As a group of Georgia players addressed the media this evening for the first time since last January’s Sugar Bowl, one of them, junior center Trey Hill, was recognized as one of just two offensive starters returning for the Bulldogs from last season—and the lone returning starting offensive lineman. With the loss of last year’s starters Andrew Thomas, Isaiah Wilson, and Solomon Kindley to the NFL, and Cade Mays to Tennessee, Georgia hasn’t returned fewer offensive line starters since 2003, when it returned zero from the previous season’s SEC championship squad.
The dean of Georgia’s inexperienced offensive line—or, arguably, the Bulldogs’ biggest preseason question mark as far as position groups—Hill indicates his role now includes being a team leader. And with leading comes “talking.”
“Yeah, I’ve definitely made strides in the area of being a leader,” Hill said. “I’m leading both on and off the field. And once you’re on the field [to lead], you have to talk.”
Although Hill is Georgia’s only returning starter up front on offense, four others have starting experience: senior Ben Cleveland (16 career starts), junior Jamaree Salyer (2), senior Justin Shaffer (2), and sophomore Warren Ericson (1). Still, including Hill’s 18 career starts, the Bulldogs’ 39 returning career offensive line starts are a team-low since returning only 31 in 2012.
To perhaps complicate matters, besides Georgia’s lack of experience up front is that the Bulldog offense will be under its third coordinator in three years—Todd Monken. Yet, although Monken’s “Air Raid” offense normally features wider gaps between linemen, Hill says the new offense compared to the previous version is essentially the same.
“[This season’s offense] is basically the same thing as before,” Hill said. “No matter how tight or wide the splits are between linemen, it’s basically the same offensive scheme. It’s not too different.”
Georgia’s depth chart on the offensive line will likely also include quite a few freshmen: redshirt freshmen Clay Webb, Xavier Truss, and Warren McClendon, and true freshman Broderick Jones. Nevertheless, Hill, one of Georgia’s new leaders for the upcoming season, says that he isn’t concerned about the inexperience at the offensive line—rather, he considers it a blessing.
“I really appreciate the young guys on the line, and teaching them the ins and outs of all the plays," Hill said. "Me, being a leader, it’s been a blessing for me to teach them everything I know."
