ATHENS, Ga. - There was once a time when Georgia redshirt freshman right guard Solomon Kindley wasn't relegated to the offensive line.
"In elementary school, I was my flag football team's quarterback," a beaming Kindley said this week. "I played running back. I played everything."
At 6-foot-4 and 341 pounds, Kindley is the most massive member of an offensive front that has spearheaded a Bulldogs rushing attack that is averaging a healthy 284.0 yards a game and 6.0 yards per carry. In last week's 42-7 win over Southeastern Conference Eastern Division rival Florida in Jacksonville, Georgia rushed for 292 yards and 8.3 a pop.
That made Kindley quite happy, given that he's from Jacksonville.
"I think we're playing really good right now," he said. "We're playing together. We're playing fast and physical, which is our No. 1 motto. If we play fast and physical and communicate with each other, everything after that plays out by itself."
Amazingly, Georgia's 292 rushing yards against Florida was its lowest total of the last month, with the Bulldogs having pounded Tennessee for 294, Vanderbilt for a whopping 444 and Missouri for 389. Georgia has done this with three new starters - Kindley, junior left guard Kendall Baker and freshman right tackle Andrew Thomas - and with senior left tackle Isaiah Wynn and junior center Lamont Gaillard playing new positions from a year ago.
Kindley, who weighed close to 400 pounds as a Raines High School sophomore, is certainly winning coach Kirby Smart over on a unit that is anything but the team's weak link.
"He is a very bright, articulate young man, and he enjoys the game of football," Smart said. "He is a joy to be around, but he is not always the best practice player, and he knows he has to work at that. He covers people up well, and, as he gains more strength and more quickness, I hope he will begin to get more movement and become a dominant guard to where he can reach his full potential."
Said Kindley: "Nobody really looks at the offensive line until it does something bad. Our guys in the meeting room, especially Isaiah and Lamont, are pushing us to be our best and to fight hard and to stay as a family."
Kindley was slowed by an ankle injury at the beginning of this season, but his insertion into the starting lineup has coincided with Georgia's top rushing performances.
Excessive weight likely cost Kindley a higher rating in the recruiting process, but the consensus three-star prospect did reportedly lose 46 pounds during his final three seasons at Raines. His current size still dwarfs that of the linemen Smart used to combat in practice as a Georgia safety, with the likes of Jonas Jennings, Steve Herndon and Matt Stinchcomb 20 years ago weighing between 280 and 300 pounds.
"They just keep getting bigger," Smart said. "I thought they were big when I was here. They just keep getting bigger."
Kindley, of course, doesn't need to be reminded of his size. He lives it every day.
"In some cars, I'll have my knees all the way into the dashboard," he said.
No family party
Smart was asked Wednesday on the SEC teleconference if his wife or kids had congratulated him on Tuesday night's No. 1 placement in the inaugural College Football Playoff rankings.
"My kids were in bed when I got home, and they were in bed when I left," Smart said. "I just saw some pictures from my wife of them in their Halloween outfits."
Odds and ends
The Bulldogs (8-0, 5-0) continued preparations for South Carolina (6-2, 4-2) on Wednesday with a two-hour practice in full pads. Senior Nick Chubb on whether he minded that spreading the wealth among the tailbacks has taken him out of Heisman Trophy consideration: "I don't want it. They can keep it."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.