The suspense was palpable. Kendall Milton prepared to announce his college choice Monday night, and national recruiting websites stood at the ready. All their cameras were pointed at the 5-star prospect inside a Dave & Buster’s in Clovis, Calif., forming a river of live streams to the Internet. Fan bases from Alabama, LSU, Ohio State and Georgia all tuned in to learn the outcome.
As is well known now, Milton chose the Bulldogs. And in the grand scheme of modern-day football, it was about as surprising as getting an advertising flyer in your mailbox. After all, doesn't Georgia land a 5-star running back every year?
The answer: Not every year, but pretty often these days.
Actually, under fourth-year coach Kirby Smart, the Bulldogs have signed a lot of 5-star prospects, and not all of them running backs. Milton was the third 5-star recruit to pledge to Georgia’s 2020 class, and the 21st since Smart arrived as head coach four years ago. That’s according to 247Sports Composite ranking, which takes into account all four of the national ranking services.
Milton represents the third 5-star running back to pledge to Smart. And he hopes it won’t be the last in this class. Georgia continues to vigorously recruit two other elite running backs for the class of 2020. Even Milton himself said he would actively work on the Bulldogs also landing No. 1-rated Zachary Evans of Houston or seventh-ranked Tank Bigsby of Callaway.
But this isn’t Smart thing. This is a Georgia thing.
Mark Richt signed six consensus 5-star backs during his tenure, and that doesn’t include Todd Gurley and Knowshon Moreno, who were 4-star recruits. Jim Donnan had Robert Edwards and Jasper Sanks. Ray Goff landed Terrell Davis and Garrison Hearst. Rodney Hampton, Lars Tate and Keith Henderson all preceded those guys. Then there was a guy named Herschel.
It’s a wonder that Georgia was left off ESPN’s recent Top 10 list of school’s that qualify for the label “RBU.” Never mind, that outlet’s mathematically-quantified system limited the discussion to the past 20 years. The Bulldogs argue that they are, in fact, RBU, and utilize that label liberally.
“Signing great backs has never been a concern for Georgia, regardless of who the head coach is,” said Rivals.com’s Chad Simmons, a Georgia-based recruiting analyst for the past 16 years. “I’d argue that Georgia should be in anybody’s Top 10 for ‘RBU’ based on my experience in this industry. Herschel Walker kind of set the stage, and they haven’t had a hard time getting the best backs really since then.”
The Bulldogs haven’t just landed the best backs; they’ve continuously utilized them, too. There were some periods where Georgia tweaked its offensive system slightly to de-emphasize running the football to some degree or threw the ball some seasons more than others. For a brief time under Goff they were labeled scatbacks, and now running back has replaced the “tailback” distinction of the long-favored I-formation.
But through it all, Georgia has always had an elite back, a big reason that offensive productivity rarely could be cited for holding the Bulldogs back from championships.
“What Georgia has done with running backs is incredible, especially if you keep getting offensive linemen the way they are now,” said Aaron Murray, a former UGA quarterback who is entering his first fall as a color analyst for CBS Sports. “At the end of the day, if you can run the football, you can win football games. I know about the flashy Pac-12 and Big 12 offenses. Even Alabama’s looks great. But if you can stay balanced and commit to running the ball and move guys off the line of scrimmage and keep the ball for 32-minutes plus, you’re going to win a lot of football games.”
The commitment to the run has been ramped up with the arrival of Smart. The Bulldogs have had five players rush for more than 1,000 yards in his three seasons as coach, including two each of the past two seasons.
Conversely, opponents’ commitment to stopping the run can open up the passing game. Murray should know. Not only did he leave Georgia in 2013 as the SEC’s all-time passing leader, he did it with Gurley and Keith Marshall, once a 5-star recruit, lining up in the backfield.
“These guys are going to be in football games because they’re going to dominate the line of scrimmage, they’re going to dominate time of possession,” Murray said. “They’re going to be able wear teams down to where in the fourth quarter, those 4- and 5-yard runs become big-hitters. I think Georgia’s got something special going right now and will be in good hands for a long, long time.”
Milton helps assure the RBU legacy. Carrying a No. 4 national recruiting ranking into his senior season at Buchanan High, where he has rushed for 2,851 yards and scored 52 touchdowns in two 13-game high school seasons.
Meanwhile, former 5-star recruits D’Andre Swift and Zamir White will look to carry on the Georgia’s RBU tradition this season, backed up by solid contributors such as Brian Herrien and James Cook.
“Nobody wants to be Superman anymore; they want to be that Batman-and-Robin tandem,” Simmons said. “They want to have some tread on their tires when they get to the NFL. (Former South Carolina running back) Marcus Lattimore is the perfect example of that. He was carrying the ball 300 times a year in high school and almost as much in college. He’s one of the best backs I’ve ever seen and never made it to the NFL. Now running backs have figured that out and just want to get the most out of their touches.”
To do that, they’re looking for places that can stake a claim to “RBU.” Georgia can certainly stake such a claim.
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