FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Dell McGee wanted to make sure his current running backs got their flowers. Specifically running backs Kendall Milton and Daijun Edwards.
The two didn’t have the easiest year from a health standpoint. But they both found ways to be productive, with the senior duo combining for 1,504 rushing yards and 23 rushing touchdowns.
“Just to have two seniors to get ready to win their 50th game is really special to us as coaches and our players,” Georgia running backs coach Dell McGee said. “That’s our main purpose to try and win this game.”
When discussing the Georgia running back room at this point, it’s hard not to look ahead at what the future has in store. The Bulldogs will bring in four new running backs for the 2024 team.
The most well-known of those additions is transfer running back Trevor Etienne. He ran for 753 rushing yards and eight touchdowns for the Florida Gators this past season.
In the likely event, Milton and Edwards move on to the NFL, Etienne becomes the most accomplished running back in the room. Branson Robinson is still making progress from a ruptured patella tendon, while Andrew Paul and Roderick Robinson had a limited impact this year.
“I think it provides leadership, he’s played in this league, he’s been very productive,” McGee said. “You all watch the tape, he’s a very good player.”
The transfer portal wasn’t the only way Georgia added to its running back room though, as McGee landed three running backs in the 2024 recruiting cycle.
Only Chauncey Bowens will enroll early. McGee flipped Bowens from Florida, with the 4-star running back set to arrive in January.
“Chauncey has a great academic institution that he attends at the Benjamin School,” McGee said. “Great family situation. Hard worker, can’t wait to get him on campus.”
Etienne is expected to join Bowens on campus in January.
The highest-rated running back of the trio is Nate Frazier, who is the No. 2 overall running back prospect per the On3 Industry Rankings. He will not enroll early but brings plenty of talent coming from the famed Mater Dei program.
“Great young man, with great work ethic, great drive,” McGee said. “He’s a real, real dude, I’ll say that, from a personality standpoint.”
The most intriguing fit for Georgia is running back Dwight Phillips Jr. He’s going to run track this spring for Pebblebrook High School in Mableton, Ga. But it’s hard to not be intrigued by what his speed might do not just for the Georgia running back room but the offense as a whole.
“Dwight Phillips, somewhat of a track background,” McGee said. “His father, Dwight Phillips Sr., an Olympian, his mom ran track as well. He’s going to bring a lot of speed. He’s unique, has a unique skillset. We have to figure out how we’re going to use that skillset when we get on campus.”
Georgia hasn’t had a 1,000-yard rusher since the 2019 season, even with the change between Todd Monken as the offensive coordinator and Mike Bobo taking over.
“I don’t necessarily think there was pressure following Coach Monken. I think there’s pressure in every job,” Bobo said. “I’ve heard the saying, I think Kirby might have said it before, pressure is a privilege. You’re at a place like the University of Georgia, there’s pressure for us to play well, for us to win. I think that’s part of the job. I think you learn to live with those pressures. Quite frankly, you welcome those pressures, those expectations. You want to be at a place where the expectations are high.”
Bobo was still impressed though from what he got from the running back position in 2023, with Milton and Edwards both having career-best seasons for Georgia.
They’ll leave behind big shoes that need to be filled in the 2024 season. But Georgia is going to have plenty of promising young prospects to throw at the position.
