Hey folks - as a member of the DawgNation community, please remember to abide by simple rules of civil engagement with other members:
- Please no inappropriate usernames (remember that there may be youngsters in the room)
- Personal attacks on other community members are unacceptable, practice the good manners your mama taught you when engaging with fellow Dawg fans
- Use common sense and respect personal differences in the community: sexual and other inappropriate language or imagery, political rants and belittling the opinions of others will get your posts deleted and result in warnings and/ or banning from the forum
- 3/17/19 UPDATE -- We've updated the permissions for our "Football" and "Commit to the G" recruiting message boards. We aim to be the best free board out there and that has not changed. We do now ask that all of you good people register as a member of our forum in order to see the sugar that is falling from our skies, so to speak.
- Please no inappropriate usernames (remember that there may be youngsters in the room)
- Personal attacks on other community members are unacceptable, practice the good manners your mama taught you when engaging with fellow Dawg fans
- Use common sense and respect personal differences in the community: sexual and other inappropriate language or imagery, political rants and belittling the opinions of others will get your posts deleted and result in warnings and/ or banning from the forum
- 3/17/19 UPDATE -- We've updated the permissions for our "Football" and "Commit to the G" recruiting message boards. We aim to be the best free board out there and that has not changed. We do now ask that all of you good people register as a member of our forum in order to see the sugar that is falling from our skies, so to speak.
How Sedrick Van Pran will have an ‘extreme’ impact on Georgia’s next quarterback
System
Posts: 11,459 admin
How Sedrick Van Pran will have an ‘extreme’ impact on Georgia’s next quarterback
Welcome to Good Day, UGA, your one-stop shop for Georgia football news and takes. Check us out every weekday morning for everything you need to know about Georgia football, recruiting, basketball and more.
Comments
We are fortunate to have Van Pran return. He is the most important player on the field when we have the ball. He keys the line and gets the ball to the QB. Centers are usually the best player on the field, and I think he's the best in college football. He'll be a great asset to the QB who wins the starting job. I can't wait 'til April. Go Dawgs!!!
I don't know what it is about the Georgia OL not getting enough credit -- either individually or collectively.
To me, it was clear before the 2021 playoffs that they were a better unit than the Wolverines' OL; after the '21 playoffs it was even more obvious. That goes doubly in 2022, when UGA's line got even better and Michigan's dropped off a bit. Any way you looked at -- statistically or when considering the competition -- Jones, Van Pran, McLendon & company were the best.
It also was absolutely bizarre, IMO, that Broderick Jones didn't even make third-team All-American (AP) or either of the first two SEC teams (coaches). He didn't give up a single sack -- from the blind side -- and showed great mobility on pulls and sweeps. But he wasn't one of the six best tackles in the country or one of the four best in the SEC? Seriously? C'mon.
Similar things could be said for Sedrick Van Pran. Given his playing time, his durability and consistency alone puts him in an elite position. I'm not saying he should have been first or even second team AA; center's a really hard position to evaluate and I'm far from qualified. But I believe he also rated higher than any other returning center (according to PFF), and yet he wasn't named last week ESPN's "way-too-early" All-American center.
One could say this doesn't matter. But on OL in particular the writers and coaches adopt narratives even before the season that this guy or that guy is "the one too watch" because they can't possibly watch them all. So I hope Sedrick is given his due.
Part of it may be that, particularly this past year, they worked so well together as team that they made it look easy almost all the time. Technical perfection doesn't look quite as impressive as brute force rolling, but it's actually a better indication of whether the OL is in control. Also, I suppose, both coaches and writers may also want to spread the love around after Georgia players garner a fair number of individual honors.
But this is a pet peeve of mine, because, truly, for all the amazing performances by skill players, our success has started with our OL. Despite losing three key members -- one of them, so tragically -- Sedrick's decision to stick around gives our OL a good chance to be just as dominant again.
I am glad to see that Van Pran is coming back for another year. He will be the leader the OL needs to be the best in the nation.....again. I don't care about the fictional top OL award that went to Michigan again, I won't even use its name since it obviously doesn't really exist. Van Pran is definitely deserving of the best award in all of college football, that of DGD!