georgia football roderick robinson spring

When Kendall Milton first spoke about freshman running back Roderick Robinson this spring, the senior joked that the freshman was eating his way into being a fullback for Georgia.

Robinson comes in at 6-foot and 235 pounds, making him the biggest running back in Georgia’s backfield in terms of weight.

He’s also now going to take on a bigger role for Georgia this spring following Milton’s hamstring injury. Robinson is one of two healthy running backs for Georgia at this point in time.

“He’s going to be a great player,” Milton said. “Just seeing him, he has the ability — he can still run with his weight. He’s a strong player. He can make those cuts. Same thing like me when I came in as a running back: You just have to be able to, you know, get comfortable learning the schemes and learning the pass pro and learning the different blitzes and just learning different stuff that comes with being a running back in such a high-talented offense.”

Milton is excited to see another California running back in Georgia’s stable, as Robinson hails from Imperial, Calif. He played for the same high school that produced former NFL MVP and Georgia Bulldog Terrell Daivs.

Robinson had a monster senior season for Lincoln High School, rolling up 2,378 yards and 39 touchdowns. He won’t put up those type of numbers right away, but with injuries to Milton, Edwards and Andrew Paul, Robinson is now poised to take on the biggest role of any freshman this spring.

Robinson is going to now split carries with sophomore Branson Robinson, a similarly beefy running back. As a freshman, the latter Robinson ran for 330 yards on 68 carries.

It will be a big ask for a player who has only just started practicing at the collegiate level to pick up the playbook so quickly. But Roderick Robinson’s mental make-up is a big reason head coach Kirby Smart was so fond of Robinson during the recruiting process.

“I like the guy’s character. I like the background he has,” Smart said on National Signing Day. “He has really good quality toughness. He is hard to tackle. You know, football is still a game where you have to get people on the ground, and he is hard to get on the ground. He loves the game.

“He is very intelligent. So he excited us on tape, but even won us over more in person.”

G-Day is rarely geared toward running backs having big days. Especially when many eyes will be on the quarterback competition between Carson Beck, Brock Vandagriff and Gunner Stockton.

But given the running back injuries and Robinson’s freshman promise, the young running back from San Diego now figures to be one of the more compelling storylines as Georgia rounds out spring practice.

“I’m excited, especially him being from California and everything,” Milton said. “I’m excited to see him come here and leave his mark.”

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