georgia football kenny mcintosh missouri

ATHENS — Kenny McIntosh is going to be just fine for Georgia’s upcoming game against Missouri. If he weren’t, he would not have spoken to reporters on Monday.

“I’ll be fine,” McIntosh said. “Lot of ice baths ahead of me, just be straight.”

McIntosh left in the fourth quarter of Georgia’s 39-22 win over Kent State after taking a hit to his left leg. The senior running bak left the game immediately and went straight to the medical tent. He did not return to the game after getting checked out.

Turns out, McIntosh had been dealing with a quad bruise prior to the game and a Kent State defender hit him right in the same spot.

“He was fine after the game. He was fine yesterday,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “We may limit him some today. But feel good about Kenny being able to go.”

McIntosh noted the injury has been nagging prior to Saturday’s game against Kent State. The Bulldogs are already without running back Andrew Paul after he tore his ACL in the preseason.

With McIntosh nursing his injury, Daijun Edwards saw an uptick in carries for the Bulldogs. He finished the game with 58 rushing yards on his eight attempts. McIntosh has thrived for Georgia catching passes out of the backfield — he was Georgia’s leading pass catcher in games against Oregon and Samford — Edwards’ physicality has earned him a role in this offense going forward.

“He’s a dynamic running back,” McIntosh said of Edwards. “I think he can do it all. He’s very strong in the lower body and can run through people. I’ve been seeing that ever since he got on campus.”

Georgia is coming off its best rushing effort of the season from a team perspective, racking up 257 yards on the ground. Brock Bowers accounted for 75 of those yards on a single chunk on the second play of the game for Georgia.

The Bulldogs haven’t been overly efficient running the ball this season, yet they’ve still been successful for the most part. Much like the wide receiver position, the Bulldogs have been able to rely on a variety of players to help the rushing effort.

If there is a concern, it’s about the lack of explosive runs from the running backs. Kendall Milton has one 27-yard carry for the Bulldogs. That is the lone rush this season by a Georgia running back to top the 20-yard threshold.

“We certainly could be much more explosive in the run game and improve in that area,” Smart said. “But, you know, when you have the number of explosive plays we’ve had on the year, you have to weigh whether that’s a run, a pass, a screen, what -- who are you and who is your identity. And I think that’s starting to play itself out for us a little bit. And I think we’ve got a really physical offensive line. And I think teams play us a certain way. And we’re going to do off how teams play us.”

McIntosh knows the key to hitting those long runs is patience. Trusting your keys and hitting the holes.

He’s confident those plays will come, just as he’s confident he’ll be out there on Saturday as the Bulldogs take on the Tigers.

“We’ve been able to run the ball in between the tackles and outside,” McIntosh said. “We’ve done a really good job catching it and doing our jobs. That’s what we need from everyone on our team to do their jobs so we can get back to where we were last year.”

Kenny McIntosh updates his status before game against Missouri

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