On Tuesday morning, offensive lineman Ben Cleveland added his name to the list of Georgia players who have opted out of playing in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Friday against No. 8 Cincinnati to focus on preparing for the NFL draft.
“This decision did not come easy, but after talking with my family and coaches, I know the time is now to take this step toward my future,” Cleveland wrote in a statement he shared on Twitter. “Football means the world to me, and I have dreamed about playing in the NFL since I was a kid. This has been a wild year with everything going on in the world, but I am healthy, prepared and ready for the next step.”
Cleveland started all nine games at right guard as a fifth-year senior and leaves behind a large hole on the right side of the line — both literally and figuratively. Both for Friday’s game and looking ahead to next season, the right guard spot is one the No. 9 Bulldogs will need to fill. Sophomore Warren Ericson, who has played center and right guard this season, is one option, though he’s been filling in at center while Trey Hill recovers from knee surgery.
“We’re kinda taking it day by day,” Ericson said Tuesday. “We had different guys filling in at different positions. We’ll have the best guys out there to give us the best chance to win. I’ve moved over to play a little right guard, had (freshman) Sedrick (Van Pran) play a little center, had (senior Justin) Shaffer move around a little bit. Had (redshirt freshman Xavier) Truss come in, had (junior) Jamaree (Salyer) move around a little bit. We’ve just been moving around.”
These days, it’s not unusual for college football teams to have to sort out new starting lineups for their bowl games, and Georgia has been no exception in recent years. Even in last season’s Sugar Bowl, Cleveland was ruled academically ineligible and both starting tackles opted out, which meant new starters on the offensive line — including Ericson, who made his first career start in that game.
“We went through it before,” Salyer said. “We had that experience. A lot of those young guys were there. A lot of those guys that were freshmen then are sophomores now, so they were there. We have more of that culture of like, ‘OK, we understand what has to be done. We understand how to approach this game.’ ... I think this year, we’ve got a pretty good game plan going into it, and we’re excited about the guys that have to step up.”
Cleveland’s experience and senior leadership will be missed, but both Salyer and Ericson — and, by extension, the rest of the offensive linemen — seem confident they’ll be able to fill his role both in the Peach Bowl and moving forward.
“Ben’s gone and (we) wish him all the best,” Ericson said. “When he was in there, he definitely made a difference, but like Jamaree said, we’re confident in the guys we’ve got. Whoever’s gonna step up to the plate is gonna play really well.”
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