Georgia football will be hoping to continue it’s ‘RBU’ reputation in 2019 and nobody will be trying harder to make an impact that D’Andre Swift.
D’Andre Swift has been tantalizing fans for 2 seasons. During his two years in Athens, he’s flashed dominance and shown any Georgia football fan that watches that he’s worthy of the ‘RBU’ legacy. That being said, his sophomore season was hindered by little injuries that held him back from truly playing at his best. Now a junior, Swift goes into what will likely be his final season in Athens knowing that a big year in 2019 will catapult him into a very high NFL draft pick.
Despite being short, we’ve seen that Swift has the ability to be the perfect ‘do-everything’ back at Georgia. He can run the ball inside, he can bounce and run outside. He can catch the ball out of the backfield of play out of the slot. We’ve also seen him continue to work on his pass blocking skills and it’s become an underrated part of his game that will be very important when he heads to the NFL. Right now, I would say that Swift might be the most well rounded back that Georgia has had since Todd Gurley. He’s got the ability to be a 1st round draft pick and go higher than Sony Michel did last season.
Now, all that ability and potential hasn’t quite been realized yet. At times last season, those injuries caused Swift problems. He lacked explosiveness and couldn’t quite be the player that many hoped he would. He also had several mental mistakes early on in the season that put Georgia in difficult spots. I for one can remember multiple easy drops off fantastic play calls that had gotten him wide open for huge gains. That’s something he really has to work on improving this year.
Going into the spring, Swift does appear to be fully healthy. If he is and he can put those mental errors behind him, boy could this Georgia offense be special. We saw against Auburn and Kentucky last year the quick, explosive moves that truly separate him from most running backs. If he can continue to build on those performances and have that big junior year that many expect then the sky really is the limit for Swift. He’s got that kind of potential and it’s why he’s one of the most intriguing players to watch as we head into the spring practices.