Kirby Smart must prepare as if Nick Chubb, Sony Michel are out
Five-star freshman quarterback Jacob Eason has a chance to start for Georgia right out of the gate.
However, even though Eason has more pure arm skill than any Bulldogs passer since Matthew Stafford, it might be unwise to have him air it out immediately. He needs to get his feet wet in the SEC first.
First-year coach Kirby Smart, a longtime disciple of Nick Saban at Alabama, will want to lean on a UGA ground game that has essentially been a farm team for NFL tailbacks. Nick Chubb and Sony Michel are perhaps the best one-two punch in the nation and can take pressure off Eason’s green shoulders.
But Chubb wrecked his knee last year. Michel broke his arm this offseason. Both remain on the mend.
Because Smart went to the Saban School of Media Access — the less the better, of course — readily available information on the health of Chubb and Michel is scarce. We’re forced to speculate a bit.
While Chubb has been going through full-contact drills during fall camp, never overestimate a ball carrier coming back from a knee injury. Good news: He didn’t tear the all-important ACL. Bad news: His LCL, MCL and PCL were shredded. By any practical definition, significant damage was done.
Georgia held its initial scrimmage Saturday at Sanford Stadium. Chubb saw his fair share of action.
“I think he carried it seven or eight times,” Smart said, according to Gridiron Now. “I think the officials were more worried about him than we were because they were trying to blow the whistle quick, and we didn’t want that. He got tackled and did well with it. It was important for him to get over that psychologically, but also the physical conditioning part of getting up and down off the ground.”
Smart (below) went on to say that Chubb might not have looked as “sudden” as he has in the past. Instead of the knee, he blamed it on “camp legs” — lots of practice, not enough rest. Sunday was an off day.
Unlike Alabama’s Derrick Henry and LSU’s Leonard Fournette, who were both run into the ground from time to time a year ago, Chubb only had 16, 19, 21, 15 and 20 attempts in the five games he started and finished. Perhaps due to his legs being fresh, he never averaged less than 7.3 yards per carry.
Still, we don’t know what kind of workload Chubb will be able to handle this year.
“That’s impossible to answer,” Dean Legge told Saturday Down South. Legge covers the Bulldogs for DawgPost.com, a part of the Scout.com network. “We’ve not seen enough of him during media sessions. And even if we did, we can’t know what he will be like when the band is playing.”
Under normal circumstances, the presence of Michel would allow the Bulldogs to take their time with Chubb and make sure he’s 100 percent before rushing him back on the field. Michel is quite capable.
But the broken arm he suffered this summer in an ATV accident — Smart must have torn some hair out after hearing that news — is yet to heal. Michel wore a cast when fall practice began. He didn’t have it on during Saturday’s scrimmage, although he did wear a black non-contact jersey.
Michel has been limited throughout camp. There is no timetable set for his return to full contact.
When describing UGA’s running game, Chubb is Reggie Jackson: He’s the straw that stirs the drink. A 5-foot-10, 220-pound brute, he can bang between the tackles and also take it to the house out wide.
At 5-foot-11 and 212 pounds, to call Michel a change-of-pace back would be inaccurate. Yes, because Chubb is potentially an all-time great between the hedges, Michel plays second fiddle on the depth chart. But in the eight games the Dawgs played minus Chubb, Michel (below) had 20-plus carries seven times.
While his yards-per-attempt average wasn’t as productive, Michel still ran for 1,161 yards in 2015.
“He’s a pretty good No. 1 to me,” Legge said, “1,000-yard rushers don’t grow on trees in the SEC. Folks undervalue Sony.”
Smart has to prepare for a worst-case scenario in case he’s without Chubb or Michel — even both, possibly — when the Dawgs begin the 2016 campaign Sept. 3 vs. North Carolina in Atlanta.
Presumably, next in line is freshman Elijah Holyfield, a four-star recruit from the class of 2016 — his old man is Evander Holyfield, the former heavyweight champion of the world. Back in February on National Signing Day, he surely never envisioned maybe getting 20-25 carries in his first game.
But remember, Chubb himself only burst on the scene once Todd Gurley injured his knee in 2014.
“Elijah Holyfield has looked great so far in the action we’ve seen of him,” Legge said. “He had a great day during the open practice two Saturdays ago. He could certainly handle the load if he has to.”
One way or another, Smart won’t be at full strength at running back come Week 1. Even if Chubb is given a clean bill of health, expecting him to be a series-to-series workhorse wouldn’t be prudent.
As for Michel, there’s zero excuse for his legs not being in tip-top shape since he isn’t taking a daily pounding during fall camp. The recently broken arm is a concern, though. Tailbacks have to be able to carry the ball on either side in order to prevent fumbles, and he might not be able to do so.
Chubb, Michel and Holyfield is an enviable trio. But who stars against UNC is still anyone’s guess.
John Crist is the senior writer for Saturday Down South, a member of the FWAA and a voter for the Heisman Trophy. Send him an e-mail, like him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.