Kirby Smart says Georgia offensive line success sells itself
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia’s had three different offensive line coaches over the last four years, but according to Kirby Smart, it’s a position that seems to recruit itself. The Bulldogs have put several players into the NFL at the position under the two previous coaches: Sam Pittman and Matt Luke. They are expected to do so again this year under the direction of Stacey Searels. In Smart’s opinion, players see that and want to be a part of that tradition of excellence, no matter who the coach is.
“I think when you look at us the past three or four years, I think we’ve had the second or third most O-linemen drafted, especially top round picks like we’ve been able to have with tackles going early and, you know, Ben Cleveland and a lot of the guys. So the program sells itself in terms of development,” Smart said on Wednesday during his Signing Day press conference. “You get to go against some of the best defensive linemen, three first round defensive linemen. You get to go against those guys.”
“We recruit as a staff, not as a position. I think Stacy has done a tremendous job this year,” he continued. “I think we’ve got some really talented, flexible guys that can go inside and out. That’s always what you are looking for is to get length at tackle, but guys that can go in and play guard, and I think we were able to did that in this class, and really excited about the O-line class we have coming in.”
Georgia’s offensive line signees include a pair of the nation’s top offensive tackles. Monroe Freeling comes from Oceanside Collegiate Academy in Mount Pleasant, S.C. and is the No. 57 overall player in the country. Throw in Bo Hughley, another top-10 offensive tackle, and Georgia’s already laid claim to one of the best groupings of offensive linemen from the Class of 2023. That doesn’t even include interior offensive linemen Kelton Smith and Joshua Miller or offensive tackle Jamal Meriweather who did not sign but committed to Georgia just days before the start of the Early Signing Period.
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“Length. They both have top ten wing spans of kids we’ve recruited here, and we’ve got some pretty long guys that have played here in the last seven, eight years,” Smart said when asked about Freeling and Hughley. “Both those guys would be near top ten in terms of keeping people’s hands off of them. Both of them, really good basketball players. Got great feet, athleticism. You know, it’s one of the hardest positions to play right away, so it’s not like they’re going to walk in here and just take over, but they’ve got kind of the mold you want in terms of length and athleticism and some guys that can go play with them.”
Freeling and Hughley are part of the nation’s No. 2 recruiting class and Smart’s seventh straight top-3 grouping at Georgia. Freeling, along with Miller, will be on campus this spring as an early enrollee while Hughley and Smith are not expected to be in Athens until the summer.
