Better/Worse in 2016: Georgia running game

Silver linings: Georgia won’t have to play in Knoxville this season.

The past two trips to Tennessee, in 2013 and 2015, ravaged the knees of multiple Bulldogs skill players. The injuries have become centerpiece in Georgia’s conspiracy folklore. After Nick Chubb (pictured) became the most recent victim on his first carry against the Vols last season, Georgia’s predictable demise began.

The running game wasn’t to blame, per se, but that moment accelerated the downward spiral already put into motion the week before against Alabama. Sony Michel, Keith Marshall and Brendan Douglas tried to shoulder the ground game burden without the 100-yard connoisseur, and they really ended up carrying the entire offense.

But it just wasn’t the same without Chubb. His absence marred rest of the anemic offensive season.

While the running game still moved the ball in 2015, it all felt like a waiting game for 2016. With the most of the primary group of backups returning, and Chubb hopeful for a full recovery, the Bulldogs running backs legacy of the past decade looks fit to re-establish its prominence.

Rushing yards per game in 2015 (SEC rank): 192.15 (6th)
Rushing touchdowns: 22 (tied for 7th)

Rotation

Most important: Chubb returns in 2016, in some form or fashion. And by the full-speed treadmill sprints and freak-of-nature reviews from Georgia’s athletic trainer, it appears he’s not far away from getting back to the same old Chubb.

Even if he needs to be eased into the rotation, the only missing piece from the core backups from a season ago is Marshall. And he’ll be replaced by late signee Brian Herrien and Elijah Holyfield, a pair of wide-bodied bruisers with surprising speed — and, by all accounts, Holyfield had both of his ears intact when he arrived for move-in day June 1.

It’s strange to think Michel is only a junior after how much he’s been used all over the field in his first two seasons. He’s back for his third season and will, very likely, be the feature back to start the season to let Chubb get his legs back under him. Michel (pictured in spring game) finished with the sixth-most rushing yards in the conference despite not starting a game until Week 7.

There’s also a few players listed as wide receivers — Terry Godwin (below) and Isaiah McKenzie — who play a major role in the running game. Combined, the wideouts rushed 18 times for 154 yards and three touchdowns. That’s an explosive role in the running game for non-backs.

Douglas’ journey, with the infusion of the freshman duo, has probably run its course. Though he’s an experienced, veteran presence who shouldn’t be undervalued when inevitable injuries occur.

There will be many for offensive coordinator Jim Chaney to choose from, but the easy choices will be Chubb and Michel. They came to Athens together, and if both of them have the seasons within their reach, they might leave Athens together after 2016. The Bulldogs will live and die with their lightning and thunder nature.

Chasing 1,000

In the past decade, Georgia’s quest for a 1,000-yard rusher is at .500, which seems surprisingly low. Most of the unreached seasons included an injury to the feature back to start the year — Isaiah Crowell in 2011 and Todd Gurley in 2013.

There were sometimes the Bulldogs easily cleared the mark, namely Knowshon Moreno’s back-to-back in 2007 and 2008, and the annihilation of the mark by Gurley and Chubb. Michel made it a fifth time in 10 years last season after picking up where Chubb left off. Chubb, mind you, made it to 747 yards in five games and one carry, so it’s safe to say he was well on pace to surpass, not just 1,000, but the 1,547 yards he ran for in 2014.

With those two returning, it will be a fair split of reps that will probably favor Chubb by the end of the year. Chubb, if healthy, should clear the threshold with no problem. But Michel, a 1,000-yard rusher himself, could make it the first single-season 1,000-yard duo in program history.

Play-calling

Georgia wasn’t fooling anyone on first down last season, and that likely won’t change in 2016 with the same stable back in action.

Mentioned in last week’s passing breakdown, the Bulldogs ran the ball a ton on first down — 254 times to be exact, meaning over 50 percent of the team’s 486 rushing plays came on first down. And they did it effectively. Georgia got 1,489 of its 2,498 yards and 12 of its 22 touchdowns on first down.

As reiterated time-and-time again, it’s anybody’s guess how Chaney will dial up the plays this season. But it would seem pretty crazy not to capitalize on the rare combination of Chubb and Michel, especially with the uncertainty at quarterback.

Where the Bulldogs lacked, however, was the yardage when they needed it most. On third down and less than 4 yards, Georgia averaged only 2.17 yards per carry in 2015. That can be a slightly skewed statistic because, oftentimes, backs and linemen are only working for 1 or 2 yards.

But Georgia only converted on 16 of 29 opportunities in that third-and-short range. The Bulldogs will certainly hope to do better than 55 percent in those situations this time around.

Greatest concern

You’d think the cautious return of Chubb would make injuries the top worry. But Chubb seems so much to be the type of a laboratory concoction that the uncomfortable stumble against Tennessee seemed more like a fluke than an injury-prone label being slapped on his helmet.

Michel, on the other hand, probably is at greater injury risk. But the probability plays into the favor of at least one of them — both feature-back capable — being able to withstand the long haul. The offensive line seems to be a little herky jerky, uncertain who will be playing where in the line rotation.

But, as cliche as it may be, the biggest concern for the Bulldogs’ running game will be its passing game. Last season, SEC defenses keyed on Georgia’s running game, consistently stacking seven- and eight-man boxes. That really isn’t anything new for a program that experienced the same in the Gurley years and the 2014 season with Hutson Mason at the helm.

But with all the quarterback uncertainty, and lack of proven receiver firepower, opponents might be able to narrow their focus to the running backs more than ever. One-dimensional is never something an offense wants to be, and the running backs will welcome not having to carry the load, again.

One stat that must improve

It’s pretty nitpicky to say any Georgia backfield stat must increase, aside from the number of Chubb attempts, which will happen by default.

But if we’re being nitpicky, it would have to be the running performance in road and neutral site games. The Bulldogs scored 22 touchdowns on the ground in 2015, and only five of those came outside the friendly confines of Sanford Stadium.

It’s great that the running game is used to fire up the Georgia home crowd, but it should be utilized equally to silence the away ones.

Better/Worse in 2016:

Chubb is back — that’s better. Michel returns, Marshall’s gone and Herrien and Holyfield are new to town — more or less, that’s a wash.

Whether the total rushing stats from a year ago (2,498 yards and 22 touchdowns) improve remains to be seen and likely to be determined by the passing game’s efficiency and Chaney’s play-calling style.

But plain and simple: Chubb and Michel are probably two of the five best backs in the conference, with worthy arguments as top national players as well. They’ll be back for their junior season, which should be peak time for two guys who will be all over NFL radars.

Georgia’s running game gets its prized possession back from the Neyland Stadium turn that stole him from it, and that alone, will make the Bulldogs a more deadly running force in 2016.