Georgia signed two 5-star prospects at tailback this past February because of their tremendous running abilities. But whether or not Nick Chubb or Sony Michel are able to steal some carries from the three established backs ahead of them will be determined more by their brain power than brawn.
“It always comes down to learning what to do,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “It will be the pass protection issues, learning who to block, being able to block successfully. That’s what keeps guys from getting into the rotation.”
Chubb and Michel signed with the Bulldogs despite knowing that Heisman Trophy candidate Todd Gurley and experienced former starters Keith Marshall and Brendan Douglas were already ahead on the depth chart. Redshirt freshman A.J. Turman also plays the position but is sidelined while recovering from foot surgery.
But Gurley, for one, has been very impressed from what he’s seen from the freshmen, who just completed their second on-field practice and spent all summer working with the other backs in offseason workouts.
“They know a lot of stuff as far as all the install and stuff,” Gurley said. “They’re way ahead of the game. I don’t see them being all lost and stuff like that, so I feel pretty good about them.”
Between them, the 5-foot-10, 228-pound Chubb and 5-11, 208-pound Michel ran for 4,523 yards and 65 touchdowns as high school seniors. It’s the other idiosyncrasies of the college game that can prove challenging for players of such ilk.
“They’re running backs and they can run the ball or they wouldn’t be there,” said Gurley, who became the starter the second game of his freshman season. “You have to prove to the coaches that you’re disciplined enough to be on the field. They hold you accountable to not mess up and cost them a penalty and all that. You just have to do the right things. But I’m pretty sure those guys will be able to do that because they’re hard workers and bust their butts every day.”
Richt said the Bulldogs will give the freshmen every opportunity to prove their worth.
“We’re going to get them a lot of reps,” he said. “They’ll get 29 practices with a multitude of meetings. And they’re pretty sharp kids. Both of them were 3.0 GPAs in high school, and they’re conscientious kids.”
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