ATHENS, Ga. --- The emergence of running back Washaun Ealey midway through last season bolstered a sluggish Georgia ground game, but the missing link may have been a player who wasn't credited with a single rushing yard.
When Josh Davis was plugged into the starting lineup at right offensive tackle Oct. 17 against Vanderbilt, the Bulldogs ranked last in the SEC and 104th in the nation in rushing at 97.2 yards per game.
In the six games Davis started, Georgia averaged 217 rushing yards per game.
"I think when you get five guys across the board that really know what they're doing and play with the kind of the effort and attitude that they had, it makes a big difference," coach Mark Richt said. "I think a lot of pieces of the puzzle were together, but when Josh came in, it kind of made the fifth guy that really could play in sync and in coordination. It was big."
With Davis returning from offseason surgery on both shoulders, the Bulldogs rushed for 173 yards against Vanderbilt, 304 against Tennessee Tech, 196 against Kentucky and 205 against Georgia Tech.
"I don't think it was just me that made a difference," Davis said. "I think we just got tired of not being able to run the ball as a unit. We came together and decided we were going to do it."
It helped, of course, that Ealey and Caleb King turned into a formidable rushing duo down the stretch and that Clint Boling was able to shift to left tackle when Davis became the starter at right tackle.
"He knows what to do; he plays hard and with a lot of effort," Boling said.
Davis is entering his senior season and is front and center on Georgia's spring media guide.
Maybe that's why offensive line coach Stacy Searels, who is selective about which players he lets talk to the media, is now making him available for interviews.
"Coach Searels is a funny guy," Davis said when asked why he thinks he's on the allowed-to-talk list. "Who knows, man? Who knows?"
Reach Marc Weiszer at marc.weiszer@morris.com.
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