Mark Richt has assembled one of the deepest and stoutest running back corps in the country and the Georgia football team will rely heavily on it’s production. These running backs have the talent to start anywhere in the country and go about four to five spots deep down the depth chart.
The University of Georgia running backs are led by sophomore Nick Chubb, who had an amazing freshman season as a replacement for the suspended Todd Gurley. Chubb started the season off as a young freshman who was one of the highest rated high school running backs in the country, but he ended the season with 1,547 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns. The Georgia football team will look to Chubb to carry the Bulldogs offense this season.
The running back that is expected to back up Chubb could be any one of the other Bulldogs four reliable running backs. These backs include senior Keith Marshall, sophomore Sony Michel, sophomore A.J. Turman, and junior Brendan Douglas.
Marshall was an effective running back for the Bulldogs as a freshman but has struggled in his sophomore and junior years to stay healthy. Marshall has great speed and size and I believe will have an amazing comeback season but he must stay healthy if he wants to leave the Bulldog nation with a bang. As a senior I think Marshall will get first dibs on being the second string back for the Bulldogs this season.
The next running back on the list should be A.J. Turman, in my opinion. Turman came in as a highly
ranked back but also faced injury problems similar to Marshall; However, Turman has been a consistent and reliable back in practice and was very impressive in the spring game for the Bulldogs. If Turman can translate his play from the practice field into real games, then he would provide the Bulldogs with yet another dependable running back.
There have been no talks about redshirting sophomore Sony Michel but I believe that is exactly what they should do this season. Michel is the most talented back besides Chubb in my opinion, and has the potential to be a future star, if he is given the playing time. I think that since the Bulldogs have such a crowded backfield they should redshirt one of their younger running backs like Sony Michel, so that they can keep him in their backfield and help reach his full potential as a Bulldog.
The fifth and final back is Brendan Douglas. Douglas has been a surprising star for the Bulldogs and has come in and been an effective back, when the Bulldogs faced some of their toughest situations. One of those situations happened last season when Gurley was suspend and Michel and Marshall were not available due to injury. Douglas backed up freshman Chubb and helped lead the Bulldogs to an impressive 34-0 win over the Missouri Tigers. In that game, Douglas had 65 yards on 13 carries and one touchdown.
Douglas’s reliability and consistency is a much needed asset for the Bulldogs and he is a great back, who can come in on downs that running backs like Marshall or Chubb need rest.
The Bulldogs have a very deep running back corps and it may just be the best in the country. Their offense will rely heavily on them and they should be an almost unstoppable force during the upcoming season.
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