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When the Georgia Bulldogs lost Todd Gurley in 2014, first to an NCAA investigation and second to an ACL tear, many worried that the UGA offense would be listless without their leader in the backfield. Gurley, after all, is a one of a kind talent who was right in the thick of the Heisman Trophy conversation before his season was cut short.
Surely, losing that kind of player would do irreparable damage to the Bulldogs’ offense, right?
Not if Nick Chubb had anything to say about it. And after his record-setting performance in the Belk Bowl against the Louisville Cardinals, it’s clear that Chubb has plenty more to say before his career at Georgia is finished.
The 5-foot-10, 228-pound true freshman from Cedartown, Georgia, wasted little time letting the world know that he was something special. Before even stepping foot on campus, Chubb was an internet sensation when his warmup during a track meet before a race went viral where the enormous sprinter was leaping high enough to hurdle his competition…who were all standing at their full height.
When he finally got the opportunity, he made an even bigger impact on the football field for Georgia. Through his first five games, Chubb was used sparingly in relief of Gurley, totaling 31 carries for 224 yards and two touchdowns. When he was inserted into the starting lineup against the Missouri Tigers, champions of the SEC East, Chubb put on a clinic, churning out 143 yards on 38 carries with a touchdown as the Bulldogs blew out the Tigers in Columbia 34-0.
Since then, Chubb has only seemed to get stronger. He’s rushed for at least 100 yards in every game since his first start (eight straight games), totaling no fewer than 113 yards (which he gained on just nine carries including two touchdowns against FCS Charleston Southern). He has an SEC-leading 1,547 yards and 14 touchdowns on the year, despite not really being a part of the offense for the first month of the season.
And he saved his best performance for last, it seems.
Against the Cardinals in the Belk Bowl, Chubb rushed for a personal best 266 yards on 33 carries with a pair of touchdowns. The mark set a Belk Bowl record for rushing yards and was second highest single-game in Georgia school history behind only Herschel Walker, which is not bad company to be put into in Athens. He put the team on his back when they needed him and sparked the Georgia offense to 301 yards rushing against a Louisville defense that came into the game ranked No. 2 in the nation against the run.
Head coach Mark Richt understands the kind of talent he has in Chubb and tipped his hand as to how he would be utilizing him during the Belk blowout.
When quarterback Hutson Mason went down with an injury in the second quarter, Richt reportedly told his offensive coordinator to “Just give it to Nick,” and Chubb responded. With Gurley leaving for the NFL and Mason graduating, this Georgia offense will need new leaders to step up and this young running back proved he’s up to the challenge.
Beyond stepping up as a leader for Georgia in 2015, Chubb is well on his way to putting himself in the conversation for the best back in the country for the next few seasons and one of the finest to emerge from the 2014 recruiting class. When you look at the ridiculous crop of freshmen running backs in the country that broke out this season, that’s an incredible accomplishment.
Coming into the season, Chubb was not only an afterthought on his own team, he wasn’t even the most highly touted freshman running back in his conference. Leonard Fournette, the No. 1 back in the 2014 recruiting cycle, was projected to make an immediate splash for the LSU Tigers as a college-ready prep standout, but he found tough sledding to start the year and labored to find consistency, as most freshmen do. Ultimately, he came on late in the year and began to deliver on his massive potential, finishing the season with 1,034 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, though he was still well off the pace of Chubb at Georgia.
Elsewhere in the country, other notable true freshmen stepped into the spotlight in 2014.
Royce Freeman led the rushing attack for the Oregon Ducks, now preparing to play for the National Championship on January 12, racking up 1,299 yards and 16 touchdowns. The Oklahoma Sooners found the foundation to build their offense around in Samaje Perine, who rushed for an astonishing 1,713 yards and 21 touchdowns to lead the Big 12, highlighted by a record-setting 427-yard, five-touchdown performance against the Kansas Jayhawks. Dalvin Cook was the spark that the Florida State Seminoles needed out of the backfield to fuel their run at another ACC Championship and a spot in the inaugural College Football Playoff with 905 yards rushing and eight touchdowns as the change-of-pace back for much of the year.
The difference between these talented backs and Chubb, however, is that they all were given defined roles in the offense from the early parts of the season, which makes the Bulldog running back even more impressive. Georgia had Chubb relegated to mop-up duty for their Heisman Trophy candidate and appeared to be in crisis following the loss of Gurley. They were saved by the emergence of this freshman stud out of the backfield.
While those other standouts stepped up to become major pieces of their team’s success this year, Chubb put on his cape and rescued the Bulldogs from a lost season.
With a full season in the team’s workout program and some time for the offensive coaches to gameplan around him, Chubb figures to become even more super in the years to come. His blend of size, strength, and speed are unparalleled in college football right now and his physical gifts will only help him deliver on his gamebreaking potential.
In a year filled with phenomenal, breakout performances by young stars at the running back position, Chubb set himself apart from the pack. With his incredible freshman season, Chubb has announced himself as the future of the Georgia offense and one of college football’s emerging stars for the next several years.
You can follow Tyler Brett on Twitter @ATylerBrett, on Facebook and on Google.
