John Theus believes Kendall Baker is one to watch at tackle next season

Georgia has a couple of questions to answer on its offensive line next season, with two starters and one key contributor graduating.

Linemen John Theus, Kolton Houston and Hunter Long are all leaving after exhausting their collegiate eligibility. That leaves three returning starters in Brandon Kublanow, Isaiah Wynn and Greg Pyke for Georgia’s 2016 offensive line.

Two players will need to step into vacant places on the line, which could wind up anywhere based on how new offensive line coach Sam Pittman wants to align his personnel.

Theus, however, offered one name to watch out for in 2016. He said redshirt freshman Kendall Baker is someone who could step in and contribute without the line missing a beat.

"Kendall Baker’s going to be a really good player for us," Theus said. "Kendall, I think, is a right tackle. But that’ll be up to coach Pittman. In my opinion, he’s a right tackle. He’s really athletic, strong, a big kid. Under some good guidance I think he can be a very good player."

Baker, a 6-6 offensive tackle, spent the year on the second team and logged game action against South Carolina, Southern and Kentucky.

As for the other spot on the line, it could come down to someone already on the roster or perhaps five-star tackle Ben Cleveland. Cleveland could potentially step in at left tackle as a true freshman, which would move Wynn back to left guard. Wynn began the 2015 season at left guard before moving to left tackle against Kentucky.

"Isaiah is so dynamic, he can play any position on the line," Theus said.

Theus was also asked about true freshmen linemen Pat Allen (Reisterstown, Maryland) and Sam Madden (Barnegat, New Jersey), and whether they could contribute. Theus said the two linemen possess potential which could be utilized at some point.

"Coming in freshman year, it’s definitely a change from high school to college, especially coming from up north playing high school ball where it’s a little bit different," Theus said. "They made some adjustments and improved throughout the year. As far as next year goes I don’t know about them. That’s tough to say. Spring will be a big time for them for the new coaches to see how they do."

This story was originally published January 7, 2016 at 10:52 AM with the headline "John Theus believes Kendall Baker is one to watch at tackle next season."