UGA assistant praises Hughes football program for freshman guard’s readiness

NEW ORLEANS — Dontrell Glover has been a real success story for most of his freshman season at Georgia.

Despite arriving at Georgia this summer, one of only four freshmen who didn’t enroll early, Glover was able to carve out a starting spot for himself on the Georgia offensive line. The freshman from Langston Hughes High School started 11 of his 13 games for Georgia at right guard.

“As a freshman coming in May and getting a starting position, it was surprising,” Glover said Tuesday during a Sugar Bowl media event.

Glover was not some highly touted recruit, nor does he possess the standout measurables that fellow freshman Juan Gaston did.

Yet it was Glover who really helped stabilize the offensive line.

“He comes from a really good high school program,” offensive line coach Stacy Searels said of Glover. “I’ve watched those guys practice there at that high school. It was a demanding practice. Coming to Georgia, it’s similarly very physical and demanding. He transitioned very well.”

In the four years that Glover played at Hughes, the Panthers won a state championship (2022) and made the finals twice.

Glover earned a spot on the SEC’s All-Freshman team for his play this season.

Yet since Georgia’s last game, Glover’s name has been in the headlines for the wrong reasons.

Glover and fellow freshman Bo Walker were arrested on shoplifting charges Dec. 12. When asked what lessons he learned following his arrest, Glover declined to comment.

At Georgia’s practice Saturday, he was still working as the first-team player at right guard. On Georgia’s most recent availability report, he was not listed, indicating he would be available to play in Thursday’s game against Ole Miss.

“Yeah, both those guys, disappointed in their decision-making,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart previously said of Glover and Walker. “We always say decision-making is a skill, and they made poor decisions. They paid a consequence for that, and they’re continuing to pay a consequence for that, and they’ll finish up their consequences for that. So I hope both of them make better decisions in the future.”

Glover quickly became an important piece in Athens. That makes his recent arrest all the more disappointing for the Georgia program, given he’s done just about everything you’d want from a freshman at Georgia.

As the Bulldogs battled injury on the offensive line, it was Glover who stepped up for the Bulldogs.

“Just playing football and the eye test, you can go out there and see that he’s a ballplayer,” offensive tackle Earnest Greene said. “Donnie, from his first few snaps you could tell he’s had experience playing the game for a long time.”

Greene has lined up next to Glover at the right tackle position for the Bulldogs. The four-year starter has seen a lot in his time in Athens. Yet a freshman coming in and contributing as much as Glover has is rare.

The last freshman to start double-digit games on the offensive line for Georgia was Andrew Thomas, who did so back in 2017. He went on to be the No. 4 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft after an all-American career at Georgia.