ATHENS – In a G-Day game that featured plenty of offense, Georgia’s new-look running back group helped welcome back the big play to Sanford Stadium.
Senior running back Kenny McIntosh made the first explosive play of the afternoon by beating his defender on a wheel route and hauling in a 33-yard catch from senior quarterback Stetson Bennett. Then, in the final minutes of the first half, junior backfield mate Kendall Milton caught a pass from Bennett out of the backfield and broke three tackles for a 32-yard touchdown, the longest score of the day in a last-second 26-23 win by the Black team.
G-Day games rarely are run-heavy contests – only 105 of the 776 yards of offense between the two squads came on the ground – but Saturday’s scrimmage gave a glimpse into the playmaking potential of Georgia’s running backs.
“We ask them to catch the ball out of the backfield and make plays,” coach Kirby Smart said. “Kenny caught a nice play on a wheel route, so did Kendall. (In) college football, you become a weapon by how you receive the ball coming out of the backfield.”
With Zamir White (856 rushing yards, 11 touchdowns) and James Cook (728 rushing yards, 11 total touchdowns) preparing for the NFL draft, McIntosh and Milton are taking over as the leading duo in the backfield this spring. As backups in 2021, both saw meaningful game action and recorded over 50 carries, though a sprained knee hampered Milton for much of the season.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
On Saturday, both lead backs suited up in black jerseys, while junior Daijun Edwards, junior Sevaughn Clark and redshirt freshman Cash Jones took the field for the Red team, coached by run-game coordinator Dell McGee.
Both sides utilized the running backs as receiving threats, mixing swing passes to the flat and downfield routes. McIntosh and Milton demonstrated their open-field and receiving abilities and finished the afternoon among Team Black’s top receivers. The trio of Edwards, Clark and Jones didn’t stretch the field with major gains through the air but combined for six receptions and 61 yards.
“They’re both really talented,” Bennett said of McIntosh and Milton. “They’re a little bit different, but the same function as James and Zamir last year. They’re different backs and have different strengths, but they can catch.”
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
The production in the running game was less effective – redshirt freshman quarterback Brock Vandagriff finished as the game’s leading rusher by a wide margin, with 45 yards, needing only a pair of scrambles to do so. Part of that was by design, as the scrimmage’s priority was to test the dropback passing rather than play-action and power running attacks, according to Smart. Edwards, a factor in the rushing attack last year, had the most action on the ground of any of the backs with eight carries and flashed his elusiveness on a pair of touchdown runs.
Under Smart, versatility has become essential to the Georgia running back position, and that’s an element that McIntosh, Milton and the rest of the running backs have embraced.
“We like to grow NFL backs here, so to do that, you have to use them in the passing game,” Smart said. “I thought Kenny, Kendall, all those guys, Daijun, Clark, did a nice job.”
Credit: Chip Towers
