After bursting onto the scene in 2014, Nick Chubb will solidify his standing as the best running back in college football by bringing home the Heisman Trophy in 2015.
There will be no surprises this time around.
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When Nick Chubb signed on with UGA in the spring of 2014, he was known by some, but not all Georgia fans, for the impressive numbers he put up while at Cedartown High School. He then gained a little more popularity when his hulk-like body was shown off at the state championship track meet. Bulldog fans began to become excited about what Chubb could do for the Dawgs in the future.
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Again, the future. Nobody thought Chubb would see the field very much in 2014, what with two gentlemen named Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall, as well as the more highly-touted running back recruit Sony Michel, all on the roster at tailback. And at the start of the season, it seemed that’s how it would end up. Chubb got some good carries in during Georgia’s blowout win against Clemson, but Gurley Mania was in full swing, with #3 reeling off one Heisman-level performance after another. The freshman Nick Chubb was just another Pip to Gurley’s Gladys Knight. That was until the suspension – the suspension that I can’t go into because I still get heated about it.
Anyway, Todd Gurley became unavailable for the Bulldogs, and with Keith Marshall, Sony Michel, and AJ Turman all injured, Nick Chubb became the next man up. The rest is history. Chubb would reel off eight straight 100-yard rushing performances, including two 200 yard performances, and finish 2nd in the SEC in rushing yards, all while not seeing very much playing time until midway through the season.
The scenario is much, much different heading into the 2015 campaign.
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Nick Chubb will not be bursting onto any scenes this year. Nobody will be caught off guard. Along with TCU’s Trevone Boykin, Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott, and any one of the quarterbacks from Ohio State’s three-headed monster, Nick Chubb is a very early candidate to win the Heisman Trophy in 2015, and I’m here to tell you that it will be the sophomore freak of nature from Cedartown, Ga. that wins college football’s most coveted individual honor. Here’s why he’ll win it.
For starters, I firmly believe that Nick Chubb is the scariest player in all of college football. He’s 5’10”, 220 lbs., fast as lightning, and impossible to tackle. Not to mention he’s confident. Earlier this offseason, he, comically, compared himself to a Lamborghini in that he doesn’t need to advertise for himself. Confidence is almost as important as talent in football, and lucky for Mr. Chubb, he has both of those things in bunches. Along with his talent, Chubb has an impeccable work ethic, which was shown when instead of partying in Panama City over Spring Break, he was back home in Cedartown, training at his alma mater.
Secondly, Georgia coaches currently plan on having Chubb carry the ball slightly less than he did last season, given that his backfield buddies stay healthy. That will result in a Nick Chubb who will be fresh and ready to go at all times. Nick Chubb was already a guy who ran for over 100 yards in all of his starts, imagine how much more effective he will be with added rest in games. If Georgia can win their first four games comfortably and Chubb can stay fresh, he will surely be ready to explode against Alabama, the first of a few games on the national stage this season that will be prime for a Heisman moment or two.
Thirdly, Georgia returns 4 starters from last year’s offensive line that was arguably the best in the SEC. Those big uglies will make it so that Chubb doesn’t have to work too hard to find a hole to run through, and you and I both know that once the ole Chubbster finds green grass and is running downhill, he’s gone. Nick Chubb doesn’t need much assistance to be successful, but he will get an extra-large helping of it in the form of his offensive line.
Nick Chubb’s personal success and the team’s will go hand in hand. The Dawgs will go 11-1 in the regular season, and if they do end up having that kind of success, I think there’s no way Nick Chubb won’t be in New York City this December picking up his first, but hopefully not his last, addition to his trophy room from 2015.
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