Sony Michel

Michel took the torch as Georgia’s lead back last season after Nick Chubb’s devastating knee injury, and he proved to be more than up to the task. He only averaged 8.2 carries per game through the first five weeks of the year, but he was ripping off 6.73 yards per carry in that stretch. After Chubb went down against Tennessee, Michel carried the load for the remaining eight games, running for 885 yards on 178 carries (4.97 YPC) to go with four touchdowns. Although those numbers down the stretch aren’t other-worldly, they’re solid and they must be considered in context given that defenses would load up the box and dare Georgia to throw for much of the season. With Chubb likely sidelined or limited early in the season, Michel looked primed to carry the load for the Bulldogs starting in Week 1, but a compound fracture in his forearm suffered in early July complicates the running back situation in Athens even further. Although Michel’s injury won’t limit him the same way Chubb’s does once it’s healed, the fact that