ATHENS – Lewis Cine and Jamaree Salyer were on hand for interviews after Georgia’s first football practice of 2021 and they answered, best they could, two of the biggest questions of the spring.
Yes, said Cine the safety, he and everybody else in the secondary is getting a look at cornerback.
And, yep, Salyer the offensive lineman said, he might play guard this season, but very well might end up back at left tackle or even center, if that’s the way it shakes out.
More definite answers should come over the next five weeks as the Bulldogs conduct their next 14 of 15 allowable spring practices, culminating with G-Day on April 17. The first of those Tuesday was, by all accounts, a pretty intense one.
“Awesome,” was senior punter Jake Camarda’s description.
All 100 or so players had to get their work done inside the Payne Indoor Athletic Center, as rain chased the team indoors for the first day. The day was heavy on conditioning and drill work, but they did get to line up a little and get an idea of what things might look like next fall.
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Cine, a junior free safety, is one of two returning starters in the secondary and is expected to contend for all-SEC honors – at least. But even he hasn’t been immune to the experimentation at cornerback, where the Bulldogs are seeking replacements for NFL-bound starters Eric Stokes and Tyson Campbell.
“Kirby was not lying when he said everyone was getting a look at cornerback; I mean, he’s tried everyone, including myself,” said Cine, who led the defensive backs with 52 tackles from safety last season. “But, I don’t know, if I’m put there, I’m going to play it to the best of my ability.”
Salyer, a rising senior, played the first nine games of last season at left tackle and actually performed quite well. But after playing guard for most of his college career, Salyer moved back inside to left guard for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
Salyer said he legitimately could play either spot next season, and maybe even center, too.
“Whatever Coach says he’s wants me to do, I’m putting my hand down and playing it,” said Salyer, who played at 6-foot-4, 325-pounds last season. “Oh course, God gave some people 6-8 and 40-inch arms; it wasn’t me. But I can play. Don’t get me wrong, I can go out there and play with the best of them. And I did for 10 or 12 games. But I’m not the coach.”
Credit: UGA Athletics
Credit: UGA Athletics
Salyer said they rotated a lot Tuesday and probably will all spring. Xavier Truss, a 6-7, 330-pound redshirt freshman, started in the bowl game and drew mixed reviews. But the Bulldogs have a myriad of possibilities to try at football’s marquee line position, including 6-7, 320-pound freshman Amarius Mims and 6-4, 300-pound redshirt freshman Broderick Jones.
Both have impressed Salyer.
“He’s one of the God-givens at 6-8 coming out of the (meeting) room,” Salyer said of Mims. “He’s got it. He’s just got to build on it and get in there with (strength coach Scott) Sinclair.”
Of Jones, Salyer said: “Oh, man, that kid. You’re talking about somebody that can just protect like somebody I’ve never seen before. He’s one of those that’s just got it. … He’s got to work on small things, stay in the weight room, keep grinding, get the playbook down. But that’s something all young players have to do.”
Realizing that Georgia’s playing a “no joke” season opener against Clemson in what’s anticipated as a top-5 matchup Sept. 4 in Charlotte, Salyer said he’s ready and willing to play left tackle, if needed.
“Playing left tackle in the SEC, you’ve got to be a grown man,” Salyer said. “You’ve got to play a certain kind of way and having to lead at that position was a different experience. It changed the way I looked at football.”
The Bulldogs have a long, long way to go before all those important decisions. In the time being, there’s a lot still to learn about each other with a lot of new faces around. A record 16 early-enrollee freshmen are participating in spring practice, and the defensive backs are adjusting to a new position coach in assistant Jahmile Addae (pronounced juh-MILE uh-DIE), who took over after Charlton Warren left for a defensive coordinator’s job.
“He came in with a lot of juice, he has a lot of energy, a very smart guy who knows his schemes, knows his stuff,” Cine said of Addae. “Based on what I’ve seen firsthand today, full practices, a very energetic guy who’s very hands on, and that’s something I really enjoy about him.”
All of these are, of course, very early impressions. Fourteen more practices over the next five weeks should be provide more enlightenment.
