Owning up to the growing pains

via Reynolds, ABH

I'm caught between having seen enough of John Theus to know he'll be something special one day, and having seen enough to be more than ready for that day to get here. 

He's a physical behemoth and will one day certainly be a dominating force that swallows pass rushers. But for now he's still learning.

Three false start penalties. A couple of sacks surrendered.

“Obviously I had some stuff that I messed up on,” Georgia freshman right tackle John Theus said, assessing his second college game last Saturday in Georgia’s 41-20 win at Missouri.

Theus insisted the hostile road environment didn’t affect him too much. He didn’t blame his showing on missing much of the week in practice while getting treatment on his sprained left ankle because he felt confident he would be able to play.......As for his showing against Missouri — which also included pressure allowed on quarterback Aaron Murray on his second-quarter interception — he said that’s between him and offensive line coach Will Friend.

“After every game I have stuff to work on,” he said. “There’s no doubt. This week I may have a little bit more stuff to work on then I had last week.”

I like that Theus is taking ownership. And that might be the first sign that he's going to be everything that we hoped he would be. Well, that and his 6-6, 305lb frame. And although the kid won't admit it, the bad wheel last week hurt his preparation for Missouri at the very least. But with Kolton Houston remaining in NCAA purgatory, we're going to have be ready to take the good with the bad. Just like Theus.

“He’s still a baby,” offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. “He’s had camp, four weeks of practice and was hurt all last week. We don’t expect him to go out there and be a dominant guy on the edge like we think he can be in the future right now, but as long as he continues to get better, I think he can be an elite player in this league.”

Theus won’t say it, but Bobo did. The ankle injury, Bobo said, “obviously set him back.”.

Bobo sees Theus as a player who is “mentally and physically tough.”

And “he can handle a little bit of adversity and doesn’t get shook. He went through some adversity in the game the other night. A couple of missed blocks and missed assignments. The guy continued to play hard and play physical.”......Theus called his second game “a learning experience, first away game. Winning made it a lot better.”

He’s back on the practice field this week, working to become that dominant player that Bobo thinks he will be one day.

“I know I’m far from there now,” he said. “There’s definitely big adjustments that have to be made and still have to be made and I’m learning. Saturday was one of those times I had to learn and had to grow up. It’s a long ways off from me being a good player so I’m working every day with coach Friend and the guys to try to get there.”