Dell McGee gives preview of Georgia running back room ahead of 2022 season

Recruiting running backs to the University of Georgia shouldn’t be much of a challenge with the program’s long and rich history of ball carriers like Herschel Walker, Garrison Hearst, Todd Gurley, Nick Chubb, Sony Michel and others. But in many ways, assistant coach Dell McGee also has one of the hardest jobs on staff. That is, making sure his group – small in numbers but strong in ability – performs, especially this year replacing two running backs drafted into the NFL.

“I’ll start with Kenny McIntosh, a senior, who had a really nice spring and showed a lot of leadership in the summer work program, and he’s doing a great job of mentoring the two young guys who had just come in in Branson Robinson and Andrew Paul,” McGee said. “Kendall Milton, a junior, who has suffered some injuries each year that he has been here. He’s been very healthy this spring and he’s also been healthy this summer, so we’re looking for big things out of him and he also serves in a leadership role because he had a chance to be led by Zamir (Cook) and James (White), four-year guys, and Kenny. Those two guys (McIntosh and Milton), along with Daijun Edwards, who’s been a consummate student-athlete—he’s very unselfish, a team player, knows his role and fit—he’s going to be counted on as well this year because he adds value to our football team.”

When talking about Georgia’s running backs for 2022, there seem to be three tiers. Kenny McIntosh and Kendall Milton have been a part of the primary rotation before. They’ve never been asked to be the primary back in said rotation, but at least they’ve been a part of the game plan. So, that puts them at the top.

Still, entering the season, there are some questions about what their roles could look like without Zamir White and James Cook in Athens. White was the workhorse back for the Bulldogs each of the last two years, carrying the ball more than anybody else in that time. He averaged 10.67 carries per game last season (160 carries in all), totaling 856 yards and 11 touchdowns. Meanwhile, Cook actually had more combined yards when you add up rushing and receiving numbers, touching the ball on average 9.33 times per game for a total of 1,012 yards and 11 touchdowns. That’s what McIntosh and Milton are tasked with replacing.

“He can do everything. He can run inside tackles, he can run outside tackles, he’s really good on the perimeter. He has really, really good hands. Probably some of the best hands since D’Andre (Swift). He’s good at running routes, he’s a blitz pickup on third down, so he’s definitely a complete back,” McGee said about McIntosh. “He’s learned a lot from James and Zamir. He’s also a good example of, just like James and Zamir were, of staying the course, not being too anxious to enter the NFL or enter the transfer portal, just being patient. All of his hard work and his patience will come and pay off this year, but I think the sky is the limit for him. He’s definitely going to be an integral part of our offense and he will be relied upon heavily. He also adds value to our special teams as a kick returner.”

“He’s looked great during fall camp,” McGee added on Milton. “You lose reps when you’re not on the football field, but the way we structure practice and walkthroughs, he’s getting those mental reps that are well-needed against various looks. So, from that perspective, he’s still inclined to be a good running back on Saturday nights and afternoons.”

After McIntosh and Milton, there’s a drop off in terms of experience. Daijun Edwards has been the fifth running back in the room behind those two plus the two now in the NFL meaning the majority of his work has come in garbage time against opponents that Georgia has blown out. He’ll be asked to be a part of the regular rotation this season, upping his role from what it has been before.

“He’s really quiet, he’s not going to be a boastful guy, he doesn’t talk a whole lot. What you are going to get is what you see, based on what you’ve seen. He is very unselfish, he closed out a lot of games, he wasn’t a guy that was pouting because he didn’t get in earlier in the game. He has value and has a role on special teams and that’s a very, very important component of our success on the football field,” McGee said. “He is going to be a competitor and he is having a great camp thus far and he had a great spring too so, we expect great things out of Daijun. He has graduated to a level where he is, a level where he is going to get snaps.”

Finally, in the third tier of sorts, there are the freshmen. Branson Robinson was the No. 2 running back in the country this past recruiting cycle while Andrew Paul shot up rankings late after a strong senior season. While they might not be the workhorse backs that they were used to in high school, Georgia still needs both of them to develop and be able to contribute to the rotation on a weekly basis.

“Branson, the way he’s built, he’s built like a brick house. He doesn’t have a neck. He’s very similarly built in the shoulders like one of my old teammates, Takeo Spikes. Nick Chubb was a good-looking student-athlete as well,” McGee joked when asked about Robinson and him being one of the better looking backs from a physical standpoint that he’s had while at Georgia. “Branson is more than just muscle. He’s very dedicated. He works hard in the weight room obviously, and in strength and conditioning. He’s a sharp young man and he’s going to be relied on this year.”

“He comes from a good high school program that won a state championship. He’s 6-foot, 220 pounds, great size, has good speed. He’s a great kid from a great family. Very quiet, hard worker, so he fits all the character of things we’re looking for in our football players,” McGee said. “He’s just getting here—he wasn’t a mid-year, so he’s behind from a mental standpoint. We’ll get a chance to evaluate him further in the scrimmage on Saturday, which I know all of our guys are looking forward to it.”

As McGee said, Georgia scrimmages on Saturday between the hedges at Sanford Stadium, giving him and the rest of the coaches another opportunity to evaluate the players and see them in game-like situations.