Time is now for Jared Wilson after awaiting 'opportunity to shine'
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia’s offensive line has big shoes to fill on the interior with Sedrick Van Pran‘s 44 straight starts departing at center. Lucky for the Bulldogs though, belief is sky high for Van Pran’s replacement, Jared Wilson.
In speaking about the offensive line after his Pro Day workout, Van Pran pointed to Wilson as the player he thinks that’ll step up the most. He categorized him with a couple of young guys before quickly walking back his statement. Instead of calling him young, Van Pran said “he just hasn’t had his opportunity to shine yet.” Well, the wait is over, and that opportunity for Wilson comes now.
A fourth-year junior out of Winston Salem, N.C. Wilson saw the field in all but one game for Georgia last season. He might be an unknown to the average fan, but among his teammates, he’s regarded as an incredible athlete and a smart player too.
“He’s a freak athlete,” fellow offensive lineman Tate Ratledge said. “Just him running. The way he can get to a linebacker, things like that. Things you don’t normally see out of a center. He can get to a linebacker with helping your guard too at the same time when a lot of centers just have to climb straight up. The way he just has great footwork and can get things done up front.”
“He’s quick and he’s fast. He can jump really high. His lateral quickness is ridiculous,” added Van Pran. “I’m trying not to say too much. You’re just gong to have to see for yourself.”
Of course, being the man in the middle isn’t only about the athleticism. It takes smarts to play center at an SEC level. Ratledge said, unless the quarterback steps up to the line of scrimmage and makes a change, its been on Van Pran’s shoulders to get everything right for the offensive line. Now, that weight is on Wilson.
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“One thing that I think people underestimate about Jared is that he’s extremely smart,” Van Pran said, feeling confident in who he’s handing the Bulldog baton to. “Jared does a tremendous job of dissecting what the defense is giving him, making those ID points and also digesting what’s going on in front of him in a split second. So when you add that with understanding the offense and getting out explosive and how good of an athlete he is, it’s going to be amazing what he can do.”
Wilson will be working with a veteran quarterback in Carson Beck. That relationship between signal caller and snapper is an important one with the two working hand in hand at times. Last year, Van Pran’s experience helped out with the newness of it all for Beck. This year, the roles have been reversed with Beck trying to be an aid for Wilson.
“He got some reps last year, played in some games, big time games. Got good reps in practice. But being able to work with him this year and then going into spring ball will really be the first time we really get to work together and see what he can do,” Beck said. “I’m really excited. He’s really athletic guy, it’s insane some of the things he’s able to do. Super excited to see what he can do and have a lot of confidence in him.”
Georgia continues spring practice on Saturday with the third of 15 sessions. The Bulldogs wrap up on April 13th with the annual G-Day scrimmage, one of three opportunities to fully test themselves over the next month before returning to offseason workouts this summer.
