Putting trust in Truss
At 6-foot-7 and 330 pounds, the Rhode Island native Xavier Truss certainly has the size that head coach Kirby Smart craves on the offensive line.
Last week at Tennessee, Truss saw his most extensive action of the year when he replaced right guard Warren Ericson, who had to leave the game due to effects of the flu.
Although Ericson is expected back in the starting lineup on Saturday when the top-ranked Bulldogs entertain Charleston Southern (Noon, SEC Network+), Truss hopes his showing against the Vols could lead to more opportunities in the not-too-distant future.
“I kind of credit the whole offensive line for making sure I’m on top of my stuff,” Truss said after practice on Wednesday. “They help build my confidence and make sure I’m ready to play. Obviously, when my name is called, I’ve got to be ready.”
Truss’ Zoom session with Bulldog beat writers was his first appearance before the press, despite being in Athens for three years.
“I feel like he’s stepped up,” left guard Justin Shaffer said. “He’s got a better mindset. It started back in camp and him just getting that confidence.”
Head coach Kirby Smart has also liked what he’s seen, although there are still aspects to his game that he needs to improve.
“Xavier’s biggest thing is can he carry it over and focus and concentrate to do the things he has to do and really play with a lot of intensity. That’s one of the things. Dependability is the biggest thing with Xavier, the snap count, assignment,” Smart said. “To his credit he hasn’t been at guard as long as our guards. Warren has kind of played in there since he got here. Xavier was moved in there and now he’s been in there for a while, but he still hasn’t seen the twists and the action that Warren has."
The move from tackle to guard has been a challenge.
In fact, Truss had never played the position his entire life until Tate Ratledge went down with a Lisfranc injury and position coach Matt Luke began looking for candidates to potentially fill the role.
“The transition took some getting used to at first, but I’ve got to be ready to play wherever I’m needed to play,” Truss said. “Height is not an excuse. Last year we had Ben (Cleveland), who was about my height. There was no excuse for him so I can’t. If they needed me at center, I’d go in at center and learn to play that.”
Per Smart, the potential is there.
“There were things that needed to be cleaned up. He does give us a lot of size, but he'd be the first to tell you, you know, he could have played better,” Smart said. “It's good that he got to get in that action, kind of like Broderick (Jones) did at Auburn—he got thrown in there and got to play in a tough environment—and go in and play. But there's footwork things, ID things, protection things he's got to clean up."
This wasn't Truss' first time playing most of a game.
Truss got the call at left tackle in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl against Cincinnati, when Jamaree Salyer slid over to guard to replace Cleveland who opted out of the game.
Salyer would later take over at left tackle in the spring.
As for Truss, his story is an interesting one.
A native of West Warwick, Rhode Island, Truss hails from a state that’s not exactly known for putting a lot of football players in the SEC.
It wasn’t until his junior season that the former track standout began receiving offers for his exploits on the football field. Even then, if it were not for the presence of teammate Kwity Paye who was taken in the first round of the NFL Draft last April by Indianapolis, he might not have been discovered at all.
“All the college coaches who were coming to see him and him being a big kid with so much potential and him pushing me helped to mold my game,” Truss said. “He helped me become a recruitable player. When all these coaches were coming to visit him, they stopped and asked, ‘Who’s this kid?’”
Truss is anxious to prove to his coaches at Georgia made the right decision to bring him to Athens.
“I have a lot of things I need to improve with my game,” Truss said. “(Saturday) my teammates helped me stay in the game, helped keep me confident, cool and collected. I missed a couple of things here and there, but that’s on me, that’s about preparation. As I mentioned before, I just need to be ready to step in.”
