Kirby Smart Tells The Truth About UGA Football's Run Game
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ATHENS - It seems to be a down year for “Running Back University.”
Heading into the season, several inside sources raved about Georgia’s rushing attack to Dawg Post.
“They’re going to run through teams”, one insider said right before the season.
Of course, that hasn’t happened yet as the Dawgs rank just 95th in the country in rushing offense. Georgia’s averaging just under 132 yards a game and 4.6 yards per attempt.
Why is that the case?
Sophomore running back Roderick Robinson has not played this season due to a foot/toe injury, so that hasn’t helped. Trevor Ettiene has been reliable, but Branson Robinson’s impact has been minimal. Nate Frazier has flashed early on, and we’re likely to see more from him as the season moves along.
Running the ball hasn’t been easy this year, but Kirby Smart doesn’t appear worried.
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“I like the depth in the room", Kirby Smart said on Tuesday. “I like what Cash (Jones) brings. I like what Nate (Frazier) brings. I like what Branson (Robinson) brings and what Trevor (Etienne) brings. We have four guys that I really feel good about. The young kid, Chauncey (Bowens), is doing some really good things. I mean, he's improved immensely since his arrival here and he's got great toughness, great character, and he's going to be a really good player. So, Dwight Phillips has gotten better over on the scout team. A kid that had never played in an environment like this one, he's getting better. So, I like that group as a whole and think it's a really good group.”
The leader of that group? Former Florida Gator, Treor Etienne. He’s clearly Georgia’s lead back, but they need another to emerge sooner than later. Freshman Nate Frazier brings a spark, but he’s got to play more.
“Yeah, I thought he (Etienne) performed really well Saturday”, Smart said. “He made some things happen with nothing there and then had a couple that I thought maybe should have gotten more on that he's one step away from breaking one open and using his quickness. He's got really good open field skills to make people miss, and I think that's something that we've needed around here is a guy that can go make people miss in open spaces. He's a really good receiver out of the backfield. More important than all that, he's one of our best leaders. He holds people accountable. He's a good kid, and I appreciate the way he's come into our team and bought into the culture that we have here.”
Etiiene is a good back, but Georgia needs more form the ground game. Kirby Smart has said for months how impressed he is with the running back group, but as a whole, they’ve got to step up.
Georgia’s not running the bad at an elite level. Far from it right now. That needs to change, and there’s no reason why they can’t get the ground game going in a big way against Mississippi State.
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