ATHENS - Georgia has never been short on admiration for Dwight Phillips’ speed. The third-year running back has been that guy since he arrived, the one teammates point to when they talk about burst, wiggle and what happens once the ball is in his hands.
“A lot of speed, for sure,” offensive tackle Earnest Greene said. “You know, Peanut’s one of those guys who came in his freshman year, and we saw the ability that he had with not only just having straight-line speed, but he’d make people miss and stuff like that. And that’s a big part of football is what you can do after you get the ball in your hands.”
The production has not matched the buzz just yet. Through his first two seasons, Phillips has rushed for 243 yards.
Against SEC competition, that number drops to 54. For Georgia, that’s the gap still waiting to be closed: the electric athlete everyone sees in practice becoming a fuller, more reliable back on Saturdays.
That chance feels real heading into August. Cash Jones is now with the Atlanta Falcons, and Kentucky transfer Dante Dowdell is sidelined for the foreseeable future, opening a lane for Phillips to show how much he’s grown.
“Dwight has worked his tail off,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “Like, how can he help us?
He’s one of the most explosive players we have on our offense. If we’re gonna be more explosive, than we’ve got to get guys that when they touch the ball, big plays happen.
And whether that’s - the form of touches may change, but he’s gotta touch the ball because he’s been one of our most explosive guys,
“Probably even more so in practice than what you’ve seen in games.”
Phillips was one of three running backs Georgia signed in the 2024 recruiting cycle, and Nate Frazier and Chauncey Bowens have both been more productive so far. Both also return for the 2026 season, which keeps the top of the depth chart crowded.
Still, Phillips has changed his body in Athens. He has bulked up noticeably, and the comparison that comes to mind is James Cook, who arrived at Georgia in 2018 as a lean, speed-first back with explosive traits.
Cook was a little more productive than Phillips through his first two seasons, and he was a much bigger factor as a receiver. By his third season, he ran for 303 yards.
In his senior year, that jumped to 728. Cook later became a second-round pick by the Buffalo Bills and led the NFL in rushing last season.
That kind of leap is a tall order for Phillips, but Georgia has already seen a version of that story under Smart.
For now, the bigger point is simpler: Phillips keeps putting in the work. Smart said he was one of Georgia’s best practice players this spring, and that carried into the offseason.
“He’s had a great offseason,” Smart said. “He works really hard.
That room has a lot of mudita in it. They really care about each other.
The success of each other is more important than the success of one person, and I appreciate the mentality in that room.”
Georgia wants more explosiveness this season, and Phillips wants to help provide it. He may not be the Bulldogs’ home-run hitter yet, but he has given himself a shot to be much more than a novelty piece.
“When you’ve got a guy that can hit a home run like that, you take pride in getting him those home runs,” Greene said. “So as long as we take care of what we’ve got to take care of up front, the sky’s the limit for the offense.”
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