Georgia football program ‘just like home’ to NFL stars Sony Michel, Nick Chubb

ATHENS — One of the best looks for Georgia football at Saturday’s G-Day Game was on the sideline, where blossoming NFL stars Sony Michel and Nick Chubb took in the spring scrimmage.

Chubb and Michel, the program’s No. 2 and No. 3 all-time rushers, respectively, didn’t seem bothered by rain, wind and 40-something degree temperatures — and the SEC Network took note.

It’s likely several of the recruits on hands noticed the NFL running backs, too, along with former first-round offensive line pick Isaiah Wynn who was also on hand.

“The fact they come back, let’s be real, the weather ain’t great,” SEC Network analyst and College Football Haller Matt Stinchcomb said. “When former players stay plugged into their former programs, it speaks to a number of things.

“One is their experience as student athletes, the other is the investment they feel they’ve made to the program, and the mutual admiration from the program standpoint and the players standpoint,” Stinchcomb said. “The fact the most prolific rushing duo in college football history is on the sidelines means something.”

Michel and Chubb said as much during their SEC Network interview.

Both of the NFL stars talked about the attachment they felt to the Sanford Stadium environment and Georgia football fans.

“There’s no better feeling than coming Between the Hedges, it’s just like home,” said Michel, who won a Super Bowl his rookie season in New England. “Greatest fans in college football are here, and we can still feel their energy.”

Chubb, an emerging player with the suddenly relevant Cleveland Browns, agreed.

“It’s always great to come back” Chubb said. “We were talking about it earlier, it’s nothing like the NFL.

“The atmosphere in the stadium, it’s a different feeling very unique.”

Indeed, and the mere presence of former greats like Michel, Chubb and Stinchcomb attested to that.