Tate Ratledge looks for more out of Georgia offensive line

ATHENS, Ga. — Tate Ratledge and many Georgia fans have more in common than you might think. No, the average fan is not 6-foot-6 and 310 pounds, but both agree that the play of the Bulldogs’ offensive line hasn’t been up to their standard so far this season.

“Definitely a lot of room for improvement,” Ratledge said on Monday, giving his frank assessment of Georgia’s offensive line play against Ball State this past weekend. “Got to be more physical, get more movement and open holes for our backs to hit. Personally it was not up to our standard. I think there’s a lot of ways to improve that, and it all starts in practice with how we approach things.”

“Physicality, wanting to finish people, having a mindset of going out there and making somebody want to quit, that’s what it takes to play in the trenches,” he continued. “I’d like to see that mindset out of all of us, and it be a consistent mindset, not just a once a week thing. I want to see us go out there and prove it every single day working towards that.”

So far this season, the somewhat lackluster play of the offensive line has shown most on the stat sheet as it pertains to the run game. Georgia ran for less than 100 yards for the first time since the 2020 season. They’re averaging the sixth fewest yards per game in the conference at 129.0.

Some of that isn’t the offensive line’s fault. Georgia has attempted the second fewest runs of anybody in the league with a banged up backfield. Furthermore, there are plays that Kirby Smart, Mike Bobo and the staff consider to be an extension of the run game that don’t show up as an attempt, therefore any success they’ve had with those doesn’t contribute to that stats. Still, Smart and the coaches want to see more.

“I think there were times that we functioned at a high level, and there was times that we had some sloppiness,” Smart said when he was asked about the offensive line performance against Ball State. “We had a couple — one lapse in a protection. One time we got beat that we probably shouldn’t have gotten beat. It’s game speed-type things. It’s making sure that I know if this guy’s running a stunt or a twist that I’m going to pass it off by getting my hands on the other guy and not letting leakage in there. But they also pick up a max blitz, pick up some tough things to pick up. So there’s some positives and negatives like there is every position. What I’m looking for is more consistency in performance for every position group, but also the offensive line — especially with some of the experience we have there.”

Ratledge is among the experience Smart is referencing. He started 14 games last fall and was one of four Georgia offensive linemen that entered this season with starting experience. Not coincidentally, those four – Ratledge, Sedrick Van Pran, Xavier Truss and Amarius Mims – were all picked by the SEC coaches to their preseason All-SEC squad.

Those guys with all their experience aren’t ones to make excuses either. They know how to get the job done; they’ve just got to do it. So, with Ratledge as their spokesperson on Monday, it was made known that it’s their responsibility to play well up front regardless of what’s opposite of them.

“I think saying that is kind of an excuse. A good offensive line is going to figure out how to block that either way,” Ratledge said on the notion that their struggles have come as a result of opponents loading the box. “I think we’ve just got to go out there and execute better, pick up on blocks. I think it’s just a bunch of excuses saying that people load the box and we’re not going to be able to run the ball.”

“There no sugar coating it. He’s straight to the point, going to tell you what you did wrong, tell you what you did good,” he added about their film sessions with position coach Stacy Searels. “He’s not going to beat around the bush. He’s going to tell you how it is, and it’s up to you how you take that. I’ve always been told to hear the message, not the tone. I think that’s helped me a lot throughout this process and is helping our offensive line throughout this process.”

Georgia’s offensive line gets its next chance to prove itself on Saturday as SEC play begins with the Bulldogs hosting South Carolina. Kickoff time from Sanford Stadium is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.