If Georgia’s Chauncey Bowens is out, what’s next for UGA backfield?

ATHENS — It is starting to appear as if Chauncey Bowens was more than “a little banged up” as coach Kirby Smart said after the Vanderbilt game.

Bowens, who leads the Georgia tailbacks with 120 snaps played this season, was added to the Bulldogs injury report late Wednesday night.

The injury report will be updated Thursday night.

Bowens, a junior who has rushed for 134 yards and leads the team with 35 carries and six touchdowns, is also the leading tailback in pass receiving with 10 catches for 132 yards and a touchdown.

Bowens appeared to suffer a right lower leg/ankle injury on a carry with 20 seconds left in the first half of the Vanderbilt game, getting up gingerly after a 5-yard carry and ensuing pile up.

Bowens stayed on the field for the final play of the half, but he was limping.

Nate Frazier, who suffered a rib injury in the Sept. 19 win at Arkansas and missed the Oklahoma game, started the second half at tailback and played four snaps after entering into the day as a game-time decision.

Bowens, who likely received treatment at halftime, returned to the game on the next series of the third quarter and caught an 8-yard pass on the first play of the fourth quarter and had four more carries for 14 yards before the game was over.

Smart was not asked directly about Bowens after the game, but he mentioned he was “banged up” when asked about Frazier returning to action.

“The plan was to play (Frazier) if we needed to, and Chauncey was a little banged up, and that was the scenario we thought we would use him in,” Smart said.

“(Frazier) ran some. He probably could’ve continued to play … hopefully he’ll continue to get better. We knew he would improve every time that he doesn’t have to go out there. He’s getting closer to 100%.”

The Bulldogs’ backfield entered the season a man down with transfer portal tailback addition Dante Dowdell out indefinitely after suffering multiple injuries in an ATV crash during a visit home to Picayune, Mississippi, in the offseason.

Georgia has gotten creative in the run game this season with six different receivers — in addition to tight end Jaden Reddell — carrying the football.

But the “downhill” element the 225-pound Bowens brings will be missing if he can’t go, as he has been the primary goal-line back this season.

Bowens has also emerged as the most efficient pass-catching tailback this season, so if his injury designation doesn’t change that would appear to be the area Georgia would miss him most.

Frazier has just one catch for 5 yards and has been used primarily as a runner this season, averaging a team-high 8.1 yards per carry on his 26 rushes for 216 yards this season.

Frazier had 16 catches for 116 yards last season to Bowens’ 14 catches for 82 yards last season.

Dwight Phillips Jr. is next up on the depth chart at tailback and is coming off an impressive showing, and in addition to his five carries for 27 yards against Vanderbilt, he had a team-high five catches for 75 yards including a 12-yard touchdown.

Phillips, who had only one catch last season, has seven receptions for 86 yards through five games this season.

Phillips has played 63 snaps, while Frazier and sophomore Bo Walker have each played 50 offensive snaps this season.

Walker had a strong appearance his last time out, leading the team with 71 yards on five carries against Vanderbilt, most of it coming on a 59-yard fourth-quarter run.

Walker has 20 carries for 134 yards on the season and two catches for 6 yards.

Bowens’ status means freshmen Nick Peal and Jae Lamar will need to step up and be ready to potentially play more snaps.

Peal has played 26 snaps in three games and has 12 carries for 55 yards, while Lamar has 10 snaps in two games and has six carries for 26 yards and a touchdown.