For the third time in his career at Georgia, fifth year senior Trinton Sturdivant has torn an ACL. Previously he had torn his ACL in his left knee twice and on Saturday he tore the one in his right knee. The first thought that went through my head when I heard was that it is a damn shame. Sturdivant started off his career in a very promising way by starting all of the games in his freshman year and being named a Freshman All-American. Prior to his sophomore year he went down with a season ending injury and he hasn’t quite been able to find his former form since. Sturdivant was to be a fifth year senior this year so it’s unclear whether this will be all for his career at Georgia or if he will petition the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility. Cbssports.com had Sturdivant ranked as the #8 tackle prospect in the 2012 draft class prior to the injury that he sustained Saturday.
Will Friend’s job as the new OL coach for Georgia just got a bit tougher. Not only is he trying to re-build a line that Stacey Searles left soft and in disarray, but now he has to replace one of his tackles. Before the injury to Sturdivant, Georgia looked to be set at four OL positions with heavy competition for the fifth spot. Now it will have two open spots. Cordy Glenn, who moved over from guard this spring (cbssports.com has him listed as the #5 guard prospect for the 2012 draft) will now no doubt play left tackle. Ben Jones is solidified at center and Kenarious Gates looked like he locked up a guard position with his performance last year. Justin Anderson switched back over from defense this spring so I would think he is a front-runner for the second guard position. The coaching staff now has a decision to make if they will move Gates over to tackle or go with someone else like Kolton Houston, A.J. Harmon, or Brent Benedict. This could also mean that one of the young in-coming offensive linemen will see some playing time this fall (Watts Dantzler, Zach DeBell, and Hunter Long).
My heart goes out to Sturdivant. By all reports he was working very hard in the off-season and this spring to get himself to where he needed to be and to have a third season ending injury is just crushing. I hope the best for him in the future.
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