Position Week: Three Georgia players to watch at offensive tackle

The summer is here and after enjoying an extended break in May, Georgia players have made their way back to Athens to participate in workouts. The calendar has turned to July and the team will spend the month getting bigger, stronger, faster, and more connected.

That work will be done out of sight but not out of mind. In order to make sure everyone knows Kirby Smart’s ninth Georgia team as well as possible, DawgsHQ is providing readers with a week-by-week look at every room on the roster with our Position Week series. Today we’re discussing three Georgia offensive tackles to keep an eye on in 2024.

Monroe Freeling

All three of the offensive tackles we’re discussing are from the same 2023 class. That’s because these guys make up an intriguing portion of Georgia’s present and future at the position. Freeling is the best example of that because he’s going to play a lot in 2024 and he may be a starter.

The former five-star prospect has put on a lot of really good weight since arriving in Athens and he has gotten himself in position to compete with a sixth-year super senior in Xavier Truss. The fact that he’s posing a major threat speaks to his overall talent and makeup. Freeling has some strides to make in the run game if he’s going to start in his second season at Georgia, but as long as he stays healthy, the South Carolina native is a significant part of the plan.

Jamal Meriweather

Georgia made a late run at the Brunswick, Ga. native in the 2023 class, stealing him away from UCF. I can’t speak for everyone but he was a bit of a forgotten man during his first season with the team. The buzz started to pick up toward the end of spring practice and it has only gotten louder and more frequent since.

Like Freeling, Meriweather has gotten significantly bigger since getting to Athens. He arrived just over a year ago and has put on 30-plus pounds while getting stronger and more confident. Meriweather didn’t have a great showing in the G-Day spring scrimmage but his first spring at Georgia was very productive overall. There are some close to the program who believe that he, not Freeling, might be the future at left tackle. Whether his future is on the left or right side, I’m curious to see if he can earn some meaningful snaps for himself.

Bo Hughley

This spring was a bummer for the Langston Hughes High School (Fairburn, Ga.) product. He, too, had his weight trending in the right direction during his first season on campus and was nearing 300 pounds when the decision was made to have labrum surgery and shut him down for his first spring at Georgia.

Since the spring we have heard that he is gaining that weight back and has things headed in the right direction. Georgia battled hard to land Hughley, who was a long-time commitment, for a reason. He’s long, athletic, and has a ton of upside. This is a big season for Hughley. Should Earnest Greene elect to turn pro early, something that has become commonplace for Georgia offensive tackles, Hughley has a chance to be part of a three-man rotation as soon as 2025.

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