University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Xavier Truss
October 14, 2022 | Football, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Xavier Truss sometimes gets asked about his home state of Rhode Island, like it's some exotic, far-off land that most of us don't know anything about and might not be able to find on a map. Well, some of that is probably true.
Truss, the 6-foot-7 and 330-pound Georgia left guard, is from the town of West Warwick, a suburb of Providence. While Rhode Island may not be known for producing tons of four- and five-star football recruits, Truss, a redshirt sophomore, was a four-star recruit that certainly drew a lot of attention. Of course, when you're that big and athletic, eyes are going to be upon you.
During a Quick Chat after practice Wednesday, Truss talked about Rhode Island food, Halloween, his appreciation for the Bulldogs' 6-7 tight end Darnell Washington, and much more. Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: What is the best thing about being from Rhode Island?
Truss: For me, the best thing is being doubted, I think, by everybody that's not from Rhode Island. They don't know much about it, they just know it's really small and they don't really pay attention to it.
If you're an SEC player from Rhode Island, people tend to not think much about it. Me getting to prove a lot of doubters wrong and make my home state proud is a big deal to me and my family.
Frierson: When you think of food back home, what comes to mind? Is there a food associated with Rhode Island like the Philly cheesesteak or the New Jersey Taylor ham/pork roll?
Truss: We have hot weiners, like (Olneyville) New York System hot weiners. They're great. I order a half-dozen every time I go. We also have something called coffee milk, which is a Rhode Island specialty. You know Hershey's chocolate syrup that you pour in milk? It's just like that except it's coffee syrup. It's great.
Frierson: What is a hot wiener?
Truss: You get your hot dog, you get chopped up beef on there, onions, mustard — the whole way. It's one of my favorites.
Frierson: Do you have that with the coffee milk?
Truss: I do. I do. When I go home, I try to get it all done. We have a stop called Del's, too, and Del's does frozen lemonade. They actually just expanded out to Massachusetts — I went to a Red Sox game the last time I was home, and I'm at Fenway (Park) and there was a Del's lemonade from Rhode Island. It's good to see it everywhere now.
Frierson: We've got Halloween coming up, so what is your favorite Halloween candy?
Truss: I'm tied between Reese's (peanut butter cups) and a Heath bar. I like the toffee — big toffee guy.
Frierson: I've asked that question a lot of times over the years and I think you're the first Bulldog to mention a Heath bar. I feel like toffee is more of an old-school thing.
Truss: It's my little sweet-tooth thing. I don't get to eat much candy anymore.
Frierson: Did you have a favorite Halloween costume when you were young?
Truss: When I was young, I might have been 7 or 8, I went as Spiderman, who was my favorite superhero at the time. I had the foam biceps and foam triceps and six-pack abs and everything. My dad got me the fake web shooter and I felt like the real deal. That was one of my best Halloweens.
Frierson: I'm guessing you played on the offensive and defensive lines in high school, so what makes you better suited to being an offensive lineman at Georgia?
Truss: Honestly, I don't really know. I still like to think that I can play a little D-line.
Being an offensive lineman, maybe it's just that protective role. Defensive line, I feel like gets subbed out a lot more during the game and only get so many opportunities, versus offensive line. Maybe not ours so much (Georgia substitutes offensive linemen fairly regularly), but you're out on the field most of, if not all of, the game.
In high school, I was really looking to play wherever I could get on the field. It was the same way here: when I got here to play O-line, I didn't care if I was playing tackle or guard. Wherever you needed me, I was excited to just play. I was always just excited to play on the field.
Maybe what got me to play O-line more was just my footwork and hips, my long arms. Maybe my handwork wasn't as good as it needed to be to play D-line, at the time in high school, but I think offensive line was a lot more footwork.
Frierson: When you've got a big, strong defensive player charging at you each play, how hard is it to let go and not be holding all of the time?
Truss: You know, it's hard — it's really hard. I have a holding call this season, we all make mistakes, and at the end of the day, it is really hard. As long as we're following the technique that we've been taught and trusting ourselves, you're almost never going to get called for holding. ...
If you've got somebody locked up and you keep your feet driving, you're almost never going to get called for a hold.
Frierson: When you look at Darnell Washington, who is about the same height as you but maybe 50 pounds lighter, do you envy his ability to get out there and run and make amazing catches like that twisting and turning one he made at Missouri?
Truss: It is pretty cool to see another guy that I look eye-to-eye to, move and hurdle the way that he does. It is impressive. It also makes me think, man, if I lost 50 or so pounds, could I do that the same way? Nah, I don't think so.
Frierson: I don't think there are many humans out there that can do what he does.
Truss: It's really impressive. And he puts his body on the line every day. It's awesome, and I'm excited to see him keep doing big things.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Staff Writer
Xavier Truss sometimes gets asked about his home state of Rhode Island, like it's some exotic, far-off land that most of us don't know anything about and might not be able to find on a map. Well, some of that is probably true.
Truss, the 6-foot-7 and 330-pound Georgia left guard, is from the town of West Warwick, a suburb of Providence. While Rhode Island may not be known for producing tons of four- and five-star football recruits, Truss, a redshirt sophomore, was a four-star recruit that certainly drew a lot of attention. Of course, when you're that big and athletic, eyes are going to be upon you.
During a Quick Chat after practice Wednesday, Truss talked about Rhode Island food, Halloween, his appreciation for the Bulldogs' 6-7 tight end Darnell Washington, and much more. Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: What is the best thing about being from Rhode Island?
Truss: For me, the best thing is being doubted, I think, by everybody that's not from Rhode Island. They don't know much about it, they just know it's really small and they don't really pay attention to it.
If you're an SEC player from Rhode Island, people tend to not think much about it. Me getting to prove a lot of doubters wrong and make my home state proud is a big deal to me and my family.
Frierson: When you think of food back home, what comes to mind? Is there a food associated with Rhode Island like the Philly cheesesteak or the New Jersey Taylor ham/pork roll?
Truss: We have hot weiners, like (Olneyville) New York System hot weiners. They're great. I order a half-dozen every time I go. We also have something called coffee milk, which is a Rhode Island specialty. You know Hershey's chocolate syrup that you pour in milk? It's just like that except it's coffee syrup. It's great.
Frierson: What is a hot wiener?
Truss: You get your hot dog, you get chopped up beef on there, onions, mustard — the whole way. It's one of my favorites.
Frierson: Do you have that with the coffee milk?
Truss: I do. I do. When I go home, I try to get it all done. We have a stop called Del's, too, and Del's does frozen lemonade. They actually just expanded out to Massachusetts — I went to a Red Sox game the last time I was home, and I'm at Fenway (Park) and there was a Del's lemonade from Rhode Island. It's good to see it everywhere now.
Frierson: We've got Halloween coming up, so what is your favorite Halloween candy?
Truss: I'm tied between Reese's (peanut butter cups) and a Heath bar. I like the toffee — big toffee guy.
Frierson: I've asked that question a lot of times over the years and I think you're the first Bulldog to mention a Heath bar. I feel like toffee is more of an old-school thing.
Truss: It's my little sweet-tooth thing. I don't get to eat much candy anymore.
Frierson: Did you have a favorite Halloween costume when you were young?
Truss: When I was young, I might have been 7 or 8, I went as Spiderman, who was my favorite superhero at the time. I had the foam biceps and foam triceps and six-pack abs and everything. My dad got me the fake web shooter and I felt like the real deal. That was one of my best Halloweens.
Frierson: I'm guessing you played on the offensive and defensive lines in high school, so what makes you better suited to being an offensive lineman at Georgia?
Truss: Honestly, I don't really know. I still like to think that I can play a little D-line.
Being an offensive lineman, maybe it's just that protective role. Defensive line, I feel like gets subbed out a lot more during the game and only get so many opportunities, versus offensive line. Maybe not ours so much (Georgia substitutes offensive linemen fairly regularly), but you're out on the field most of, if not all of, the game.
In high school, I was really looking to play wherever I could get on the field. It was the same way here: when I got here to play O-line, I didn't care if I was playing tackle or guard. Wherever you needed me, I was excited to just play. I was always just excited to play on the field.
Maybe what got me to play O-line more was just my footwork and hips, my long arms. Maybe my handwork wasn't as good as it needed to be to play D-line, at the time in high school, but I think offensive line was a lot more footwork.
Frierson: When you've got a big, strong defensive player charging at you each play, how hard is it to let go and not be holding all of the time?
Truss: You know, it's hard — it's really hard. I have a holding call this season, we all make mistakes, and at the end of the day, it is really hard. As long as we're following the technique that we've been taught and trusting ourselves, you're almost never going to get called for holding. ...
If you've got somebody locked up and you keep your feet driving, you're almost never going to get called for a hold.
Frierson: When you look at Darnell Washington, who is about the same height as you but maybe 50 pounds lighter, do you envy his ability to get out there and run and make amazing catches like that twisting and turning one he made at Missouri?
Truss: It is pretty cool to see another guy that I look eye-to-eye to, move and hurdle the way that he does. It is impressive. It also makes me think, man, if I lost 50 or so pounds, could I do that the same way? Nah, I don't think so.
Frierson: I don't think there are many humans out there that can do what he does.
Truss: It's really impressive. And he puts his body on the line every day. It's awesome, and I'm excited to see him keep doing big things.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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