Georgia coach Kirby Smart, when asked Tuesday what young, lesser-used players might make greater impact in the Sugar Bowl, led with the group of backup running backs. Perhaps it was a clue about D’Andre Swift’s availability Wednesday night.
Then, again, maybe it was all just a ruse.
Nothing has been more murky than the status of Georgia's star running back against Baylor on Wednesday (8:45 p.m., ESPN). Even Swift himself claims not to know. It will be a game-time decision.
Regardless, Smart would have you think we’ll see a heavy dose of sophomore James Cook, redshirt freshmen Zamir White and freshman Kenny McIntosh.
"Zamir and James have had a lot of work, and I would probably say Kenny is one of those guys. Kenny didn't get as much work in practices until now," Smart said Tuesday at the Sugar Bowl's head coaches' news conference. "He's gotten a tremendous amount of work and done a really good job. Depends on how the game goes. Depends how much Swift plays."
Swift, a 5-foot-9, 215-pound junior and Georgia’s leading rusher, alternately has NFL Draft considerations and is dealing with an injury. The extent and seriousness of that injury, described only as a “bruised shoulder,” is a matter of great debate.
What’s not debatable is Swift’s status as an NFL prospect. It’s thought to be a foregone conclusion that he’ll forego his final season of eligibility to enter the draft. But he’s not going to make an announcement about that until after Georgia’s bowl game against No. 7 Baylor.
In the meantime, Swift appears to be going full speed in the Bulldogs’ practices in advance of the game, albeit without engaging in full contact. Both Swift and Smart have said Swift will play only if he’s “100 percent” healthy. To date, he hasn’t been.
“As far as D’Andre, I don’t know. We’re going to wait and see,” Smart said Tuesday. “He’s competed. He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do. I keep repeating that because he has. Certainly, if he feels like he’s able to go and go at 100 percent, we're going to use him. He’s done more this last week in practice than he did before the SEC Championship game, that’s for certain, so excited to see where he goes.”
Swift had only five touches in the 37-10 loss to LSU in the SEC Championship game. Those came on two runs and three pass receptions, all of the plays by design going outside the tackles. With a total of 31 yards in that game, Swift has 1,432 yards and eight touchdowns on the season.
A similar approach Wednesday will mean many more touches for the backs who definitely will be back with the Bulldogs next season. All of them were highly rated at their position as recruits. Georgia has signed another one in the 2020 class in Kendall Milton of Clovis, Calif., and supposedly is in the lead for another 5-star prospect in Zachary Evans of Houston.
Odds are good that the Bulldogs will be featuring the young guys Wednesday night.
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