Georgia Football: Running Backs to watch this spring

D’Andre Swift, Sophomore

Like we were going to finish anywhere else. With Nick Chubb and Sony Michel now departed, 2018 is the year where D’Andre Swift gets his chance to shine. In 2017, Swift somehow managed to pry 81 carries away from Chubb and Michel. He averaged 7.6 yards on each of those carries and scored three touchdowns.

Swift also showed that he was a complete back. Kirby Smart raved about his pass protection and he was the team’s 4th leading receiver. That’s pretty incredible for a freshman who only arrived on campus in the summer. Now with the two seniors gone, Swift has the chance to step up and become a star.

Health permitting, I can see Swift getting 250 touches in 2018. That would be about 10% more usage than we saw from Nick Chubb last year. That’s a lot of touches on an offense that could be quite different in 2018. I think we’ll see more passing this season and even if Jake Fromm starts, Justin Fields is going to run packages every game.

While I do expect Holyfield and the freshmen to carry the ball a lot, I think it’s going to be clear who Georgia’s number 1 running back is. We saw flashes of how special Swift could be in 2017 and to be honest, I think his ceiling is pretty crazy.

Next: Finding out a bit more about Owen Pappoe

I’m really excited to see Swift again this spring. He didn’t have much of an impact in the playoffs but he’s become one of my favourite players to watch. He should also be running behind a larger and improved offensive line. If they give him holes like they gave Michel last year, then Swift could be a legitimate Heisman contender.