UGA freshman Crowell living up to billing

photo Georgia running back Isaiah Crowell (1) runs past a Mississippi defender at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Sept. 24 in Oxford, Miss. Georgia won 27-13.

HALFWAY HOMEGeorgia's leading rushers at the six-game mark of each season under Mark Richt:YEAR TAILBACK YDS2001 Musa Smith 4472002 Musa Smith 5142003 Michael Cooper 3322004 Danny Ware 4762005 Thomas Brown 3932006 Kregg Lumpkin 3472007 Knowshon Moreno 4622008 Knowshon Moreno 5902009 Richard Samuel 3172010 Washaun Ealey 2462011 Isaiah Crowell 573

ATHENS, Ga. - Georgia football coach Mark Richt expressed his concern on multiple occasions this past summer about having to replace receivers A.J. Green and Kris Durham, but he never displayed any worry regarding the departures of tailbacks Washaun Ealey and Caleb King.

"I wouldn't sit here and say that our running back situation is worse this year than it was a year ago," Richt said at SEC media days in July, "so we'll see on that."

Everyone knows now what Richt was thinking then.

Freshman running back Isaiah Crowell has been as good as advertised and maybe a little bit better through the first half of Georgia's regular season, rushing for 573 yards and 4.9 yards a carry. Crowell ranks fourth in the SEC behind South Carolina's Marcus Lattimore, Alabama's Trent Richardson and Auburn's Michael Dyer, and he has 99 yards more than Ealey and King had combined after the first six games a year ago.

"I think he has progressed well," Bulldogs offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. "There are a lot of little things he has to improve on, but with as much pressure and scrutiny that he's been under since he arrived on campus and dealing with a lot of people pulling and tagging at him, I think he has responded well. He's continued to mature and get better every week, and he's definitely made a difference in our offense.

"He's got a chance to be one of the best who has ever played here."

After a 15-carry, 60-yard debut in the opener against Boise State, the 5-foot-11, 215-pounder from Columbus, Ga., amassed 118 yards against South Carolina. He set a new best with 30 carries for 147 yards at Ole Miss and collected a third 100-yard game with 104 against Mississippi State.

Crowell has been named SEC freshman of the week three times already, but he has a loftier objective.

"I want to be a Freshman All-American this year," he said. "That's my main goal."

Crowell scored both Georgia touchdowns last week in its 20-12 win at Tennessee and has four scores this season. The first fumble he was responsible for in 118 carries rolled out of bounds last week in Knoxville, and he has yet to sustain a direct hit.

Several opposing coaches, including Tennessee's Derek Dooley, believe that may be his top characteristic.

"He'll be near the sideline and will move his body a certain way, and a guy will just completely miss him," Bobo said. "I think he's just played that position a long time and has a lot of God-given ability. He's been playing running back his whole life, and you usually can't teach a guy to be a great runner. They just have it in them."

Said quarterback Aaron Murray: "He's definitely done a lot more than most people would have expected. I knew he was a pretty special player, and I think all of us realized that in camp when we saw him and the things he could do, but I definitely didn't think he would do this much."

Biggest of bunch

Georgia has the biggest offensive line in football - college or the NFL - according to a report earlier this month in Sports Illustrated. The Bulldogs weigh an average of 329.4 pounds up front, which tops the averages of the Cincinnati Bengals (325.8), the San Diego Chargers (323.2) and Texas Tech (323.0).

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