Kirby Smart Says This UGA Football Group Still Needs To "Grow Up"

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ATHENS - Towards the end of Georgia’s thrilling overtime win over Tennessee, the Bulldogs made some changes on the offensive line.

We saw Earnest Greene and Juan Gaston Jr. early on, but when the game was on the line, we saw true freshman Dontrell Glover at right guard with third-year lineman Bo Hughley at right tackle.

Now were Greene and Gaston 100%? It sure didn’t look like it. Regardless, Glover and Hughley took big steps forward down the stretch and in overtime. So did their quarterback.

Now, it’s a new week and a new challenge. And it’s a big one. Georgia Bulldog head coach Kirby Smart knows that group needs to continue to grow and play at a high level if the offense wants to keep improving.

But it’s not just the right side. They need to play well across the board when the Tide coming rolling into town.

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“They have to grow up” Smart told reporters this week. “We have to play better across the offensive line. It's not just one side or the other. I think when you look across college football, I tune in and watch games on Saturday, there's nobody I'm going, man, that's a dominant offensive line right there, they're just running up and down the field on this SEC defense. It doesn't happen. I mean, you don't see scores that are really high scoring. You see really good defensive personnel. You see tough road games. It's not going to be any different in ours. Every team in the SEC is trying to get their offensive line better or as close to right as you can get it. We'll be trying to do the same, trying to create depth and competition and grow guys in those areas.”

Now here comes the big question. 

Will Hughley and Glover continue to man the right side? Could Michael Uini earn a starting spot with a great week of practice? Has anyone seen Daniel Calhoun? Will the light turn on for Jahzare Jackson? There’s several options out there, but when the game mattered most, Searels went to Hughley and Glover. 

And it worked.

We’ll see if the plan works again this weekend.