Georgia Football: Offensive Line Key to Bulldogs Success in 2017

The Georgia football program and head coach Kirby Smart are under watchful eyes in 2017, and the offensive line will have to show improvement for this team to move forward.

In 2016, the optimism of Georgia football fans was unreasonably high, as it typically is when any major program hires a new coach.

There is more guarded optimism in Athens this year, but the expectations are still there for a hungry fanbase.

If Kirby Smart is going to live up to the expectations of fans in 2017, he will need the Georgia offensive line to take a major step forward. Any hope of assuaging doubts about the offensive line evaporated after the G-Day spring game, as the quality of that unit was still left unanswered.

The Bulldogs do face other questions: Will Jacob Eason blossom in his sophomore season in the same way Matthew Stafford once did at Georgia? Who will be the starters at receiver? Will the Bulldogs be able to build a more dominant defensive line?

Still, these questions are absolutely secondary next to the major question of the offensive line. Because it doesn’t matter how much improvement Eason shows in practice if he doesn’t have enough time to throw the ball during a game. Nick Chubb may be a first round talent, but if his offensive line allows initial contact behind the line of scrimmage, it’s going to be a long season.