ATHENS – Jared Wilson’s Achilles injury caused problems for Georgia during fall camp.
The fourth-year junior is expected to replace Sedrick Van Pran-Ganger as Georgia’s starting center. While Wilson was battling an Achilles tendon injury, the Bulldogs put All-American guard Tate Ratledge at center.
“Tate has gotten a lot of work there through our OTAs, training camp days and walk-throughs,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “Tate has taken a lot of reps and has been right next to the center making all the decisions. The mental part has been great and his snaps have been really good too. He’s just creating value for himself by being able to play multiple positions now.”
Ratledge was named a first-team AP All-American this week as a guard. Dylan Fairchild was named a second-team All-American this week. And Georgia is also very pleased with what Micah Morris brings to the table.
Wilson is healthy again and will be Georgia’s starting center this season, and even though Georgia has three guards, that will remain the case.
“Jared (Wilson) was back on Saturday and worked out in the scrimmage and did some good things,” Smart said. “We’ve got his skill level under control, but he’s been out there working and getting some continuity. He’s done the most work of anybody as a center over the last two to three years.”
So Georgia has to find a way to rotate three guards who could play for any program in the country and keep everyone happy. Calling it a problem might be an overstatement, but Georgia will rather deal with it than deal with a deficit.
Fairchild started nine games for Georgia last season. Ratledge started 13 games last season, while Morris is still waiting for his first career start.
The Bulldogs have used a rotation at tackle before, famously when they had Amairus Mims, Broderick Jones and Warren McLendon on the team.
This guard trio is arguably more talented than the tackle trio.
It would be easy for the intense competition to create a negative atmosphere on the offensive line. But the opposite is the case: there is a very healthy respect and admiration between everyone.
“It’s good to have guys like Dylan Fairchild on the line,” offensive tackle Earnest Greene said of Fairchild. “That’s why you come here to Georgia. To play with good guys at your position and compete with them. Having guys like Dylan on the line is definitely a reason to come here.”
Fairchild spoke equally positively of Morris and Ratledge, saying Ratledge had a great influence on his own playing while emphasizing the brotherly bond he shares with Morris.
“I know when I have a bad day, he’s got my back and I always appreciate that,” Fairchild said. “When he has a bad day, I’ve got his back and I would just say that all of us on the line support each other. If one of us has weaknesses in an area, we point it out and raise the bar. I think he does a great job and everyone on the O-line does a great job of holding each other accountable and just being best friends.”
At some point, Georgia will have to figure out what combination of guards and tackles will help put together Georgia’s best five-man lineup. There is a strong belief that Wilson is the best center of the group, despite the positive strides Ratledge has made.
Xavier Truss, Monroe Freeling and Greene will play important roles as tackles. At guard, it will probably come down to Ratledge, Fairchild and Morris. Three men are fighting for two spots.
Georgia didn’t use its best five-man combination against Alabama last season, in part because Mims left the game in the first quarter with an injury. Truss moved to the right tackle position and Georgia tried both Morris and Fairchild at left guard, with the former going first.
The Bulldogs will have a long season to figure out who makes up that combination. And while injuries can certainly be a factor, as they already have, as Wilson has shown, whoever makes up that group will undoubtedly have earned it.
“I think we trust whoever we put on the field from week one all the way through the playoffs, no matter where we end up,” Fairchild said. “I think we’re going to do well no matter what we do.”
