Georgia running backs illustrate how chaotic college football offseason can be

Nate Frazier seemed shocked by a true statement he gave during a recent interview.

“It’s crazy how fast time flies. But I think in the running back room, me, Chauncey (Bowens), and Dwight (Phillips Jr.) have been here the longest at this university,” Frazier said. “Gosh. Yeah, we’ve been here the longest. So more so, man, we’re just trying to get better as a room. We’re not trying to be selfish because, you know, as you said, it’s Year 3.”

Georgia signed all three running backs as members of the 2024 recruiting class. A decade ago, it was common for signing classes to stick together. Nick Chubb and Sony Michel stayed together for all four seasons in Athens, creating one of the great running back tandems in recent memory.

But if Georgia’s second and third all-time leading rushers played under the same rules of Frazier and Bowens, it’s no guarantee they would have stuck it out at Georgia.

Frazier and Bowens themselves noted the temptations they faced this offseason to potentially go elsewhere. The combination of NIL and the transfer portal loomed large for both players.

With Frazier, he saw all the rumors of him entering the transfer portal back in early January. The onslaught of messages and curiosity became too much for the talented running back.

“I really just turned off my phone and said, you know, that’s what social media is. It’s just rumors,” Frazier said. “So I just turned off the phone and just got back to work.”

Frazier was far from the only running back who had to deal with rumors regarding the transfer portal. Florida’s Jadan Baugh and Ohio State’s Bo Jackson faced similar levels of scrutiny when it came to what they might do.

One look at what happened with Hollywood Smothers shows just how separate some teams were when it came to acquiring talent at the position. The one-time NC State running back originally committed to play for Alabama on Jan. 5.

Yet on Jan. 11, Smothers flipped his decision and ended up at Texas. He picked the Longhorns, despite Texas having previously added Arizona State transfer Raleek Brown.

Despite the external interest, Frazier elected to re-sign with Georgia.

“You know, other opportunities, I know this is where I’m supposed to be,” Frazier said. “I love this place. I already know I don’t belong nowhere else. I feel like at this point, I’ve showed everybody I bleed red and black.”

To some, the idea of a player with remaining eligibility re-signing with their current school might seem foreign. But because of NIL deals and the ability to constantly redo them, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart finds himself re-upping with his own players every offseason.

“Yeah, almost every player re-signed, so that’s not a big deal,” Smart said of Frazier. “That’s a big deal to you guys and all that. It’s like, to get a player to stay, they typically do re-sign. So I’m very pleased with where Nate is. I’m happy with his progress. I’m happy with that room’s progress.”

Just before Frazier announced that he would be returning to Georgia for his third season, Bowens did the same.

He had 70 fewer carries than Frazier last season, despite having none of the fumbling issues. It would have been so easy for Bowens to head into the transfer portal and find a lead running back role somewhere else.

Like Frazier though, Bowens believes his shortest path to success comes at Georgia.

“I knew I was going to be here for sure. I love being at Georgia, and I love my teammates,” Bownes said. “I love my offensive line, my coaches, and everything. So, I mean, for sure, I mean, that’s a new game of NIL. You know, schools are going to come calling. But at the end of the day, I knew I wanted to be here, and I knew I was going to end up here.”

For as much as Frazier and Bowens accomplished last season — the two combined for 1,473 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns — both have the opportunity to play larger roles in the Georgia offense.

The Bulldogs have to replace Cash Jones, who doubled as the team’s best pass catcher and blocker at the running back position. Because of those abilities, he was the team’s top option for virtually every third down.

Frazier and Bowens are both focused this spring on doing the little things that will set them up for success on what is commonly referred to as the money down.

“They don’t have a lot of experience, so catching the ball out of the backfield, being better receivers, blitz pickup schemes, yards after contact, and breaking tackles,” Smart said. “That’s essentially what a back’s measured by, is what do you get that the offensive line doesn’t get for you? And that’s how you become elite.”

Even with Frazier and Bowens as options, Georgia didn’t elect to stand pat at the running back position. For the second straight offseason, Georgia went into the transfer portal and made an addition at the running back position.

The Bulldogs landed Dante Dowdell out of Kentucky. He’ll have just one year of eligibility remaining. Dowdell is a bowling ball of a running back, standing at 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds.

So far, Georgia has been encouraged by what they’ve seen out of Dowdell.

“He’s extremely physical, tough, strong, really quick feet, can get in and out of the hole. He’s had some explosive runs where he burst through the hole,” Smart said of the transfer running back. “He’s had some times where he’s still figuring things out for us because he’s learning verbiage and things. But he’s a confident back. He’s a very reliable guy, hoping to get some play out of him on special teams and also at running back.”

The transfer portal is not a one-way proposition for teams. Coaches like Smart have to strike the right balance between strengthening a position and remaining committed to the players already in the system.