ATHENS, Ga. – The Georgia Bulldogs will reach the midway mark of their regular season Saturday night when they host Vanderbilt.
It doesn’t feel that way for Georgia’s running backs.
Georgia’s leading rushers so far this season are junior Elijah Holyfield, who has 368 yards and is averaging 7.1 yards per carry, and sophomore D’Andre Swift, who has 240 yards and is averaging 4.6 yards a rush. The more meaningful number may be 52, which is how many carries both Holyfield and Swift have through five games, or an average of just 10.4 rushes per game.
“I think it will pay off in the long run, when we’re still fresh at the end of the season,” Holyfield said this week. “I always feel really good the whole game. There has not been a point in any game where I’ve felt dog-tired.”
The same can’t be said for opposing defenses.
Georgia’s ability to rotate its runners, which has included several stout contributions from receivers on speed sweeps, has resulted in a rushing average of 250.4 yards per game. That average isn’t far off last season’s 258.4-yard clip, when the Bulldogs possessed two rushers – Nick Chubb and Sony Michel – who are coming off 100-yard performances this past weekend in the NFL.
Holyfield’s season-high 16 carries for 78 yards in last Saturday’s 38-12 win over Tennessee matched the season-high 16 carries Swift had for 71 yards the previous week at Missouri. Bulldogs third-year coach Kirby Smart is confident those two and others could withstand a larger workload if needed.
“I’ve got ultimate confidence in all our backs,” Smart said. “If they need to carry it 30, they could each do it. I don’t know if they could do it for a whole year, but they could do it for a game. That’s why you have the backs you have. That’s why you have the ability to use different backs. That’s why we hand the ball off to the receivers.
“We’re sharing the workload when it comes to rushing because we want to be able to spread the ball out. It’s a long season, and you want to be able to be hard to defend.”
Georgia’s rushing totals include a 72-yard touchdown run by receiver Demetris Robertson in the 45-0 opening win over Austin Peay and a 56-yard scoring run by Tyler Simmons in the 49-7 rout of Middle Tennessee on Sept. 15. Receiver Mecole Hardman had a 30-yard run in the 41-17 win at South Carolina on Sept. 8, while backup quarterback Justin Fields has provided an added dimension with 13 carries for 115 yards (8.8 per carry) and three touchdowns.
“It’s an advantage for us,” sophomore left tackle Andrew Thomas said. “We have so many different guys with different talents. If I was a defensive coordinator, it would be hard to scheme against all the guys we have. Nobody has taken the whole role, so they’re all fresh in the fourth quarter, and they continue to run the ball well.”
Chubb averaged 14.9 carries per game for last season’s Southeastern Conference champions, while Michel averaged 11.1. This season’s situation for Holyfield may resemble what transpired last year with Alabama, when Damien Harris had a 1,000-yard season on 9.6 carries per game.
Holyfield has just one 100-yard game, which he attained in the first half against MTSU on eight carries, and he isn’t complaining about his 7.1-yard average.
“I try not to look at that,” Holyfield said. “I try to just keep my head down and work, but when I look up I do like to be averaging a good amount per carry.”
Swift has been battling a nagging groin injury this season, but that setback stems from the spring. Holyfield admits he tends to feel sore for a day or two after games, but he isn’t complaining about his health or the number of carries he gets.
If this season’s rushing attack is mirroring last season’s numbers, who at Georgia has any right to complain?
“I certainly would like some more bulk at the position, but we’ve got two guys who are 210-plus and two guys who are a little bit smaller than that but run bigger than they are,” Smart said. “They’ve got a big group of guys blocking for them, and we certainly want to be able to sustain for the long haul.”
Odds and ends
Junior receiver Tyler Simmons (shoulder) practiced Tuesday. Holyfield on whether Herschel Walker or Ric Flair was the bigger star at last week’s game: “It’s close. Ric Flair was a little more turned up than Herschel was on Saturday.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.