On the first play of the second half, starting left tackle Andrew Thomas, who was a freshman All-American last season, went down with an ankle injury. In goes 5-star true freshman Cade Mays and he never looked back.
Its hard to imagine anyone maintaining the production that Thomas brings to the table, but Cade Mays did that and much more when Thomas went down in the second half.
Georgia didn’t skip a beat once Mays entered the game and scored that same drive. Mays won every rep during the Bulldog’s possession even pancaking a player one play.
“I have to watch the tape, but I thought when he first went in and watched him a couple of plays he was really physical at the point of attack,” Smart said. “Cade’s a competitor. Cade’s been working at left tackle for a while now. We have to continue to develop offensive lineman because if that’s who we want to be and we want to create that identity, then we got to have more than five guys that can help run the ball and help pass pro. I thought he came in a tough situation and played well.”
The depth on the offensive line is at an all-time high and life is so good for Kirby Smart that even when arguably the most valuable player on Georgia’s roster goes down the effects are almost insignificant.
One thing for sure is that Cade Mays will be getting lots of love and attention from Smart after his impressive performance against the Gamecocks.
If Andrew Thomas is gimpy for the game this upcoming weekend, Mays will get the first start of his career at left tackle against Middle Tennessee State.