University of Tennessee defenders chase Georgia’s J.J. Green (15) during the first half of Saturday’s SEC game at Neyland Stadium. Green, a freshman who was expected to play defense when he arrived on campus in January, starred with the Bulldogs’ top two tailbacks sidelined by injuries.Less than 10 minutes into Saturday’s overtime thriller between Georgia and Tennessee at Neyland Stadium, it was time for J.J. Green to forget he was a freshman.
The unheralded Bulldogs tailback had begun the season as a carefree reserve behind the touted sophomore tandem of Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall. Things changed in the first quarter, however, as Gurley watched from the sideline with a sprained ankle and Marshall writhed in pain with what would be a season-ending knee injury.
“I don’t know what was going through my mind,” Green said afterward. “I was just looking at my brother laying on the ground. When he was laying there, I knew it was time to step up and time to be a man. I knew I couldn’t be an 18-year-old kid anymore.”
Green already had been a nice story for the Bulldogs, with the 5-foot-9, 183-pounder from Kingsland, Ga., reeling off an 18-yard run in the clinching drive against LSU and a 17-yarder in Knoxville just before Marshall went down. He and fellow freshman Brendan Douglas became the new tailback tandem against the Volunteers, with Green winding up with 17 carries for 129 yards.
“The whole week of practice, they told us that Todd probably wasn’t going and that we had to get ready because we were going to be in there to play,” Green said.