Georgia tailbacks a historic tandem
LOS ANGELES — Sony Michel was a 5-star tailback when he committed to the University of Georgia. Then Nick Chubb, another 5-star tailback, committed to the Bulldogs.
They met at the Army All-American Game that winter. But Chubb says he didn’t try to size up his new competition.
“You've got to think you're going to beat anybody out any ways,” Chubb said. “You have to have that mentality that no matter who is there, you're going to play.”
Besides, Todd Gurley was among the Bulldogs already on campus. “Bigger things to worry about,” Chubb said.
Come to Georgia, and tailback competition is expected. Herschel Walker. Gurley. Garrison Hearst. Knowshon Moreno. Rodney Hampton. Tim Worley. The Bulldogs have a proud tailback tradition.
And now you can put those two 5-star recruits from 2014 on the list. In fact, on the all-time Georgia rushing list, ranking second and third, behind only Walker, are Chubb and Michel. Chubb has 4,599 yards and Michel 3,359. Those 7,958 combined rushing yards are the secondmost in NCAA history by teammates, trailing only SMU’s Pony Express. Eric Dickerson (4,450) and Craig James (3,742) combined for 8,192 yards.
Chubb and Michel can break the record with 235 yards against Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.
“We kind of just came in with the mindset of wanting to compete,” said Michel, from Plantation, Florida. “We did it together and went through tough times ... so we had to experience it together. I think that that's when our relationship was first built.”
Chubb was the early star, rushing for 1,547 yards as a freshman, when Michel was mostly a special-teams player. Chubb suffered through an injury-marred 2015 season, and Michel rushed for 1,161 yards. The last two seasons, the Bulldogs went with both on a virtual platoon basis. Chubb gets a bigger load (415 carries to Michel’s 283), but Michel has averaged more per carry (6.3 to Chubb’s 5.5).
“Nick and Sony, they're UGA legends,” said quarterback Jake Fromm. “They've done stuff at the University of Georgia that nobody has kind of ever done together. Sometimes you kind of hand the ball off and turn around, and Nick or Sony is running the ball, I’m like, ‘Man, that's a good football player.' I'm just extremely thankful I can play with those guys.”
OU defensive coordinator Mike Stoops compared Chubb and Michel to the Sooner tandem of Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon, who played together two seasons before heading to the NFL last spring. It’s a good comparison. Perine and Mixon combined for 4,436 yards rushing in their two seasons together, which is a Pony Express ratio. The difference, of course, is that Perine and Mixon did it for two years. Chubb and Michel have done it for four.
“Those two set the tone every game,” said Georgia offensive coordinator Jim Chaney. “You know, no matter who we put in at running back throughout the season, every one of those kids had a good amount of success. Those boys are fresh, when you have an abundance of tailbacks like we have.”