Bama (Natl Champ)
Alabama Crimson Tide (National Championship)
L, 23-26
1/8

2009 OFFENSIVE LINE
By Nate | Monday, March 9, 2009 @ 8:17 am
CFN recently published their "Pre-Spring" SEC preview and their take on UGA's most glaring question entering 2009 was the offensive line. The o-line certainly has some questions to be answered, but I definitely disagree with CFN. Quarterback play, defensive end production and playmaking at corner all three have me more concerned than the offensive line. I'll concede that the starting 5 is by no means etched in stone, but that is simply because there are 7 or 8 guys that have a very legitimate shot at earning a starting spot. By the way, there is no way to predict injuries, so my analysis will assume everyone is 100% healthy for opening day. In my mind, there are 3 guys right now that you can bank on being in the starting line up: Sturdivant at LT, Jones at C and Boling somewhere. Boling is versatile enough to play either guard or tackle depending on who else steps up. I would predict the starting 5 against Okie State to be (left to right) Sturdivant, Chris Davis, Ben Jones, Boling and Vance at RT. I know Vance is coming off that ACL injury, but he really showed me something last season. I was not high on him going into last year, but he played well and showed way more heart than I had given him credit for. Being a senior this year, I expect him to fight off the other young guns to retain his starting spot. Given the talent surrounding him though, I wouldn't be surprised at all if the lineup is Sturdivant, Cordy Glenn, Jones, Justin Anderson, and Boling at RT. Glenn proved last season that he is a starter in the SEC and there's no way he's not at least in a rotation. Anderson has all the tools to be a dominant lineman if he can just get everything right between the ears. The other name I keep hearing about is AJ Harmon. He seems to be working very hard, and it sounds as if he will definitely be in the mix. Beyond the 8 names I've already mentioned, we will still have very capable back ups in Tanner Strickland, Jonathan Owens, Josh Davis (who has starting experience) and Ben Harden providing depth. And that still assumes that the talented freshmen Chris Burnette, Dallas Lee and Austin Long will redshirt. There's little doubt in my mind that, in spite of the currently unanswered questions, the offensive line will be a resounding strength of the 2009 Dawgs.

Couple of quick hitters:
  1. With Orson Charles signing, UGA moved up to 6th in Rivals.com's team recruiting rankings and 4th in Scout.com's team recruiting rankings.
  2. The baseball team is on a record setting pace, having started the season 12-0! The baseball team seems to always have alternating good and bad years, so it would be awesome if they could follow up last year's national runner-up season with another CWS appearance.
  3. The pre-spring depth chart has been released. Please read the notes at the bottom of the chart, as this list does not include injured players or freshmen who are not currently enrolled.
  4. A little late, so you've probably already seen these, but here are several pictures of a snowy UGA and Sanford Stadium:

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