ATHENS — Georgia tailback Isaiah Crowell has a chance to do something only Herschel Walker has done.
With as many as four games remaining in his first season with the Bulldogs, Crowell needs 179 yards to become the second freshman in school history to rush for 1,000 yards. To date, only Walker has done it, with 1,616 yards during Georgia’s national championship season of 1980. Knowshon Moreno was a redshirt freshman when he rushed for 1,334 yards in 2007.
“I want to get over 1,000 pretty bad,” said Crowell, whose 91.2 yards per game (821 overall) ranks third among SEC tailbacks. “My goal was to be a freshman All-American. I don’t know if that’s going to happen or whatever, but I definitely want to get a thousand. That was my goal at the beginning of the season, and I want to be able to reach my goal.”
Imagine what Crowell might have done had he been able to stay on the field. Crowell has missed one full game and one quarter of another because of disciplinary suspensions. Meanwhile, he has come out of games often because of injuries or simply getting tired.
“I have always stayed pretty healthy,” said Crowell, who has dealt with rib, wrist, elbow, thigh, knee and ankle injuries this season. “I’ve had small stuff, but it wasn’t back-to-back like this. … Something hurts all the time, but I’m getting used to it. It’s mostly aches and bruises.”
After gaining 104 yards on 22 carries against Mississippi State on Oct. 1, Crowell has averaged just 58 yards on 15 carries in the three games he played before Auburn last week. Against the Tigers, Crowell hobbled out of the game at the 5:30 mark of the first quarter with a minor knee injury and didn’t play the rest of the half. However, he came back and had 17 carries in the second half and finished with 132 yards on 24 attempts as Georgia salted away a victory.
“Early in the season, he was having trouble running more than a couple plays in a row,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “He’d run one or two, and then he’d come out. And then he’d go back in and run a couple of more, and then he’d come out. This last game, he wanted to keep getting it. ... He has built up more stamina, and I think he understands that is part of the game. And the better he gets at that, the better off we will be.”
If Crowell averages 70.5 yards rushing over four games, he’ll move past Frank Sinkwich (1,103 yards in 1941) into Georgia’s top 10 for rushing yards in a season. An average of 144.8 yards moves him past Moreno (1,400, ‘08) into the top five.
Of course, that would require some stamina and durability. Crowell believes he’s up for it.
“I think I’m good and conditioned,” he said. “Doing it the whole season has helped me a lot. In practice they make me stay in a lot and do multiple plays, and I think that has helped.”
Etc.
Georgia held a short, dress-rehearsal practice at Sanford Stadium on Thursday. ... Two Kentucky defensive starters, linebacker Ridge Wilson (shoulder) and junior safety Martavius Neloms (ankle), will not play Saturday because of injuries, the school announced Thursday.
About the Author
