Offensive line: Starting a summer series of synopses up front

I’m on vacation, so the UGA blog is on quasi-hiatus. But rather than shutting down entirely, I thought we could use this lull for a leisurely look at the 2010 football team. I put together synopses of the various position groups,  and one will post each weekday. Then the floor will be yours — at least those of you not on a beach somewhere. I hope everyone has a great summer. Just 82 days, by the way, until the season opener between the hedges.

THE OFFENSIVE LINE

• Returning starters: LT Clint Boling, LG Cordy Glenn, C Ben Jones, RG Chris Davis and RT Josh Davis.

• Others to watch: Trinton Sturdivant and Tanner Strickland are due back from knee and shoulder injuries, respectively, and  redshirt freshman Chris Burnette could make his presence felt.

• Key losses: All of the players who started at the end of last season are back, but one player with starting experience graduated (Vince Vance) and another shifted to the defensive line (Justin Anderson).

• Key fact: Georgia’s roster boasts players who have started an impressive total of 155 collegiate games on the O-line –- 38 by C. Davis, 36 by Boling, 23 by Glenn, 23 by Jones, 14 by Sturdivant, 12 by Anderson and 9 by J. Davis.

• Key fact II: Georgia had double the rushing yardage per game in the final seven games last season as in the first six –- improvement that coincided with a reconfiguring of the line when J. Davis took over at RT.

• Key question: Will Sturdivant, who has missed almost all of the past two seasons with knee injuries, be able to pick up where he left off as a freshman and reclaim his spot on the starting unit? (The latest from Mark Richt is that Sturdivant’s rehab has gone extremely well, that he should be ready for preseason practice and that there’s every reason to expect the best for him and from him.)

• Recent developments: Boling had arthroscopic surgery to “clean up” an ankle but is expected to resume full workouts soon. Glenn was a dominating player in spring practice, which culminated with him being named Offensive MVP.

• Outlook: Excellent. If the unit stays relatively healthy for the first time in three years, it should be the strength of the team. And it needs to be.

• Your turn: What say you about the offensive line?

Tomorrow: wide receivers.

Click here for Georgia’s latest football depth chart.

And please follow @ajcuga on Twitter for the latest on the Bulldogs all summer.