Kirby Smart updates the status of five-star RB signee Zamir White heading into fall camp
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Great news from Athens as five-star running back signee Zamir White has been cleared heading into the start of fall camp.
Kirby Smart announced that news during his Friday afternoon press conference from Athens. The running back’s status was questionable following a knee injury he suffered last fall in high school.
“Zamir (White) will be full go with a protective brace. He’ll have his brace on, but we’ll just have to monitor his volume, but he’s not going to be limited in any way,” Smart revealed heading into White’s first fall camp as a Bulldog. “He should be able to do all drills, and he’s just gaining confidence on that thing, on his knee. But the brace will just help him with that. Azeez, who we know underwent surgery in the off-season, he’s doing well. He’s cleared for everything but contact as of now. He won’t have true contact, but as far as you guys see him individually, he’ll be cleared to do everything.”
The Georgia coach noted that White will have a brace but is “gaining confidence” as he continues to return from the ACL tear he suffered as a high school senior for Scotland County in North Carolina.
Smart also went on to note that White’s injury is similar to the one experienced by Nick Chubb as a sophomore, but noted that White’s injury was not as severe.
“He’s fully cleared to do everything right now. He’s in a very similar situation to when I arrived with Nick Chubb,” Smart said. “He went through spring, and it kind of reminded me of Chubb, where you all saw Nick out there doing things that first spring back. He was able to do some ball handling, do some things like that. That’s kind of where Zamir has been.
“He did a very similar protocol to what Nick did, whether it was karate, did a lot of things, getting on the ground on mats, learning to fall again, getting confidence in his knee, and that’s been a big part of his rehab. If anything, at this point, I would say he’s ahead of where Nick was his junior year, because he was — his injury was not quite as significant as Nick’s was at the time. So been very pleased with that.
White was rated as the No. 1 running back in the nation, the No. 9 overall prospect and the No. 1 prospect from North Carolina by 247Sports Composite Rankings.
Along with the health update on White, Smart updated the status of receiver Terry Godwin, (he will be limited following minor knee injury), Jaden Huner (he will be limited with a hamstring) and said Divaad Wilson is “progressing” following a knee injury.
In addition to those comments, Smart said Jake Fromm would continue to wear a splint but noticed it’s “hard to notice it.” The splint is not expected to hinder Fromm’s availability heading into camp.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
