ATHENS, Ga. - The light in the bathroom adjoining Nick Chubb's room at his Cedartown residence will be on all day Saturday.
Chubb, of course, will be nearly three hours away inside Sanford Stadium, embarking on what he hopes will be a sophomore season that surpasses his amazing feats from last autumn. The 5-foot-10, 220-pound Georgia tailback will be looking for his ninth consecutive 100-yard rushing game at the expense of the University of Louisiana at Monroe, but some rituals will be in place before his first carry.
"I'm very superstitious," a smiling Chubb said this week. "I do crazy stuff. I've got to wear the same undershirt. I drink the same drink, and I've got to keep the bathroom light on. That's the weirdest one."
As Chubb was rushing his way to being a top-100 national prospect in the 2014 signing class, which included an eye-popping 5,411 rushing yards and 79 rushing touchdowns during his last two seasons at Cedartown High, he started to notice a trend.
"I would come home from games when we won and I played well, and I would see that my bathroom light had been on," he said. "Sometimes I came home after not playing well and the team not winning, and the light was off."
Thus a tradition, which his mother takes care of every weekend, was born.
Chubb was the brightest bulb in Georgia's 10-3 season last year, rushing 219 times for 1,547 yards (7.1 per carry) and 14 touchdowns. He was a steady force behind a turbulent Todd Gurley, a leading Heisman Trophy candidate who was suspended four games for breaking NCAA rules and then suffered an ACL injury.
Now the face of Georgia football, Chubb marvels at how different things are from last season's opener against Clemson, when his 47-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter helped cap a 45-21 win.
"Last year, I didn't know if I would even touch the ball, and now I'm going in knowing I have a big role on this team," he said. "It's a lot different from last year. I knew I was going to be on special teams, but I didn't think I would get in at running back."
Chubb amassed 1,323 yards in the final eight games, punishing Missouri for 143 yards on 38 carries, shredding Arkansas for 202 yards on 30 rushes and polishing off Louisville in the Belk Bowl for 266 yards on 33 carries.
Those and other performances, needless to say, have his teammates quite excited about the upcoming weeks.
"I really didn't realize how great he was doing until after his first couple of games, when I started to hear about his stats," junior center Brandon Kublanow said. "He was having over 150 yards a game, and I was like 'This kid is going to be good.' I thought his game against Auburn (144 yards on 19 carries) was one of the best games I've ever seen by a running back."
Said senior receiver Malcolm Mitchell: "He'll probably win the Heisman before he leaves Georgia. The difference between someone who's good and great is whether you keep pushing once you get tired. If he's tired, you will never know."
Mitchell considers himself fortunate to have played with two of the best Georgia tailbacks since Herschel Walker, adding that Gurley and Chubb have differing demeanors.
"Todd was more animated," Mitchell said. "He would be on the field talking and having fun, whereas Chubb won't do that. He'll run the ball and then hand it to the ref."
Gurley rushed for 1,385 yards as a freshman in 2012 and was used noticeably more in the passing game as a sophomore. That could be the case with Chubb.
There is no shortage of Georgia fans who are curious to see whether their latest superstar can be even better than a year ago.
"He is a better pass-protector now, and he is a better route-runner," coach Mark Richt said. "I think he does catch the ball better. We spent most of our time in the spring on those skills, and he has improved. The other thing is just having other healthy backs around him is going to help him, too.
"I don't know if he'll carry it 37 or 38 times a game like we had to do a couple of times. When he's in there, he'll be fresh."
What is certain is that before Chubb gets his first carry Saturday against ULM, a bathroom light in Cedartown will have been on for hours.
"I'll text my mom, and she says it's already done," Chubb said. "She knows."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.