ATHENS — ESPN analyst Cole Cubelic says Georgia football center Lamont Gaillard is “a joy to watch” and the best returning player at that position in the SEC.

Cubelic, who played center at Auburn from 1996-2001, tweeted out his ranking of the league’s top returning centers on Wednesday morning.

 

 

“Gaillard understands the leverage, angles and nuances of the position,” Cubelic told DawgNation. “He plays his ass off, consistently finishes, never leaves his teammates out to dry and for me he is a joy to watch.”

Gaillard came to Georgia as a 4-star defensive tackle from Fayetteville, N.C.,  before flipping over to offense where he started 13 games as a guard his sophomore season before taking over at center last season.

“To be honest, I didn’t know where I was going to play, [and] as long as I’m on the field somewhere I was going to be happy with it,” Gaillard said before the switch to center.

“When I made the move to offense, I wasn’t excited about it, but obviously it worked out for the best. So I’m just going to keep doing my best as I go along.”

Obviously, it’s worked out pretty well for Gaillard and the team.

Georgia football defensive lineman Michael Barnett was asked Tuesday night what makes Gaillard so effective.

“Knowing the game,” Barnett said. “He came in as a defensive lineman and moved to the offensive line, so he understands what we do, and that helps give him an advantage on the offensive line.”

Alabama center Ross Pierschbacher was voted preseason first-team All-SEC at SEC Media Days in Atlanta in July.

RELATED: Georgia football offense void of first-team All-SEC picks

Georgia didn’t have preseason All-SEC on offense, while only defensive backs Deandre Baker and J.R. Reed were selected first-team on defense.

Georgia football Lamont Gaillard G-Day interview