The season-ending injury to left tackle Trinton Sturdivant and the injury to safety Quintin Banks have forced the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs to offer some cram courses in Football 101. The starting offensive line Georgia expects to roll out for the season opener with Georgia Southern sees Kiante Tripp moving from right tackle to left tackle to replace Sturdivant, Vince Vance at left guard, Chris Davis at center, true freshman Cordy Glenn at right guard and Josh Davis at right tackle.
“[The line] looks revamped,” said head coach Mark Richt. “It’s not real solid yet in my opinion. They’re just not cohesive; they’re not used to playing with each other.”
“We’ve got a lot of guys that we feel can play,” said offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. “It’s just getting them playing together.”
Those guys will also have to be in sync with the other members of the offense. “If you’re a lineman, not only do you have to know what to do, but what everybody else around you is doing,” Richt said. “There’s just so much communication.”
Getting that communication down will be the key in determining how the line performs. “Individually, they’re a bunch of young puppies, really. They’re not out there just physically whooping anybody,” Richt said. “But if they play together they’ve got a chance.”
Offensive line coach Stacy Searels is one of the best in the country, and for the second year in a row he must help a unit jell quickly. The team eventually expects to play six or seven linemen on a regular basis, so that will be an ongoing process.
The situation at safety is somewhat similar. Right now, Andrew Williams and John Knox are the safeties behind starters Reshad Jones and CJ Byrd. Still, the coaches would like to get true freshmen Sanders Commings, Baccarri Rambo, Nick Williams and Makiri Pugh ready to play. “They all fit the bill physically,” Richt said. “Now it’s just that learning curve that keeps them from being real solid at this moment.”
Defensive coordinator Willie Martinez places a special significance on his safeties.
“I try to compare it to a quarterback,” Martinez said. “The safeties have to make all the calls. They have to make sure we’re in the right calls.”
Martinez says the true freshmen are behind at the moment in learning the scheme, but hopes to have them ready by the fourth or fifth game if need be. That is also around the time Banks is expected back, so the cramming at safety may not be as important as the cramming on the offensive line. Exam time will come quick, however, as Georgia starts off the season hosting Georgia Southern and Central Michigan before visiting South Carolina and Arizona State.
Butler can be reached at jbutler@scoreatl.com.
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