An update on Georgia Football’s running back position

Apr 16, 2016; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs running back Nick Chubb (27) on the sideline during the second half of the spring game at Sanford Stadium. The Black team defeated the Red team 34-14. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 16, 2016; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs running back Nick Chubb (27) on the sideline during the second half of the spring game at Sanford Stadium. The Black team defeated the Red team 34-14. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

All eyes are on Georgia Football’s running back position.

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’d know this week is SEC Media Days. Kirby Smart and Georgia were on center stage on Tuesday. While many interesting statements were made by Smart, the most interesting and important for most fans were his comments about his running backs.

As DOTD has previously written articles about, Sony Michel suffered a left forearm fracture due to an ATV accident. Also, Nick Chubb is still recovering from his 2015 season-ending knee injury.

Doctors say it will be 6-8 weeks before Michel recovers from his broken bone, so his ability to play in the North Carolina game on Sep. 3 is up in the air. Smart commented on the situation,

While not quite on Chubb’s level, Sony Michel is still one of the conference’s best backs, and the Bulldogs desperately need him to get well soon. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
While not quite on Chubb’s level, Sony Michel is still one of the conference’s best backs, and the Bulldogs desperately need him to get well soon. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

“So with Sony’s situation, there’s just a lot of unknown. How fast does he heal, how fast does the muscle repair itself?” Smart said to reporters at SEC Media Day on Tuesday. “I don’t think we’ll know availability until closer to the first or second scrimmages. We’ll know closer to then how long it will actually take.”

Chubb’s status is more encouraging as he is apparently progressing well.

“The big thing with Nick is going to be full, live-contact tackling. The psychological factor of taking the first hits and the tackling is going to be a big part of that,” said Smart.

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Center Brandon Kublanow (also at SEC Media Days) echoed many UGA fans’ sentiments in that he’s not worried about the star running back due seeing the field in 2016,

“Both of those guys will eventually be back, so I’m not worried about it as the season goes on.”

So did we get any definitive answers about the status of the two running backs for the beginning of the season? No, but Smart gave us some good updates. Let’s hope these guys get healthy quickly as they will be needed against an excellent North Carolina team in Week 1.