Kirby Smart has always prioritized the offensive line in his time at Georgia.

The best Georgia teams have had elite offensive lines, usually stocked with former elite recruits. Georgia has landed five 5-star offensive tackles in the time since Smart took over the program, with four becoming first-round draft picks. Cade Mays, who transferred out of Georgia, is the lone exception.

Monroe Freeling is the most recent 5-star example, as he was taken in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers. He needed just three seasons in Athens to become a first-round pick.

Georgia has options to replace Freeling this fall. But none of them carry the same lofty recruiting ranking that Freeling did during his time in Athens.

This upcoming season will be the first time since Smart’s first in Athens —2016 — that Georgia does not have a 5-star offensive lineman on the roster.

Given how well Georgia has recruited the offensive line under Smart, this would seem to indicate the offensive line is a position of concern for the Bulldogs.

Yet that isn’t the case for Georgia, at least on paper.

Earnest Greene is likely to be Freeling’s replacement. Greene just missed out on being a 5-star prospect, finishing as the No. 45 overall player in the 2022 class.

Greene has more than 20 starts at left tackle for the Bulldogs. He started at right tackle for Georgia last season.

The worry for Greene comes on the injury front, as he’s suffered multiple back injuries during his Georgia career. He also missed time during the 2024 season because of an upper-body injury.

With Greene moving from right to left tackle, the Bulldogs are looking for someone to step in at that spot. Georgia has made a real push to get Jah Jackson in a place where he can possibly contribute. Jackson was the No. 990 overall player in the class, about as far away from a 5-star recruit as Georgia has brought in on the offensive line.

Jackson was ranked so low not because of a lack of athletic gifts. At 6-foot-10 and 350 pounds, he is the biggest player on the team. Jackson didn’t play football during his high school career, instead pursuing a basketball path.

If it isn’t Jackson at right tackle, it will be Juan Gaston. Like Greene, he nearly missed being a 5-star prospect in his respective recruiting class. He finished as the No. 52 overall player in the 2025 recruiting class.

Last season, Gaston became the first true freshman since Andrew Thomas to start Georgia’s first game of the season. Gaston did so at right guard, a spot he would rotate in at over the course of the season.

Greene and Gaston may not be 5-star prospects, but you could certainly do a lot worse on the offensive line. Especially with Drew Bobo at center and Dontrell Glover at guard. While they were both 3-star prospects, they’ve already well outplayed those rankings.

If the Georgia offensive line is able to mitigate injuries, it could well be a strength this season. Even waiting in the wings is freshman Ekene Ogboko, who was the No. 36 overall player in the 2026 recruiting class. He may not step in and play when Georgia takes the field against Tennessee State on Sept. 5, but the Bulldogs hope he can contribute as a rotational player early in his career.

Georgia doesn’t have a 5-star offensive lineman in its 2027 recruiting haul at this point. Kennedee Jackson is the highest-rated commit, as he is the No. 112 overall player in the class. At least in the current recruiting cycle, it doesn’t seem like Georgia will be adding a 5-star offensive lineman.

The 2026 season will give us a much better idea about how important it is to have a 5-star player at the offensive tackle position. If Greene and Gaston can hold up, perhaps Georgia can elect to divert its funds to other high-end talents.

But if Georgia’s depth is tested and the offensive line, which has a new position coach in Phil Rauscher, doesn’t play well, it is going to be worth examining how critical 5-star prospects have been to Georgia’s success on the offensive line.