Training camp in the NFL is bringing Tate Ratledge back to college. For one, Dan Campbell had to pause practice Thursday in Allen Park for the second morning in a row to remind his players not to hammer each other before the pads come on: "It's a throwback to Georgia," Ratledge grinned. "That was every day, Coach (Kirby) Smart having to wind us down. We got after it, so I love seeing that."
For another, the Lions have been playing Ratledge mostly at center, which is where he repped throughout fall camp last season even as Georgia's starting right guard. Smart was preparing Ratledge to shift to center should the team need him in the event of injuries, and unintentionally preparing him for his rookie season with the Lions -- where Ratledge faces the impossible task of trying to replace Frank Ragnow.
Aside from Thursday, where the Lions swapped Ratledge and right guard Graham Glasgow, Ratledge has taken the bulk of his snaps in camp -- and going back to spring workouts -- at center. He never played a game at the position in college, but may well be the new starter on a team with Super Bowl ambitions in the NFL.
How's he handling the transition?
"A lot better than I was in the spring," Ratledge said after the fourth practice of camp. "It's becoming more natural to me."
Ratledge said he's gaining a better command of the Lions' playbook, which is crucial for any center. The position requires brains as much as brawn, which is what made Ragnow such an asset. He could diagnose a defense and help Jared Goff make the right checks, summon the right protections and get into the right plays as quickly as any center in the NFL, more quickly than most.
Indeed, Ratledge said the biggest hurdle in moving from guard to center is "definitely mental. To me, offensive line play is offensive line play. ... The mental side of it's definitely the hardest part. Getting everybody on the same page."
To accelerate the learning curve, Ratledge has been frequently in the ear of Goff, "talking to him after plays, trying to see what he sees, (and if) he sees what I see," he said. "Jared’s done a tremendous job helping me. I have a question about a certain look, a certain play, I can go to him and he’ll have an answer for me." Ratledge said the same for Glasgow, who has extensive center experience in the NFL, especially with advice on "certain looks and certain techniques."
Of course, Ragnow was as strong as he was sharp. And he had a keen feel for how to employ his physical and mental gifts in tandem, how to use angles to his advantage, how to align his hands and his feet to leverage his strength, how to get under a defensive lineman and explode into the second level. He had Grizzly Man muscle, a touch of brutality, and, as Brad Holmes said this week, an "understanding of geometry and space and body positioning."
That will be another area of growth for Ratledge, who said he's still adapting to "the speed of everything happening to you" at center as soon as the ball is snapped.
"At guard, you got a little bit of a delay being off the ball, and then of course you get up here and you're going against quicker guys than I've seen before," he said. "I think that was the biggest adjustment (physically), just how fast everything happens."
On top of that, Ratledge is learning how to play with basically one hand at center, "especially with these guys that know how to keep that snap hand down when you’re trying to get it back up. It’s definitely been a big learning curve not having both hands, but it comes with reps, and adjustments with reps," he said.
The Lions are counting on Ratledge being ready to man the middle of their offensive line by Week 1, while knowing they have the option of starting him at guard and sliding Glasgow in at center. That might be their best move in the short term, but the Lions are playing the long game, with their eyes on the Super Bowl. Glasgow, at either position, is a known commodity. But investing in Ratledge at center now could pay major dividends down the road.
"I've come out here and competed," he said. "I think I've done a pretty good job for where I've been at in the past."