ATHENS - Georgia’s offense still begins with the run game, and Kirby Smart made it clear that standard is not up for debate.
The Bulldogs were better on the ground last season, averaging 182.1 rushing yards per game to finish 35th nationally and fourth in the SEC. They also scored 31 rushing touchdowns, which put them inside the top 20 nationally. That was a step up from 2024, when Georgia averaged only 124.4 rushing yards per game and ranked 15th in the SEC.
Even with that improvement, Smart said the bar in Athens is higher.
“You can’t get away from that point of emphasis. That’s not going to change ever in our program,” Smart said. “I would say we were coming off a year that we were subpar at that when we really tried to drive that home.”
For Smart, the run game is more than a preference - it’s a marker of championship football.
“Show me a good team that wins championships that can’t run the football,” Smart said. “Just doesn’t happen.”
Georgia has long been known for its run defense, but the question on offense is whether the Bulldogs can find another gear and turn a solid rushing attack into one that unlocks the rest of the playbook. That matters because Georgia wants more explosive offense, and the path to big plays through the air starts with what happens on the ground.
That formula has worked before. According to PFF, Georgia ranks third nationally with 840 explosive plays over the past five seasons. The site pointed to former quarterback Stetson Bennett IV and current quarterback Gunner Stockton as key reasons for that success, noting their ability to create big gains on the ground and help fuel the “deep stable of running backs also contributing to the Bulldogs’ explosive rushing attack.”
Stockton is back for his senior season, and he’ll have plenty of help. Georgia returns four running backs from last year - Nate Frazier, Chauncey Bowens, Dwight “Peanut” Phillips Jr., and Bo Walker - and that group combined for 2,035 rushing yards. Frazier led the way with 947 yards and six rushing touchdowns.
Smart said the chemistry in that room stands out.
“That room has a lot of Mudita in it. They really care about each other,” Smart said.
“The success of each other is more important than the success of one person. And I appreciate the mentality in that room.”
Georgia also brought in Dante Dowdell from the portal this offseason, though a recent ATV accident has left him out for the long term.
Even with Dowdell sidelined, the Bulldogs have enough pieces to keep the ground game central to what they do. That matters because Georgia’s play-action game is built off the run, and tight end Lawson Luckie said the connection is easy to see.
“Well, explosive plays, especially to a tight end, come from a great running game,” Luckie said. “A lot of it comes on pass play action stuff, and that’s where you guys see it. That’s where the big plays come from, in my opinion.”
Up front, it all comes back to the line. Earnest Greene is set to move back to left tackle this fall, and he knows the job is about more than winning individual reps. It’s about syncing with the backs, understanding how they move, and opening space for the kind of runs that change a drive.
“We just got to get on the same page, get our tracks right, move people so they can have career games,” Greene said.
In Other News...
Georgia Fans Have 2 New Reasons To Watch Friday Closely
Georgia fans got a fresh basketball boost with the commitment of four-star shooting guard Justin Wise, a top-30 prospect in the 2027 class. It is the kind of pickup that gives the program another name to sell to future recruits and another reason for supporters to keep one eye on the hardwood even as football season dominates the calendar.
On the football side, Kirby Smart has also nudged offensive coordinator Mike Bobo toward a heavier emphasis on the run game this season, a reminder that Georgia is still trying to shape its identity on that side of the ball. Add in the fact that Miami is still pushing hard for five-star recruit Kemon Spell despite his public commitment to Georgia, and Friday has a chance to tell Bulldogs fans a lot about where both of their biggest programs are headed. [Read more 🡒]
Nate Frazier Could End A Georgia Drought Fans Know Too Well
Nate Frazier enters the season with the kind of opportunity Georgia has not handed out to a tailback in a while. After rushing for 947 yards and six touchdowns as a sophomore, he is positioned to be the Bulldogs lead back, and the path is there for him to become the programs first 1,000-yard rusher since 2019. He also dealt with an ankle injury late in the year, which cost him part of the Sugar Bowl and trimmed his work in the spring.
The good news for Georgia is that Frazier is expected to be fully involved once fall camp opens, giving the Bulldogs a chance to lean on a runner who already proved he can handle a featured role. For a team that has spread the ball around in recent seasons, having one back build toward a milestone like this would say plenty about both Fraziers growth and the kind of offense Georgia may need to rely on when the games start to matter. [Read more 🡒]