Georgia Offensive Lineman Andrew Thomas has been a key piece of the offense this season especially against Kentucky. He was recognized on Monday as the SEC Co-Offensive Player of the week. His performance in last Saturday’s game allowed Georgia to rush for 331 yards and claim the SEC East title.

Thomas does not claim the award as his own but gives credit to the entire offensive line.  “It is a good accomplishment, but I give that to the offensive line as a unit. We rushed for 331 yards and I don’t even think we gave up a sack, so I think it was a good team effort.”

Another topic that Thomas commented on was freshmen stepping up to the challenge and getting on the field, specifically Trey Hill.

“We knew Trey was a talented kid. He has been working hard,” he said. “When he came into the game, he had a small mishap with the snap, but after that, he played very well for a freshman coming in that hasn’t played that much coming in. It is very important that the young guys are able to step up. That is a good thing when we are trying to compete for a National Championship.”

Hill has seen action in all nine games thus far as a true freshman. Against Kentucky, he took on the task of filling in as the center after starter Lamont Gaillard left the field with a hyperextended knee.

Georgia is looking ahead to the Auburn game, and Thomas had only good things to say about the Tiger’s defensive line.  “I know for a fact every year that their front seven is very talented, very physical, and we have to run the ball to win the game, so we’ll be working on that,” he said.

The Georgia Auburn rivalry is fierce and can often end with unexpected results. Georgia has to make sure that they are fully prepared so that there are no surprises.

“Every week we have to come with the same approach. When you become lackadaisical that is when you slip-up as a team,” said Thomas. We are working to get better because we have to win out the rest of the way to be where we want to be.”