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football Edit

Spring focus: Gaillard figures to take over job at center

Lamont Gaillard figures to be Georgia's starting center this year.
Lamont Gaillard figures to be Georgia's starting center this year. (Radi Nabulsi)

Georgia’s offensive line has already been a subject of pre-spring conversation for the Bulldogs, who are scheduled to begin workouts later this month.

Due to graduation, Sam Pittman’s front five will have a largely different look when the Bulldogs kick off their season in September against Appalachian State.

Although most of the focus will be on left and right tackle, making sure the team is squared away at center, where two-year starter Brandon Kublanow must be replaced, will be among Pittman's priorities.

While this might not be the most glamorous position to watch, it’s certainly one of the more important. Of all the positions on the offensive line, center is the toughest to play.

So, who gets the call?

If the season were to start tomorrow, junior Lamont Gaillard – who started all 13 games last year at right guard - would be the man.

Although he’s yet to line up at the position in a game, Gaillard did get some work there during the early part of spring camp.

The North Carolina native had never played center before arriving at UGA.

“It's very difficult because you’ve got to know a lot of things. They’ve basically been teaching me everything,” Gaillard said last year. “But it didn’t matter if they asked me to play left tackle, right guard--I’ll play anything.”

After Gaillard, it’s going to be interesting to see what unfolds.

Sean Fogarty worked out at the position after transferring from Savannah State last year, but redshirt freshman Chris Barnes could also figure into the picture.

It’s not unthinkable that one of Georgia’s incoming freshmen, or perhaps someone in the future from the 2018 class, couldn’t be groomed for the position.

But for now, that man appears to be Gaillard who, at least in the spring, will be replaced at right guard by redshirt freshman Solomon Kindley.

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