I’m beginning to sound like a broken record, but the constant hammering is justified, especially when some of my colleagues continue to clamor for Leonard Fournette among others.

Georgia’s Nick Chubb will be college football’s best running back next season.

There are others with similar skill sets on the same wavelength talent-wise, but Chubb’s situation is different. He’s blessed with four returning starters up front and a first-year offensive coordinator in Brian Schottenheimer who is intent on keeping his job by giving him the football.

Chubb stands above his closest competitors because …

  • Ohio State has multiple dimensions offensively, sparing Heisman favorite Ezekiel Elliott from the strenuous workload often needed for big numbers.
  • Leonard Fournette faces the task of running behind an LSU offensive line playing without versatile multi-year starter La’El Collins and loses the luxury of two veteran backs to lean on behind him.
  • Returning 1,700-yard bruiser James Conner starts at Pitt, a program with little exposure nationally that’s not expected to make much noise in the ACC Coastal.
  • The darkhorse option to match and perhaps exceed Chubb’s production is Oklahoma’s Samaje Perine, a fellow sophomore who didn’t earn the starting gig until midway through his rookie season. Perine broke Melvin Gordon’s single-game FBS rushing record last season with 427 yards against Kansas. The Sooners are a challenge to project however, and it appears Bob Stoops’ days are numbered due to inconsistency on the national stage.
  • That leaves us with Florida State’s Dalvin Cook, a speedy rising sophomore who becomes the go-to player for the Seminoles now that Jameis Winston’s out of Tallahassee. How Cook’s brand-new offensive line performs is the more important question, an issue that will keep Cook out of the picture for the national rushing lead.

Much like LeBron commands the ball as the best player on the floor at all times, Chubb will do the same on an offense welcoming back several weapons despite the losses of Chris Conley and Michael Bennett with Schottenheimer acting as the puppeteer.

During his stint with the New York Jets, Schottenheimer often relied on twin tight end-heavy sets to lead the NFL in rushing in 2009 and a fourth-place finish the following season — with Mark Sanchez at quarterback, too. New York reached the AFC Championship Game both seasons thanks to Schottenheimer’s well-executed game plans and an elite defense. If he can incorporate even a handful of the plays that saw success at the highest level this season in Athens, Chubb should explode for another 1,000-plus in a talented backfield.

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When the Bulldogs were at their best under Mike Bobo’s offensive tutelage in recent seasons, they dominated the opposition with tackle-breaking Todd Gurley who wore down the opposition at the point of attack. Georgia will do the same with Chubb in various power sets, utilizing his strengths — speed, power, lateral quickness — to expose weaknesses on the other side of the line.

Chubb piled up the yardage in the second half of last season following Gurley’s suspension (1,180 yards over final seven games), but this fall, expect an opposite trend. While the Bulldogs adjust to first-year (projected) starting quarterback Brice Ramsey, taking pressure off of his shoulders is priority No. 1 for Schottenheimer as the play-caller.

The short to intermediate passing game worked well for Hutson Mason, a player with a skill set not as expansive as Ramsey, but it’ll take a few games before Georgia’s ready to unleash Ramsey’s full repertoire during his grooming period.

That’s where Chubb comes in as Mr. Reliable, a back not yet drained by high mileage.