The top objective on Georgia's offensive line this year has been determining who will take the place of three-year starting center David Andrews.
Brandon Kublanow seems to have that under control.
A 13-game starter last season at left guard, Kublanow was moved to center for the final two practices in April by new Bulldogs offensive line coach Rob Sale. The 6-foot-3, 282-pound junior from Marietta has remained there this month, where he has snapped the ball to the competing quarterback trio of Faton Bauta, Brice Ramsey and Greyson Lambert.
"This has been a much different position for me," Kublanow said this past week by phone. "I've been learning a lot of the calls and have been facing bigger and stronger guys, but it's been good. Adjusting to the snap has been the biggest thing, but I've gotten it down pretty good."
Sophomore Isaiah Wynn, a 6-2, 278-pound sophomore from St. Petersburg, Fla., worked as the starting center for most of the spring but was moved to Kublanow's left guard spot, where he still works.
Kublanow helped Georgia average 257.8 rushing yards a game last season, which led the Southeastern Conference, and the Bulldogs netted at least 379 total yards in every game. Bulldogs head coach Mark Richt said Kublanow has taken his position change "very seriously" and that it's a position of significant importance.
"I think it's on-the-field leadership that those centers and quarterbacks, especially, have to have," Richt said. "Everybody kind of counts on the quarterback to know what he's doing and to be able to direct people, but the center has a big job, too. He comes to the line of scrimmage every single time. He has to declare who the Mike linebacker is. He has to set a lot of the blocking schemes, and he has to be able to adjust on the fly if the quarterback overrides something and get the information to everybody.
"Then he has to snap the ball. A lot of people play that noseguard right over his face, so he has one hand to snap and one hand to play ball with for just a moment. That is a hard thing in itself, so it's a tough job description."
The shoes Kublanow has to fill are sizable.
Andrews was a second-team All-SEC selection last season and helped ease the program's abrupt quarterback transition in November 2013 from four-year starter Aaron Murray to Hutson Mason. Before Andrews was Ben Jones, who started from 2008 to '11 and is now with the Houston Texans.
Kublanow and Jones never overlapped, so it's Andrews who is serving as his role model.
"I really looked up to the way he carried himself here, because he always did the right thing and studied film really hard," Kublanow said. "I'm trying to model myself after what he did so the University of Georgia can keep having these great centers."
A four-star prospect out of Walton High School, Kublanow was projected both at guard and center. He was rated the No. 2 center nationally in the 2013 class by ESPN and Rivals.com.
Kublanow played nine games at guard as a freshman and has played 22 games for the Bulldogs at that position. Now his role contains everything from shotgun snaps - which he learned by watching examples online, according to Richt - to more responsibilities to more leadership aspects.
Especially with a quarterback situation that remains undecided.
"Despite all the adjustments I've had to make," Kublanow said, "I think I like playing center better than guard."
Odds and ends
Sophomore fullback Christian Payne, a preferred walk-on from Athens who started last season against Georgia Tech, suffered a leg injury in Friday's scrimmage that could keep him out of the first couple of games. The Bulldogs went through Picture Day festivities Saturday and will get another break from practicing today.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.