know what the questions are directed at, because I feel like the Oregon game was one of their best games, the last game was one of the best games. They’ve played really consistent to me. Missouri might be the one outlier, but we had some runs in Missouri that spit out and coughed up the ball and lost a little momentum, but outside of that, I think they played really well, so I think they continue to improve.”
“This is a new group since last year with Jamaree (Salyer) and (Justin) Shaffer being in the league right now, so that takes a little bit of time to get a feel, filling gaps and moving people in,” Ericson added when he was asked about the increased confidence. “I think it’s just about having really good connection, knowing your brother and time under tension, playing, reps and reps and reps. That helps out a lot in development.”
Georiga goes on the road this week to Mississippi State to take on the Bulldogs led by Mike Leach. Kickoff time from Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville is set for 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN. Georgia can clinch the SEC East and their spot in the SEC Championship Game for the fifth time in six season with a win.
