When asked the biggest lesson he’s learned during his three seasons at Georgia, offensive lineman Dylan Fairchild did not hesitate with a response.

Patience.

It’s easy to see why he feels this way. Reps–even backup reps–proved difficult to come by for Fairchild during his first two seasons in Athens. But thanks to steady progress, he now finds himself in a position to play a key role following the ankle injury last weekend to Amarius Mims.

“This university has taught me how to develop patience and how to go through adversity and continue to go on the right track,” Fairchild said. “Even though you might not see the other side of it, something is on the other side.”

Saturday against UAB (7:30 p.m., ESPN2) Fairchild could well be playing a starting role.

A blowout win over Ball State allowed Fairchild to take part in 20 reps. Last week he took a career-best 61 against South Carolina.

“It was important,” Fairchild said of the action he received against Ball State. “They were good reps, those packages there on the goal line helped me get comfortable. Just going out on field goals, being on the field, helped me a lot.”

Primarily a guard, Fairchild is expected to open at left guard against UAB, although head coach Kirby Smart has several different options to choose from.

"(Xavier) Truss (who replaced Mims at right tackle) has worked guard and tackle, just like he always has. More tackle this week. (Austin) Blaske has practiced, and he is a tough dude. But he is hurting. He is trying his best out there, and the O-line is a position where you might get away with a little bit of an MCL because you are not out there in space running and cutting. He's not 100 percent healthy, but he's out there working,” Smart said. “Monroe (Freeling) is out there working at tackle. Bo (Hughley) has been developing and playing some at tackle. Dylan can go out and play tackle. Micah (Morris) can go out there and play tackle. Chad Lindberg plays tackle. We've got musical chairs. We're just trying to get it to where if the next guy goes down, we can get the best guy in."

Fairchild shares Smart’s confidence.

“All of our guys can play all five positions. That’s one thing that we do a really good job of, is preparing everybody to play any position,” he said. “I’m very confident. We’ve got plenty of guys who can play. We’ve got so many guys who are deserving to play; we’ve got a deep O-line.”