Georgia's healthier OL was hardened by injury adversity in regular season
NEW ORLEANS — Georgia has played one of the nation’s toughest schedules this season and it took a toll. The Bulldogs had a handful of position groups over the course of the season that, due to injuries, suspensions, or both, were paper thin.
Running back, inside linebacker, defensive line, and even cornerback all make the list but the group hit hardest by minor ailments, the ones that limit guys in practice and nag throughout the season, was the offensive line. The Bulldogs have used several different lineups and combinations in 2024 and their depth has been tested to its fullest.
Injuries that forced linemen to miss practice in order to be healthy enough to play on Saturday likely played a large role in the group’s inconsistent play over the course of the season. The run game was a struggle all year and while Mike Bobo refused to make excuses when he spoke to the media earlier this week, its clear that something has been amiss with this unit all season. But that’s football and Georgia’s big men are fighting through it.
“Playing offensive line, if you’re an o-lineman, that just comes with the position,” third-year sophomore Earnest Greene said at Sugar Bowl media day. “That’s part of the game, especially in the SEC and the conference we play in. There’s a lot of physical games and games where you have to win late or performing in get-the-ball-back situations and stuff like that. Just playing football year round, that’s how it is.”
Greene knows all about the injury bug. He played most of the season with a stinger/nerve injury in his left shoulder. He lacked range of motion and strength in that arm and it clearly hurt his ability to play the position. Georgia inserted Monroe Freeling into the starting lineup for the Tennessee game in November, giving Greene some time to heal up, and he was back to spell Freeling in UGA’s SEC Championship win over Texas.
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Georgia is in much better shape from a health standpoint across the board now. Greene is back competing for meaningful minutes while Freeling is also a lot less dinged up than when he needed to be spelled three weeks ago. Tate Ratledge is further removed from the high-ankle and knee sprains that caused him to miss more than a month and Dylan Fairchild has been able to recover from a lingering calf issue.
The Bulldogs couldn’t ask for much more as they get ready to play a team in Notre Dame that prides itself on physicality and toughness. Georgia is still nursing it’s own bumps and bruises and once the adrenaline gets pumping, it’s just going to going come back to who is best at giving and taking punches.
“At the end of the day it’s just recovery,” Freeling told DawgsHQ. “You’ve got to do your best. I don’t think you ever will be healthy. Right now I can still tell you that there we are still unhealthy in some ways after time off. It comes down to toughness. That’s one of our DNA traits.”
