Dell McGee shares key to avoiding dropoff in Georgia running backs

The Georgia Bulldogs enter the 2023 season as back-to-back national champions, looking to three-peat. But first, the Bulldogs must get through another grueling season in the SEC.

On top of that, they have to ensure that there is not any dropoff in their national championship-winning level of execution. Something that Georgia running backs coach Dell McGee has been focusing on during this year’s fall camp,

“I always gotta make sure the next guys ready. So the expectation is to prepare everyone like they’re a starter,” said McGee. “And just like I spoke earlier about the way we practice, we have two balls on two different fields to maximize reps. So the bottom half of our roster is always getting developed, and they’re able to see the mistakes that they’re making. Or if they’re doing things the correct way.

“We’re able to define roles. We’re able to decide who’s going to be the starter based on how they’re doing during practice. But right now, with the injured guys, we’re just really trying to win the moment and not worry about the outcome or looking forward. We’re gonna be where our feet are and just really concentrate on our day-to-day and not look past the day that we have in front of us.”

While the production coming out of the Bulldogs’ backfill has not been to the level that it has been in seasons past, Georgia is still getting some quality results out of the running back room. Two of their top three running backs from 2022, Daijun Edwards and Kendall Milton, are back for 2023 and are ready to lead the Bulldogs’ running back talent.

Rece Davis explains having Georgia at No. 2 on his AP Poll ballot

Not everyone is sold on Georgia being the top team in the nation this year, and that was made evident on Monday. When the preseason AP Top 25 poll dropped, Georgia came in as the preseason No. 1 team. The Bulldogs weren’t unanimous, though, with two other teams — Michigan and Ohio State — also receiving first-place votes.

One of the voters to pick against UGA was ESPN College GameDay host Rece Davis, who went with Michigan in the top spot and the Bulldogs at No. 2 on his ballot. During an appearance on SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt, Davis said his decision to pick Michigan atop his top 25 stemmed from some question marks on Georgia’s roster.

The biggest, he said, is under center.

“Quarterback,” Davis said. “And it’s not that they don’t have talented guys. Carson Beck [is] likely the starter. I was told by someone close to the Georgia program just a couple of days ago that Brock Vandagriff’s been really terrific in in fall camp. So they’ve got a couple of talented options, but they’re unproven.”