Kendall Milton fights to get on field in opener, help Georgia's growing run game

ATHENS, Ga. — Much conversation coming into Georgia’s season opener surrounded the running backs. With Kendall Milton having been on the injury report for the majority of fall camp, Daijun Edwards recently being added and Branson Robinson lost for the season, it seemed the Bulldogs might only have two healthy backs when they took on UT-Martin – neither of whom had taken a snap in a collegiate contest yet.

Well, Milton made sure that wasn’t the case. According to head coach Kirby Smart, the senior out of California wasn’t quite 100% to take on the Skyhawks, continuing to come back from some hamstring tightness but was willing to push through for his teammates.

“He was not 100 percent. He played because he wanted to play and he wanted to help. He didn’t us to have to go out and play with two backs that had never played college football before,” Smart said in his postgame press conference. “He would probably tell you he was about 90 percent. As the game wore on, he tightened up some. It was starting to bother him on his hamstring. He has not done much all camp. He hasn’t been able to. He’s just now getting back to where he can do some things. Daijun, he probably could have played. He was less percent than Kendall. I was very proud of Kendall. He stepped up, picked up a blitz, did some really nice things. We’re going to need Kendall and Daijun to play really well.”

Milton carried the ball nine times for 53 yards, both totals which led the team. True freshman Roderick Robinson was right behind him with eight carries for 50 yards and a touchdown while redshirt freshman Andrew Paul and walk-on Cash Jones also got the ball out of the backfield at points during the game.

“I feel good going through practice, working with our training staff and getting in those reps and that time,” Milton said. “I’ve been feeling really good, and it also feels good that the coaches have confidence in me. They talk with me, everything like that. I’m just happy to be able to be out here with my teammates and contribute to this win.”

“Really it’s about being patient,” he added on the process of coming back from injuries, both in the spring and the fall. “You just have to wait for your time.”

Georgia totaled 559 yards of offense Saturday night in the 48-7 win over UT-Martin, but of that, only 159 came on the ground. While three of the five offensive scores were rushing, only one was from a running back, and only three of the 30 attempts went for more than 10 yards.

“They did a good job. I wouldn’t say they controlled the line of scrimmage, but they stopped the run well. We weren’t explosive in the run game outside of two runs maybe, I don’t know,” Smart said after the game, part of an assessment on the run game. “… I have to go back and watch the tape and see. I don’t think it’s scheme. We have the runs we have, the same runs everyone in America runs. So that’s going to be, do we get movement, do we have the wrong mike point, did they just whip us? There are times where we should get movement and didn’t. And then did a back make anyone miss? Because ultimately the best runs I’ve ever seen are the ones where you break tackles on and you have to go do that too.”

“I feel like UT-Martin, their d-line, they deserve some credit. They run some crazy stunts and things like that that make it tough for the o-line,” Milton added. “I’m actually proud of our run game. Rod (Roderick Robinson), A.P. (Andrew Paul), Cash Jones, a lot of guys got to get some run time, and those are guys that haven’t really gotten that in the past. To be able to see them go out and run the ball affectively, that made me happy as an older guy in the room.”

Looking back at last season, there were time the Bulldogs struggled to run the ball too – especially early on. Georgia was held to 132 and 127 yards on 25 and 32 attempts in the first two games of last season. Then, they broke out for over 200 yards in three of the next four including a season-high 292 yards against Auburn with six touchdowns on the ground.

Georgia will look to do the same thing this season, getting better with more reps and game experience. The return of Edwards, who finished second on the team in rushing last season with 769 yards on 140 carries, certainly will help, as will Milton being further removed from his hamstring injury. As for the rest of the room, it’ll likely continue to come with time.

“The run game, of course it’s a huge part to the offense,” Milton said. “Once it starts clicking, it’s clicking. This game was a major stepping stone for the identity of our offense. Our o-line, they took major steps. After seeing the crazy stunts, crazy fronts they sat down on the bench and said, ‘Okay, look we need to do this, this and that.’ I’m proud of them for the way they were able to kind of maneuver through the challenges of the game.”

Georgia takes on Ball State next Saturday for the second game of the season. Kickoff time from Sanford Stadium is set for noon ET on SEC Network.