One of Georgia football’s biggest questions for the 2023 season is along the offensive line.
The Bulldogs lose starting left tackle Broderick Jones and starting right tackle Warren McClendon to this year’s NFL draft.
Starting center Sedrick Van Pran elected to delay turning pro and will be back as the anchor up front, along with starting left guard Xavian Truss and starting right guard Tate Ratledge.
Ratledge, a rising redshirt junior, spoke on the changes along the Georgia offensive line after a spring practice session last week.
“We have a lot of competition going on. [We’re] just competing every day and with a lot of depth, I think one of Coach Searels’ goals is to find a starting five and then find a backup group where there’s not much drop-off. I think right now we do a lot where everybody gets a lot of reps, so there’s no telling [who will play where]. People are getting a lot of reps every practice.”
Rising junior Amarius Mims is a key contender at right tackle. The former five-star prospect saw action as a reserve in 12 games in 2022.
Ratledge mentioned Mims has a different mindset so far this offseason.
“He’s gotten very mature with how he goes about things, just coming into practice, not really taking plays off and things like that,” Ratledge said. “[He’s] just going out there and grinding every day and just really stepping into the shoes that he’s got to fill.”
Rising redshirt junior Austin Blaske and rising redshirt freshman Earnest Greene are battling for the left tackle spot. Blaske appeared in nine games last season and Greene missed the season due to injury.
There is plenty of time to make decisions of how the offensive front will look for the Bulldogs. The talent is there but finding continuity is the challenge.
Ratledge says the impact of the returning starters is helping the process.
“I think we have a couple guys that have been through it and know what to do, can really help the young guys come along and kind of take people under their wing and kind of show them the way.”
You can catch the Dawgs live from Sanford Stadium in the annual ‘G-Day’ game scheduled for April 15.