Head coach Kirby Smart has a lot of confidence in his running backs. Like last year, Georgia handles its running back duties by committee. Nick Chubb and Sony Michel shared the majority of the carries last year. Now, the Bulldogs continue that trend with D’Andre Swift, Elijah Holyfield, and Brian Herrien. Despite losing two of the best backs to come through Georgia, Smart has the “ultimate confidence” with his multi-headed monster.
“I’ve got ultimate confidence in all those backs. I mean if they need to carry it 30, they could each do it,” Smart states. “I don’t know if they could do it for a whole year, but they could do it for a game. That’s why you have the backs you have. That’s why you have the ability to use different backs.”
He mentions that he wishes the backs were a little beefier though. Despite not being as big as some of the other SEC running backs, Smart is pleased with what his backs bring to the table but credits the offensive line for protecting them.
“I’m pleased with the backs we’ve got, certainly would like some more bulk at the position in our league, but we’ve got two guys that are 210-plus, two guys that are a little bit smaller than that. But they run bigger than they are,” Smart comments. “They’ve got a big group of guys blocking for them. And we certainly want to be able to sustain for the long haul. I think that’s the most important thing that those guys continue to do good in protection, protect the ball and get yards after contact, which they’ve been able to do.
Smart not only has running backs that he’s confident in toting the rock but his receivers as well. The sharing allows for backs and wideouts to stay fresh for the long season.
“That’s why we hand the ball off to the receivers. We’re sharing the workload when it comes to rushing because we want to be able to spread the ball out. It’s a long season. You want to be able to be hard to defend.”
Georgia averages 250.4 yards on the ground and has 13 rushing touchdowns on the season already. Smart knows his running backs, and with them putting up numbers like they are, he should be confident.