Jones is ready to take over at left tackle
Jones is ready to take over at left tackle
The Georgia offensive lineman is ready to step into a bigger role in 2022...
Georgia has recruited at a high level since Kirby Smart took over as head coach.
The Bulldogs have had several top-five recruiting hauls since 2016, including a pair of No. 1 classes in 2018 and 2020. They have also landed a lot of blue-chip prospects throughout the years.
Smart hired Sam Pittman as the offensive line coach in 2016. He signed several top-100 offensive linemen during his four-year tenure in Athens. Smart then hired Matt Luke, who continued to recruit at such a high level, before retiring from his position in the spring. Now, Stacy Searels hopes to continue that strong tradition in 2022.
Georgia offensive lineman Broderick Jones experienced all of this change, whether it was during his recruitment process, or after he signed with the Bulldogs. He is a former five-star prospect.
The redshirt sophomore will be playing for his second position coach entering his third season. However, he’s embraced all of the change going since arrived on campus in 2020. Jones has also waited his turn to get on the field. He gained valuable reps last season as a part-time starter and played in two games during his freshman year in 2020.
Jamaree Salyer departed for the NFL this past spring, so Jones enters this season primed to be a full-time starter. He’s learned a lot from his former teammate and the young lineman will carry that into this fall as a key contributor for the Bulldogs in 2022.
“Salyer was a huge help to me because I was sitting behind him and still learning what to do, what not to do, little things to look for,” Jones said. “I was behind him but I was still learning. He was still teaching me stuff. The biggest thing I learned from him was physicality. He was always physical, so I'm just trying to take my game and implement his because he was so physical. I'm just trying to do the same thing: be more physical."
Jones acknowledges that his development has progressed since arriving in Athens, but knows he isn’t where he needs to be just quite yet. That drives him to become both a “better” teammate and player for Georgia, which is what the coaches look for in a player.
Jones will take over at the left tackle position for Georgia this season in place of Salyer. The Bulldogs offensive line has received a lot of praise heading into the 2022 season. They return several veterans like Jones who have a lot of in-game reps and experience.
He pointed out that he’s working hard toward pushing himself to be a better version of himself – whether it’s as Georgia’s starting left tackle - or as a leader for Georgia.
“I’m working towards the season because it’s right around the corner,” Jones added. “So, I am pushing myself to be the best version of me as I can.”
The best version of the former five-star prospect can be scary for opposing defenses. He was used as a true freshman during mop-up duty, but he helped pave lanes for running back Daijun Edwards to run, especially against South Carolina during the 2020 season.
Last season, Jones started the last four games for the Bulldogs at left tackle when Salyer moved over to another position, where his efforts earned him Coaches First-Team All-SEC honors. Jones also played a significant role in the national championship game.
He went in for Warren Ericson, who suffered an injury late in the contest against Alabama. Georgia’s offense finally started to find a rhythm toward the end of the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs were able to blow the game wide open with the help of their offensive line. It gave their playmakers a chance to thrive in the most important moments.
Georgia returns a wealth of experience on its offensive line, including players such as Jones, Ericson, Warren McClendon, Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, Tate Ratledge and Xavier Truss. The Bulldogs also will look to Austin Blaske, Jared Wilson, Devin Willock, Dylan Fairchild, Amarius Mims and Micah Morris to step up during the season.
Jones acknowledged that this position group has room to grow under Searels, but is very talented.
“I feel like the O-Line, we’re still progressing. We have an amazing unit,” Jones said. “[We have] a lot of talent, a lot of physicality. A lot of skill sets going on. So, I just feel like anyone on the O-Line can contribute at any time, at any position. It’s not about just one position.”
Jones will try and take on an even bigger role during his redshirt sophomore campaign. Although it hasn’t been officially announced yet, he is slated to start in the season opener against the No. 11 Oregon Ducks at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 3.
However, for Jones, there’s a lot of ground to gain before facing Oregon in Atlanta. He’s looking to be that better version of himself entering the season opener.
“Just come in hard, working every day. I’m just trying to hope to uphold the standard of the team, just never slacking,” Jones said. “Don't come out sluggish, because the offensive line has always been a physical unit. So, I just try to keep up with tradition, be physical in the run game, and be physical in the passing game. Just keep everything going.”