Many predicted D’Andre Swift to be Georgia’s breakout running back this season, but instead, it’s been Elijah Holyfield leading the way for the Bulldog backfield the first two months of the season.

While the Georgia backfield has certainly taken a committee approach following the graduation of Sony Michel and Nick Chubb, Holyfield has been the most consistent and punishing runner for the Bulldogs in 2018. After averaging over nine yards per carry over the last two games against SEC foes Vanderbilt and LSU, look for the junior to continue to carry the load for the UGA backfield.

Holyfield has 488 yards on only 65 carries to this point in the season, good for a 7.5 yards per carry average.

Georgia has been cautious with overloading Holyfield to this point of the season, that’s something Kirby Smart noted during his latest media availability.

‘’Elijah does a great job. I think he’s one of the best running back in our conference. He runs really hard. He’s tough to tackle. He’s like that every day with our guys,” Smart said on Tuesday. “I think the wear and tear is important because he’s a 205-, 210-pound back, not a 225-pound back. So you’ve got to be careful about the wear and tear. A lot of guys 200 pounds carry it 25-30 times a game, especially in yesteryear. But we do everything we can to get those backs the ball as much as possible. He’s a guy we want to carry the ball.’’

Those comments seem to make it clear the team will continue to use a committee approach but how will the rotation play out? Smart was asked that question as well during his presser.

‘’It’s really based on carries. We try to get 3-4 carries per guy and then a lot of times they get winded. We don’t have a lot of times when they get 3-4 carries in one drive,” Smart noted. “I can think of maybe Brian Herrien against Tennessee once and then maybe Holyfield and D’Andre (Swift) each once. We like to sub those guys. You want fresh backs in there and if you feel like those guys are equal at running the ball and they’re all gonna read the same things, then you want to have them in the game and get those guys touches.

“Our backs do a great job, but some of the looks we get from defenses sometimes don’t make it easy to sit there and keep handing it off over and over, when you get some looks outside from some guys that we think can win one-on-one matchups. Obviously, we’ve got to do what is successful, whatever that success is.  If that’s carrying it into a loaded box, if that’s throwing it into not a loaded box, we’ve just got to be successful.’’

One thing Smart didn’t mention there was the ability to block blitzers. That’s something that has to be of paramount concern facing off Todd Grantham’s uber-aggressive scheme that will bring pressure from every defensive position on any given play. If Georgia’s staff doesn’t have confidence in any of their backs to recognize and pick up free blitzers, they can’t afford to let them see the field this week in Jacksonville.

In a game of this magnitude, one mistake is all it could take to turn the tide in the game and you may never see it coming the way the Gator defenders have been coming for quarterbacks this season.