UGA’s offensive line gets ‘good pub’ as semifinalist for national award

Georgia’s offensive line has engaged in a tremendous turnaround over the past year.

In 2016, the line was a much-maligned group that received a lot of blame for the offense’s inconsistency. This season, the line has been an offensive strength, paving the way for an average of 267.4 rushing yards per game.

The line has also only allowed 14 sacks this season. With its performance to date, Georgia’s offensive line is a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award. This is an honor that goes to most outstanding offensive line in college football. The other semifinalists are Alabama, Auburn, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Stanford and Wisconsin.

In determining the winner for the Joe Moore Award, units are evaluated based on “toughness, effort, teamwork, consistency, technique and finishing.”

Running back Nick Chubb said it has been great to see the offensive line get after opposing defenses week in and week out.

“I’m proud of those guys,” Chubb said. “I’ve seen those guys work their tails off.”

Georgia has played eight linemen with the first team this season. Left tackle Isaiah Wynn, left guard Kendall Baker, center Lamont Gaillard, right guard Solomon Kindley and right tackle Andrew Thomas have played the majority of the season as starters. Pat Allen began the season as Georgia’s starting left guard before Baker supplanted him in the second week of the season. Dyshon Sims started the first two games at right guard as Kindley recovered from an ankle injury. Sims also started at right guard against Tennessee for the same reason, although Kindley was able to rotate in.

Last week against Kentucky, Ben Cleveland entered the starting lineup for the first time in his career at right guard, replacing Kindley.

The difference from last year to this one has been stark. Chubb has run for 1,045 yards through 11 games and running back Sony Michel has totaled 818 – despite missing a game against Samford. In total, Georgia has run for 2,941 yards and 32 touchdowns.

“That’s amazing because those guys get bashed all the time, (saying) they’re not blocking,” Michel said. “Last year, everybody said, ‘They’re not good,’ but they almost had two 1,000-yard rushers. It’s amazing they can finally get some good pub.”

This story was originally published November 22, 2017 at 10:36 AM with the headline "UGA’s offensive line gets ‘good pub’ as semifinalist for national award."