The last couple of years, Georgia has enjoyed quality depth at the tailback position despite having at least one or more suffer season ending injuries each of the last 3 seasons. But going into spring practice, the Bulldogs were down to five scholarship tailbacks and two of those, junior Nick Chubb and senior Brendan Douglas are not expected to participate fully due to recovering from injury, leaving only three healthy backs for the coaching staff to fully utilize. And now it looks like there are only two as junior A.J. Turman has been granted a release to seek a transfer according to several published reports.
 
 
Turman nor UGA have officially stated where or if the running back out of Orlando, Florida would be transferring to, but the news leaves the Bulldogs mighty thin at tailback for spring.
 
 

 
 
A.J. was a four-star prospect in the recruiting class of 2013 for Georgia out of the state of Florida from Boone High School, and with Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall, both sophomores at the time, he was expected to provide quality depth. However, he struggled with injuries during his first two season with the Bulldogs and was redshirted as a freshman in 2013.
 
 
Finally healthy, for the 2015 season, he turned in an impressive G-Day spring game performance where he rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries in front of 46,000 and change, but he never was able to crack the depth chart to get any playing time. His absence from the field was made even more perplexing after Nick Chubb went down with a season ending knee injury against Tennessee in week six and both Sony Michel and Brendan Douglas played dinged up themselves at times.
 
 
Turman still has two years of eligibility left, but per NCAA transfer rules, he would have to sit out the 2016 season if he transfers to another division 1 FBS program. He would be eligible to play immediately if he transfers to an FCS or Division III program.
 
 
Last year there were rumors and questions as to whether or not Turman would transfer, but he stated in an interview from August during fall practice that there was no reason for him to leave Georgia and seemed to excited about the opportunity to compete and get playing time.
 
 

 
 
So who does that leave for the Bulldogs at tailback for spring?
 
 
Junior Sony Michel, who rushed for over 1,000 yards for the Dawgs last season, and redshirt freshman Tae Crowder will have to the shoulder the load until class of 2015 signee Elijah Holyfield out of Woodard Academy gets on campus this summer and Chubb and Douglas have healed up enough to get back on the field, but walk-on Avery McNeely, a sophomore tailback out of Clarke Central High School in Athens, GA, could also get a chance to show what he can do. McNeely was a member of Georgia’s scout team last year.