ATHENS — The Georgia running back room very much welcomes this upcoming game against UMass.

After eight consecutive SEC games, this group has felt the wear and tear of the grind that comes with that schedule. Georgia was without both Trevor Etienne and Branson Robinson in the game against Tennessee.

Etienne was held out of the game with a rib injury. ESPN’s Holly Rowe reported during Saturday’s broadcast that Etienne has a rib fracture.

While Georgia head coach Kirby Smart would not confirm that report, he did detail the timeline of how Etienne’s injury situation got to this point.

“We think it occurred during the week of practice last week, but he didn’t take any hits,” Smart said following Tuesday’s practice. “He was black shirt, not taking hits. He was running a route and he felt something in there when he planted and pushed. We don’t know. I assumed it was probably during the Ole Miss game, but he didn’t complain of any pain. He didn’t complain of any soreness.

“He felt good. He went out to practice Monday, felt good. He went out to practice Tuesday, and then something happened on Tuesday, but it would have been non-contact because he wasn’t getting touched. That’s when we checked it, and that’s when we found it.”

Smart is hopeful to get Etienne back soon, but the reality is that Etienne may be out for Georgia’s final two regular season games. Etienne first picked up his rib injury against Florida, but as Smart stated, Etienne did play in the loss to Ole Miss.

With Etienne out, Nate Frazier stepped up as Georgia’s leading running back. He finished with 69 rushing yards on 19 carries in the win over Tennessee. He also scored a touchdown in his third consecutive game.

It’s not a surprise that Frazier has proven to be an immediate contributor. He played for one of the top high schools in the country in Mater Dei in Santa Ana, Calif.

The school has produced the likes of Bryce Young, Amon Ra St. Brown and Trent McDuffie.

“He’s a kid that’s very mature, knew exactly what he wanted, and I think our national exposure helped us recruit him,” Smart said.

Frazier didn’t arrive on campus until late May, meaning he did have some ground to make up after missing spring practice. Yet that hasn’t seemed to slow Frazier down all that much.

“Nate’s picked things up really quick. He’s talented,” Smart said. “He’s conscientious, and I’ve just been really pleased with his overall work ethic.”

On the season, Frazier has 401 rushing yards on 91 carries to go along with his 4 rushing touchdowns. He has not proven to be as explosive as Etienne — who has a superior 5.02 yards per carry compared to Frazier’s 4.41 — nor is he the same pass-catching asset.

But it’s clear the Bulldogs like and trust Frazier.

Chauncey Bowens, another freshman running back, added 7 rushing yards on 5 carries against Tennessee. He helped spell Frazier and gave Georgia a physical option at the running back position.

Georgia could soon get Robinson back after having missed the last four games. The redshirt sophomore suffered an MCL injury in the win over Mississippi State.

“He’s running. I think I’m saying this right. He started to cut yesterday, and he’s cutting,” Smart said. “He did not do anything with us, but he did do a lot of running. He hit good speeds. He’s getting his confidence back, planting and cutting. He’s in meetings. He’s in game plan stuff. He’s showing progress, but he is not taking reps with us.”

Georgia did see wide receiver Dillon Bell pick up an ankle injury in the win over Tennessee. He could have been an option to help at running back for the Bulldogs, but he will miss Saturday’s game. The injury did not require surgery and there is a possibility he is back in time for Georgia’s game against Georgia Tech.

Saturday’s game against UMass is set for a 12:45 p.m. ET start. Because this is not an SEC game, Georgia will not be putting out an availability report for the game. The Bulldogs are only required to do so for SEC games.