Kirby Smart addresses Branson Robinson, Andrew Paul's progression in Georgia offense
Georgia has a lot of questions to answer coming off a national championship season. Most of those have been centered around the defense, which has experienced massive turnover. At the same time, Kirby Smart’s offense faces many of its own questions, including the development of freshmen.
Kirby Smart addressed how two of those freshmen, Andrew Paul and Branson Robinson, have progressed in the Georgia offense. Both Paul and Robinson are running backs for the Bulldogs.
“These two young guys are different,” Kirby Smart said. “A little heavier, thicker. Run behind their pads and they probably don’t show up best until the days like today because they’re a little harder to tackle and you don’t see that in practice every day.
“I thought both those guys had good scrimmages, not great, not where they need to be, not where they need to be in pass pro (protection). But, they are hard to tackle and they’re thick.”
Kirby Smart emphasized that it was unfortunate that neither Paul nor Robinson was able to participate in Spring practice. Without that time, they’re playing catch up in development. In particular, they need to improve on special teams and in pass protection.
“We need them to come along because durability is always an issue at back. I don’t think we’ve been through a year here where we didn’t have at least one of our top three backs miss a game. And, if that happens, then one of those guys got to be ready to step up and play,” Kirby Smart concluded.
Between Branson Robinson and Andrew Paul, Robinson is the headliner. A four-star prospect, Robinson was the second-ranked running back in the Class of 2022. Meanwhile, Paul is a three-star recruit and the 33rd-ranked running back in the Class of 2022. At the same time, Kirby Smart and Georgia have proven they can develop great three-star players. Just look at Stetson Bennett.