Georgia football: Do not mistake Sony Michel for a backup

PASADENA, CA – JANUARY 01: Sony Michel (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

Sony Michel is certainly a Georgia football legend, but did coaches waste his talent in Athens?

Sony Michel is undoubtedly a Georgia football legend. In four years as a Bulldog, Michel ran for 3,613 yards with two 1,000 yard seasons. Georgia fans will watch his long runs in glorious victories over Florida and Oklahoma forever. Especially his game winner in the Rose Bowl.

Returning for his senior year, helping lead Georgia to the National Championship game, and his all around affection for the Bulldog Nation made him a fan favorite. And his rapping on the side was really cool.

But despite having a solid legacy already set, Michel could have done so much more as a Georgia Bulldog. But for one reason or another, coaches never utilized him to his potential until his final season. Michel could have very easily ran for another 800 yards in his career without taking away from Nick Chubb.

Earlier on though, that was not the case. In fact, Michel was the backup for the first third of his freshman season. Then offensive coördinator Mike Bobo utilized Michel much more than Chubb in their first four games.

In that span of time, Michel had 223 rushing yards and 74 rushing yards with four total touchdowns. Chubb ran for 146 yards, caught one pass for 20 yards, and scored twice. Chubb had the highlight run against Clemson and the big catch for a score against Tennessee. But Michel was the true backup to Todd Gurley.

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Until he injured his shoulder against Tennessee. Michel missed five the next six games and wasn’t at 100-percent when he returned. Gurley’s suspension happened a week later after the Vanderbilt game. That forced Chubb into the limelight alone. Which to his credit, he shined in with 501 yards in three games as Georgia’s premier back.

Chubb ended 2014 with all of the attention. 1,760 yards of offense and 16 total touchdowns will do that. But Michel’s 516 yards and six touchdowns despite missing five games and playing injured for four, is impressive by itself. Before his injury though, Michel was on track for 1,144 yards of total offense.

Still it was easy to get excited for Michel going into his sophomore year. But Mike Bobo left between seasons to take the head coaching job at Colorado State. In his place, Georgia hired Brian Schottenheimer, who for whatever reason, didn’t see Michel’s potential.

In Georgia’s first five games of 2015, Chubb ran for 745 yards with seven touchdowns. Which had him on track for over 1,900 yards. 2,000 if the Dawgs had won the SEC East. But in those same five games, Michel had 276 rushing yards with four scores. Not bad, he was on track for 717 rushing yards. Great for a backup.

But Michel wasn’t a backup. He was a change-of-pace back. There’s a difference. Michel was way too good of a player to relieve Chubb when he needed a rest. The two were interchangeable. Chubb, the bruiser who you couldn’t catch after getting trucked. Michel, the agile back who could bounce off tacklers as easily as he could juke past them.

Michel proved that after Chubb tore his ACL against Tennessee. In that game, Michel ran for 145 yards and three touchdowns. That set the pace for the rest of his season. Michel ended 2015 with 1,136 yards and 11 total touchdowns. But it shouldn’t have taken Nick Chubb getting injured for Michel to get used to his potential.

Regardless, after a 1,000-yard sophomore season, Michel would surely continue to get used to his potential right? Well, the firing of Mark Richt brought a completely new offensive coaching staff to Athens. Enter Jim Cheney as the new offensive coordinator. And finally Michel, slowly, began to get used the way he deserved.

He only rushed for 840 yards as a junior. But that was behind a terrible offensive line. He also missed all of Georgia’s season opener against North Carolina and wasn’t healthy enough to play against Nicholls. Cheney also made the error of turning away from the running game against Florida and only gave Chubb and Michel a combined 12 carries.

If Michel doesn’t succumb to injury before the 2016 season, he likely runs for 1,000 yards. But he still felt like a backup in a lot of ways. Chubb averaged 18 carries a game, Michel only averaged 13. That’s low for both, but criminally low for Michel.

Michel finally burst out of the shadow he shouldn’t have been put in to begin with as a senior. He once again topped 1,000 yards by rushing a for 1,227 yards with 16 touchdowns. In spite of missing a game and a half with an injury.

He only averaged 11 carries a game, but that number gets bogged down by the Mississippi State game that he was only used sparingly in because of an injury. It also gets brought down by blowout wins over Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Florida and others where Michel didn’t play in the fourth quarter. And Chubb only averaged three more carries a game this time.

Michel took his rightful place in the college football spotlight in the Rose Bowl where he carried the ball 11 times for 181 yards, caught four passes for 41 yards, and scored four total touchdowns. Including the game winner in the second overtime.

That carried over to the Alabama game where he had 98 yards on 14 touches. But in the second half, Michel went from being the premier back to 2015 and 2016 level usage. Cheney stopped handing the ball off to Michel in the second half, the Dawgs also stopped scoring.

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Again, Michel is a legend of Georgia football. He’s third on the school’s career rushing list. He’s a player that we will tell future generations about. But you can’t help but think, he could have accomplished so much more in Athens. The most tragic part is that it was coaches and a handful of injuries that prohibited that. Because he made the most of every carry and catch he had.

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