UGA’s starting left tackle Andrew Thomas fielded questions from the media during his post-practice interview on Wednesday. The junior offensive lineman talked about the depth of the Bulldogs along the o-line and how that will help Georgia versus Tennesse as well as on down the road later in the season.

With injuries to the Dawgs’ starting offensive line that includes left guard Solomon Kindley and right tackle Isaiah Wilson, Georgia has had to have players come off the bench in practically all four of their games. For a lot of teams, that would mean panic mode, but for UGA, its next man up and business as usual. Sophomore Cade Mays and junior Justin Shaffer have been two of the players the Bulldogs’ coaching staff have leaned on in those instances.

“I think it just shows our talent across the board,” said Thomas. “When somebody goes down, we have somebody that’s just as good, or maybe even better, that can come in and do their job pretty well.”

Of course, one reason for Georgia’s depth on the offensive line is due to the job offensive line and assistant head coach Sam Pittman has done in recruiting and developing talent. Thomas says about Coach Pittman:

“He develops them in practice every day we approach like you’re a one; so, when your name is called, your ready.”

Thomas also shared what the o-line does as a group when one of their own does go down with an injury and has to come off the field.

“When somebody comes in like if something happens, we bring the offensive line group together and just say that this ship keeps rolling,” said Thomas. “Regardless of what happens, we’ve got to do our job.”

How important does Thomas think that depth is for the Bulldogs?

“I think it is going to play a big part. Not just our offensive line but our whole team,” said Thomas. “We have so much depth, I think it is going to help us later in the season.”

Thomas also goes on to talk about teammates Trey Hill, Cade Mays, and Justin Shaffer and what they bring to the table on the offensive line, and he discusses the challenge the Dawgs’ o-line faces in this weekend’s game against the Tennessee defense. You can listen to Andrew Thomas‘ full interview by clicking on the video below.

On what he remembers from last year’s game against Tennessee…

“I remember it being a really physical game. They played us really well in the second half also, so they’re a good time coming out in the second half. So, that’s a big thing to focus on is finishing.”

On the complexity of Tennessee’s fronts and how Georgia will adjust…

“They’re base front, so a lot like our team, so we’re used to that. On third down they have a lot of odd, exotic stuff we have to be prepared for. … A big thing is execution before the snap, making sure everyone is on the right page regardless of what they’re doing. If we don’t know our roles, know our jobs, it really doesn’t matter.”