Drew Bobo is about to get a lot more comfortable against Oklahoma.
After opening the season with a club on his left hand, Bobo said that setup is coming off Saturday when Georgia faces the Sooners. For a lineman who has spent the first three weeks adjusting on the fly, the chance to play with both hands again is a welcome one.
"The first three weeks, just having to adjust to that [club] - I got used to it a little bit during camp, but it's just still different. With how big it is, you can't really get your hands inside too well," Bobo said. "Being un-clubbed on Saturday is going to be really fun, just to have an opportunity to play a really good defense without the club and have both hands."
Bobo injured his hand late in fall camp, which led to the game-day wrap on his left hand. He said it was manageable, but there was no hiding the fact that getting back to normal matters to him.
That toughness has been a constant in Kirby Smart’s view of him. Smart praised the way Bobo keeps showing up around the ball and never takes a snap off.
"You won't find a play that he doesn't cover down. He's by the pile, he's knocking people off the pile," Smart said.
"He has elite stamina to run and play and just keep playing. He can play every snap and not get tired.
His toughness, him playing with an injury that's been significant. … I'm just proud of what he's done, what he's meant to our program."
Bobo’s path to that trust started in a very different place: the scout team. He said he lined up at every spot up front during those early days, going head-to-head with Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, and Jalon Walker. That grind, rep after rep, helped shape him into a center Georgia can lean on now.
He’ll need that same edge against Oklahoma. Bobo said the Sooners, including defensive tackle David Stone if he’s available, bring a big, athletic front that looks a lot like what Georgia sees in practice. Even with Stone’s status still in flux, Bobo made it clear the challenge doesn’t change much.
Georgia’s offensive line had a rough day at Arkansas, and Bobo knows better play is going to be required if the Bulldogs want a shot.
This isn’t unfamiliar territory for him. Bobo also dealt with a hand laceration and a foot injury last season, and he had no desire to sit out at the start of this year. When he talked about playing through pain, he framed it as part of the job for an offensive lineman.
"I think I'm a high-effort player and I just like to play hard just for all my teammates on the field - just being able to give them all my effort and be able to do that," Bobo said. "And then also being tough, just playing through some injuries. I think that's what an offensive lineman's supposed to do."
In Other News...
Georgias First SEC Clash With Oklahoma Carries One Intriguing Twist
No. 2 Georgia gets a fresh SEC test this weekend when Oklahoma comes to Athens for the first regular-season meeting between the programs, and the matchup arrives with the Bulldogs still unbeaten while the Sooners have slipped out of the AP Top 25. Kirby Smart and Brent Venables both spent the lead-up talking through where their teams have been strong and where they still need work, a familiar tone for a game that carries plenty of curiosity even before kickoff.
One wrinkle could shape the way Oklahoma approaches the trip. Defensive tackle David Stone was hurt in practice with a knee injury, and his status remains uncertain, which adds another layer to a defense that will already be dealing with Georgias physical style at home. For the Bulldogs, it is another chance to stack a quality win against a new SEC opponent, but the Sooners are coming in with enough front-line talent and coaching familiarity to make this one more interesting than a simple rankings check. [Read more 🡒]
Kirby Smart Just Lost A Georgia Series Fans Really Wanted
A future Georgia-Clemson series that had been circled for years is no longer on the calendar, as the two programs mutually agreed to cancel the home-and-home set for 2029, 2030, 2032 and 2033. For Bulldogs fans, it is another reminder of how much the sports scheduling landscape has shifted, with heavyweight non-conference games becoming harder to lock in and even harder to keep intact as college football continues to reshape itself.
Kirby Smart and Dabo Swinney both sounded resigned to the decision, pointing to the way scheduling demands and playoff changes have altered the math for programs at the top of the sport. The matchup had carried obvious appeal because of the recent history between the schools, and Georgias future non-conference slate now looks different without it, even if the Bulldogs still have plenty of big-game opportunities ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Fans Have One Painful Reason To Watch Tennessee This Week
Saturdays SEC matchup between No. 1 Texas and No. 14 Tennessee carries a strange kind of interest in Athens. Georgia has its own business to handle against Oklahoma, but the result in Knoxville could shape the top of the rankings in a way that makes Bulldogs fans pay closer attention than they would normally like. For a program sitting right behind Texas, the path back to No. 1 suddenly runs through a game involving one of its old rivals.
Thats what makes this week feel a little uncomfortable for Georgia supporters. Tennessee is not exactly a school many in Athens are inclined to pull for, yet a Volunteers win could clear the way for Georgia to rise to the top if it takes care of Oklahoma. It is the kind of scoreboard-watching that comes with being in the thick of the playoff race, even if it means briefly setting aside some long-running rivalry feelings. [Read more 🡒]