ATHENS — This isn’t some new song and dance for returning center Sedrick Van Pran. As he enters his third season as Georgia’s starting center, it will be with a third different starting quarterback.
JT Daniels got the nod in 2021 against Clemson. Then it was Stetson Bennett’s turn to line up behind Van Pran against Oregon last season.
Carson Beck will have the honor of playing behind one of the best players in the country on Saturday against UT-Martin.
While Kirby Smart thinks the value of Van Pran may be overrated given Beck’s strengths and won’t have to rely on Van Pran’s veteran knowledge, it’s still a benefit to having a player with Van Pran’s experience and leadership ability directing traffic.
“I think the fact that he’s got somebody who has played in big moments, somebody who has snapped the ball in tough environments is comforting,” Smart said. “But as far as what Sedrick provides for Carson, it’s probably reassurance.”
Van Pran and Beck both arrived in the same 2020 recruiting class. With both starting this season, Beck has joked with Van Pran that the two are at last reunited. Beck beat out Brock Vandagriff and Gunner Stockton to win the starting job after serving as Bennett’s back-up in 2022.
Every quarterback brings something different to the table and Van Pran recognizes that.
“With Carson, the biggest thing has just been making sure that we’re both seeing things and communicating about it,” Van Pran said. “I think a lot of times on the field, you kind of get into a funk where you may just get caught up in doing your job. I think it’s really important to make sure that you’re communicating with the guy behind you, or in his case in front of you, to make sure that you’re both seeing things.”
Van Pran has no issue using his voice, be it with Beck or anyone on the Georgia team. He was one of the vocal leaders on last year’s team and was one of Georgia’s four permanent captains for the 2022 team.
He’ll once again be a key leader for this team, even if that process looks different compared to last season.
“You may do things right a million times, and the one time you mess it up you kind of lose all your credibility. But that’s the reality of being a leader,” Van Pran said. “I would say more so I’ve been embracing the role of just making sure that I’m being consistent, if that makes sense.”
Teammates are thankful Van Pran came back to Georgia for another season. The Georgia center said he wanted to improve his technique entering his fourth year in the Georgia program, which is why he partially bypassed the NFL draft.
But more so than his ability, they recognize the value of having Van Pran around to bark out calls and communicate with the rest of the offense.
“When things aren’t going good or when things are going good, he’s going to be the first guy to step up and be like, ‘Hey, y’all, we need to do this better’ or ‘We’re doing this good. Keep it up,’” offensive tackle Amarius Mims said. “And I feel like that was like one of the biggest pieces in my opinion on our team — that he came back. I’m just proud. I’m glad that he did because he’s one heck of a player. I’ll say that.”
Georgia’s offensive line figures to be one of the strengths of the team and perhaps even one of the best units in the country.
Van Pran is a significant reason that is the case. Through both his voice and his play, he’ll make things easier for everyone. From Mims to Beck and even Smart.
“Really for me it’s just making sure that I’m staying on top of what I need to do so that I can hold other people accountable,” Van Pran said. “I think that’s the biggest thing with trying to be a leader is the moment that you slack, everybody’s looking. Everybody’s making sure that they point it out to you. So it’s not giving people that chance so they have no choice but to uphold that standard.”
