ATHENS — Well, we know now why Kendall Milton was a no-show for post-practice interviews Wednesday.
Milton, a sophomore running back, suffered a knee injury during Georgia’s practice Wednesday, according to several reports, citing anonymous sources. Milton was scheduled to talk to reporters for only the second time this season after the workout.
Milton’s injury is thought to be a sprain and won’t require surgery. However, it will keep Milton sidelined for at least a couple of weeks, and definitely for the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs’ next contest, which is Oct. 30 against Florida in Jacksonville (3:30 p.m., CBS). Georgia has a bye Saturday.
Dawgs247.com was the first to report Milton’s injury.
Milton is the third back in what mostly has been a three-man backfield rotation for Georgia (7-0, 5-0 SEC) this season. He has the second-most carries on the team with 49 (for 243 yards), while junior Zamir White (83-400-7 TDs) and senior James Cook (47-301-4) have gotten the majority of work.
Milton’s injury comes at a time when fellow running back Kenny McIntosh also has been sidelined, with a hamstring injury. However, coach Kirby Smart said earlier this week McIntosh could return Saturday.
Meanwhile, Milton’s career at Georgia remains a study in patience. He played in seven games while missing three with injuries last season. But the former 5-star recruit (per Rivals) has been steadily progressing for the Bulldogs and has been running down some milestones this season.
Milton scored his first career touchdown against Arkansas on Oct. 2. On Saturday, he ripped off a career-long 35-yard run against Kentucky that was just inches from becoming an 88-yard touchdown.
That’s not to mention Milton making arguably the play of the game earlier against Kentucky.
With the Bulldogs facing a second-and-13 at the Wildcats’ 28 in a scoreless game in the first quarter, Milton went out for a pass. Squatting under the Kentucky zone in the middle of the field, it looked like quarterback Stetson Bennett intended to deliver the ball to Milton. But Bennett’s arm was seized by Kentucky defensive end Joshua Paschal. The football went forward, bouncing all the way and looking very much like an incomplete pass.
As virtually everyone on the field stood staring at the loose ball, only Milton had the foresight to follow it and jump on it. And it was a good thing he did. The play was ruled a forward fumble after a video review. Thanks to Milton, Georgia retained possession right there.
The Bulldogs would score on the next play, a 19-yard run by Cook.
“Might have been the play of the game,” coach Kirby Smart acknowledged after the 30-13 Georgia victory. “It was a momentum swing. It was one of those (plays) that if we don’t get that ball, it’s a turnover and everyone’s demoralized.”
It was only a few minutes after his fumble recovery that Milton nearly went the distance for the Bulldogs. Only a desperation shove from Kentucky defensive back Tyrell Ajian kept Milton from turning a routine off-tackle run into an 88-yard score. Ajian got just enough of Milton for his left cleat to catch the chalk on the Georgia sideline.
Such explosive runs are what Georgia fans have been expecting of Milton since he arrived. But that run and a 24-yarder last year against Auburn have been as close to that realization as he has been able to come.
The best news for the Bulldogs is that Milton gets it. He knows that his roles on special teams and as the third-string running back are as important as any one single role.
“At the end of the day, we’re an offense that has weapons at every position, and those weapons are deep at every position,” Milton said earlier this season. “Some games it’s going to be the passing game, some games it’s going to be the run game, some games it’s going to be both. So when we go out there, it’s just about everybody doing their job, and the outcome will take care of itself.”
But after throwing the football a lot early in the season, the Bulldogs methodically have been moving up the rushing ranks in the SEC. They’ll enter the Oct. 30 game against Florida sixth in the league in rushing (192.7 ypg).
“We have a lot of confidence,” Milton said. “We’re a very physical team. We emphasize ‘keep pounding, just keep pounding, keep chopping,’ and it’s hard to take that the whole game.”
It’s a continuation of a Georgia tradition. The backs share the workload to stay fresh and keep healthy, for the season and for their foreseeable future. That’s why you’ll hear no complaints from Milton about opportunities.
After finally get his first career touchdown, on a 1-yard run against Arkansas in the fifth game of his sophomore season, he was asked if he was starting to grow impatient to score.
“I wouldn’t say I got impatient,” said Milton, who scored 40 touchdowns his final two seasons at Buchanan High School in Clovis, Calif. “It was one those trust-the-process kind of things. … But when we got down there on the goal line and coach (Dell) McGee said, ‘Get in there,’ that’s all I had on my mind.”
Even Milton’s first career touchdown was overshadowed by someone else. Defensive lineman Jalen Carter came in as the lead blocker on the play and took out three defenders to allow Milton to get into the end zone.
“I’m just happy that it happened,” Milton said with a laugh. “In the huddle, I told Jalen, ‘Let’s go; let’s get this.’”
Milton will have to wait a while now to get the next one.
