NASHVILLE — As eager as Georgia fans are to watch the No. 3 Bulldogs kick off the season, the left side of the so-called “Great Wall” is just as excited.
Outland Trophy candidates Andrew Thomas and Solomon Kindley met with the media in Athens earlier this week and made it clear they’re eager to lead the way for the Bulldogs’ offense in the 7:30 p.m. Saturday game at Vanderbilt.
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“We set standards for ourselves, we want to be the best O-Line in the country,” Thomas said. “I’m excited to play against someone else, we’ve been banging against red (jerseys) this whole camp.”
Kindley is in lockstep with his former roommate’s mentality.
“It’s go time, the whole team knows that it’s go time,” Kindley said. “Everybody knows it’s about time to hit another opponent.”
Georgia looks to start Thomas at left tackle, Kindley at left guard, Trey Hill at center, either Cade Mays or Ben Cleveland at right guard and Isaiah Wilson at right tackle.
The No. 3-ranked Bulldogs have led the nation in rushing offensive the past two seasons, and there’s no reason to believe 2019 won’t be a repeat.
Returning 1,000-yard rusher D’Andre Swift has been listed on preseason Heisman Trophy Watch lists.
The stable runs deep behind him: senior Brian Herrien, sophomore James Cook and redshirt freshman Zamir White are all expected to impress.
Thomas, in fact, said the offensive lineman are looking forward to seeing what all the ball carriers and receivers do in the opener.
“I”m excited to see what some of our skill players are going to do, we lost a lot last year,” Thomas said. referring to the attrition following last season. “We kind of know a lot from the offensive line standpoint with a lot of guys coming back, but I’m excited to see what the skill guys are going to do.
“Just all the receivers that just came in, and I’m excited to see what the tight ends are going to do, and especially the new running backs that are here.”
Kindley said whoever is carrying the ball, he’s confident they will make the offensive line look good.
“We have every kind of running back there is, and that’s good for your offense, and it makes you look good on film when you’re blocking for them,” Kindley said. “Sometimes, we might miss a block, and Swift, Brian, Zamir or James, even Prather (Hudson), they might go for 60 making five people miss.
“So that’s the luxury of having great running backs.”
No doubt, but it all starts up front with an offensive line unit some believe could be the best in the country.
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