ATHENS — Georgia must wait a little longer to see highly-anticipated running back Zamir White take the field in full-contact drills.

Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart confirmed in his opening spring press conference that White, a freshman early enrollee and one of the top recruits in UGA’s 2018 class, will be restricted to non-contact drills for the entirety of spring practice. White suffered a torn ACL four months ago.

“Obviously Zamir White having the ACL surgery, he will not be out there performing in the spring,” Smart said. “He’s progressing very well. He’ll be able to do some things, walk through and moving around, but he won’t be in full-contact drills.”
 
 

 
 
Smart offered no further explanation when asked when to expect White to fully return.

“That’s hard for me to answer because I’m not a doctor. I don’t know,” Smart said. “He certainly looks good right now. He’s progressing along.”

White’s injury opens the door for other running backs to help fill the void left by future NFL-ers Sony Michel and Nick Chubb. The Bulldogs’ running back stable, composed of D’Andre Swift, Brian Herrien and Elijah Holyfield, already boast a significant advantage — playing time in 2017.

Smart must also fill a void left by Michel on special teams.

“Who can replace 127 snaps Sony took on special teams? Because right now none of those three have stepped up to the plate to say I can be as valuable at special teams as Sony was,” Smart said. “Who of those three is going to say I can lead this spot, I can contribute on special teams, I can do every pick up right, I can protect the ball right, and I can go out and affect the rest of the team by the energy and attitude I practice with. That’s what I want to see.”