There is no deeper position group on Georgia's football team right now than the offensive line, where the Bulldogs have stockpiled a staggering seven top-100 national prospects in the past three recruiting cycles.
"You definitely have people you can relate to," sophomore Jamaree Salyer said Thursday night in a news conference. "Every day, we go out there and we feed off each other. We're all trying to be just as good as the next person, and that's what makes us better as a collective group."
Georgia held its eighth of 15 spring practices Thursday, working out for two hours. The Bulldogs are scheduled to scrimmage Saturday inside Sanford Stadium.
Salyer signed with Georgia in 2018 as the nation's No. 1 guard prospect and the No. 10 overall recruit in the 247Sports.com composite rankings. The 6-foot-4, 325-pounder from Atlanta's Pace Academy played in 13 of 14 games last year as a reserve, getting extensive action in blowouts of South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech.
It wasn't the significant impact Salyer may have wanted, but he has quickly made up for that in his first spring, having worked the past few weeks at center, right guard and right tackle.
"The biggest jump has been that guy," fourth-year Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart said recently. "You kept waiting on it, because you knew you were getting a really talented player. I didn't see the Jamaree that I've seen this spring any in the fall. He's challenging some guys."
Sawyer has even worked some this spring as the first-team right guard, sharing time with redshirt junior Ben Cleveland. When asked Thursday about those remarks from Smart, his bearded face lit up.
"It's always good to hear the big man call your name in any capacity," Salyer said, "but I'm just working every day to get better. My goal isn't to beat people out. It's to get better and to maximize my potential."
Georgia's most dominant current lineman is junior left tackle Andrew Thomas, who is a two-year starter and was a Sports Illustrated All-American last season. The 6-5, 320-pound Thomas was a year ahead of Salyer at Pace, and the two have known each other since middle school.
"Jamaree is pretty much like my brother," Thomas said. "He is working a little at center, but mostly he is playing right guard or right tackle. He has done really well and understands what he has to learn to be successful."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.