Georgia starting offensive lineman Tate Ratledge out for season

ATHENS – Georgia has lost offensive lineman Tate Ratledge for the season.

The 6-foot-6, 320-pound guard from Rome barely had gotten his redshirt freshman season started Saturday against Clemson when he felt a pop in his foot on the Bulldogs’ first offensive possession. After tapping his helmet to inform coaches he needed to come out of the game, trainers confirmed what he feared – a fractured foot.

Ratledge’s mother, Mary Ratledge, confirmed the news Sunday on her Facebook page. Later, Ratledge used his Twitter page to thank fans for their prayers and vowed to be back soon.

Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, that’s going to be later rather than sooner. According to a person with knowledge of the situation, Ratledge suffered what’s called a Lisfranc fracture. That’s a particularly troublesome break because of where it is located in the foot and how hard it is to rehab. It will require surgery, which Ratledge is expected to undergo later this week.

Ratledge was hurt on Georgia’s fourth offensive play of the game as he was pass-blocking Clemson defensive tackle Bryan Bresee. The two went head-to-head often in elite-prospect camps as rising high school seniors in 2019, often battling to a draw.

With Ratledge sidelined, the Bulldogs immediately subbed in junior Warren Ericson. Ericson is also injured, still wearing a soft cast on a broken left hand. At the time of the injury, Ericson was the Bulldogs’ starting center. Ericson was alternating with redshirt freshman Sedrick Van Pran snapping the ball to quarterback JT Daniels in pregame warmups. Van Pran ended up getting the starting nod.

Ericson played well enough at guard for the Bulldogs to record a 10-3 win. Georgia’s offense managed just 256 yards against Clemson’s highly-regarded defense. But it did manage 121 yards rushing, including 74 from Zamir White. White’s jarring 10-yard run on third-and-short for what was the victory-clinching first down against the Tigers came right through Ericson’s block at right guard.

Ericson is very familiar with right guard. He played there in seven of the nine games he played last year, before starting the final two games at center. Ericson also got his first career start at right guard and played every snap for the Bulldogs in their Sugar Bowl win over Baylor.

Georgia has other options at right guard, including junior Owen Condon (6-7, 310) and redshirt freshman Chad Lindberg (6-6, 325), both of whom are considerably larger than the 6-4, 305-pound Ericson. College offensive lines typically feature big, physical guards who are exceptional run blockers. Ratledge checked those boxes for the Bulldogs.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart had been complimentary of Ratledge’s work coming into this season.

“He’s tough, he’s got a physical presence, he’s strong and does a great job in the weight room,” Smart said. “In the SEC, you’ve got to have a firm pocket and you’ve got to be able to move people. You’re going to go against the best defensive lines every year in our conference and you’ve got to have some mass. You’ve got to have some guys who can sustain heavy rushers and we think Tate does a good job with that.”

Ratledge also did a good job of growing a mullet, too. Bar Stool Sports reportedly signed him to an NIL deal earlier this year because of his mullet, which it the digital pop-culture website determined to be one of the best in college football.

Meanwhile, Georgia has to figure out what’s going on with its players’ feet. The Bulldogs have been inundated with foot injuries this year. Tight ends Darnell Washington and John FitzPatrick and defensive back Tykee Smith all have been sidelined with various degrees of foot sprains and/or fractures since preseason camp began in early August.

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