Run It Back: What Georgia returns at offensive guard in 2024

Returning snaps…

Tate Ratledge (1,581 career snaps): The Darlington School product is back for his third season as a starter. It would be his fourth had he not gotten hurt a few games into the 2021 season. Ratledge has been a rock-solid player for the Georgia despite getting off to slow(ish) starts in 2022 and 2023. He’s a strong pass blocker but excels in the run game. The right guard spot is his although there may be a bit of a rotation.

Dylan Fairchild (575 career snaps): A state championships wrestler in high school, Fairchild got a chance to play a lot in 2023 when Amarius Mims went down with a high-ankle sprain. Xavier Truss moved from left guard to right tackle and Fairchild took over the starting job and got a lot of those snaps. He was up and down to start but he got better as the year went on. It was quickly apparent, however, that he brought a physical element to the position.

Micah Morris (448 career snaps): Mims’ injury opened the door for Morris to get some valuable snaps, too. He rotated with Fairchild at left guard and saw some action at right guard as well. Morris is one of the most powerful players on the Georgia roster. He saw some action at left tackle in the Orange Bowl and is the type of player who can fill multiple roles. There are folks inside the UGA facility who believe he has the tools to be the best lineman on the roster.

Xavier Truss (1,824 career snaps): We see Truss being more of a factor at tackle than guard but he can play both positions at a winning level. Most of his career snaps have come at left guard and he has played some on the right side as well. If Georgia has a couple of injuries on the interior, Truss would likely get some run at one of those spots.

Big games…

Georgia is very much battle-tested at the guard position. Both Truss and Ratledge were full-time starters as the Bulldogs blew through the 2022 post season and won a National Championship. They played some of their best ball during the SEC Championship game and the playoff.

Fairchild and Morris each got some run in the 2023 SEC Championship game but they weren’t really factors the year prior. They did, however, see some action in big regular-season games, both home and away.

Expectations…

Georgia fans should be pretty excited about how talented and experienced the Bulldogs are on the interior. Ratledge is a known commodity with Fairchild and Morris very close to it. The latter two players should go through this offseason with a lot of confidence. That trio gives the Bulldogs the ability to move teams off the ball on the interior and each of them are gifted pass protectors.

Truss brings some depth to the spot but there isn’t much after him. Georgia goes from extremely seasoned with the first four guys to very young and inexperienced with the next group of guys. We’ll be keeping an eye on Daniel Calhoun. While the Walton High School product can play tackle, he’s likely a better fit at guard early in his career.

The post Run It Back: What Georgia returns at offensive guard in 2024 appeared first on On3.