Chubb and Michel represent Georgia on watch list for 2016 Heisman race

It is yet to be seen if Nick Chubb and Sony Michel will be healthy enough to start week one for the Bulldogs in Atlanta, but this hasn’t stopped sports experts from taking notice to their greatness heading into the 2016 season.

Athlon sports recently released a preview of its top SEC candidates for the Heisman Trophy entering the 2016 season.  To no one’s surprise, Nick Chubb found himself in the top 5 portion of that list along with great company in LSU’s Leonard Fournette and Tennessee’s Jalen Hurd.  Although Chubb has continuously established himself as a force to be reckoned with on the ground, he wasn’t the lone Bulldog mentioned.  Sony Michel was also honored as a “dark horse to watch” candidate on the list.

Nick Chubb made it clear just how dominant he could be since his first start in Athens.  Chubb was forced to step in for a suspended Todd Gurley in 2014 and hasn’t looked back since.  It is no surprise that Chubb is on everyone’s radar considering he was a Heisman candidate in 2015 as well.  Unfortunately, his sophomore campaign was cut short just six games into the season when he sustained a season-ending injury on the first play from scrimmage.  Chubb’s

much-anticipated season wasn’t the only thing that ended after that play.  Chubb was just one game shy of breaking Georgia great Herschel Walker’s 13-game 100-yard rushing streak, but that isn’t where the greatness ends.  Chubb also has two 200-yard rushing games and a wide array of freshman and SEC awards to go along with a 1,500-yard freshman season on the ground.  His career resumé, which has been compiled in just a year and a half in Athens, makes him the perfect SEC candidate to be considered for a Heisman trophy.

Chubb has seen an abundance of exposure since 2014, but one Bulldog was determined to not be forgotten.  When Chubb was injured in 2015, Michel stepped in to fill his shoes.  He quickly reminded Athens why he was recruited to be a Bulldog in the first place.  The 2015 season gave Michel the opportunity to start in six games and rush for four of his five career 100-yard rushing performances.

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He compiled 1,161 yards on the ground with eight touchdowns.  Michel has all the makings of a player to watch in a power conference.  Despite playing alongside another Heisman candidate in Chubb, there is no reason he shouldn’t be considered a minor threat for the trophy awarded to college football’s greatest player every year.

It is still yet to be seen if Chubb or Michel will start for Georgia week one against North Carolina.  However, there is no doubt that after these players return to 100 percent health they will both be dominant forces on the ground.  Georgia has been home to only 13 single-season 1,000 yard rushers.

Chubb and Michel have accounted for two of these occurrences during their careers, making them both players to watch this season.