Dillon Bell '100% adopted' into Georgia running back room

ATHENS, Ga. — Dillon Bell isn’t your average wide receiver, and Georgia has decided to use him in a way that fits his unique skillset. Having done it all in high school, playing quarterback, running back and receiver, the Bulldogs turned to Bell in a time of need earlier this season.

Georgia was down Daijun Edwards at the time and Kendall Milton was less than 100%. The other two available scholarship backs – Andrew Paul and Roderick Robinson – hadn’t taken a single snap before this season. Enter Bell into the backfield, and problem solved.

The native of Houston, Texas totaled 655 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns on 101 carries as a senior at The Kinkaid School, so he wasn’t a stranger to the backfield. Bell’s teammates even saw him as a natural to the position, not needing any sort of help from those that had been with the running backs the entirety of their time at Georgia. Instead, Bell just used his skillset in the one and only way he knew to.

“You know, it’s crazy, watching Dillon, Dillon’s like one of those rare people that he doesn’t even have to know the scheme or like the hole. He just hits it and he has acceleration to just hit it,” Milton said. “He’ll come back and say, ‘Was it there or was it not there?’ It’s crazy ’cause a lot of times the play just somehow, you know, happens to work.”

Since he first appeared in the backfield in Week 2 against Ball State, Bell has averaged 6.8 snaps per game at running back. He scored a rushing touchdown in two straight games (Ball State and South Carolina) and has had multiple carries in every outing, racking up 109 yards on 20 attempts so far this season. And while both Edwards and Milton are back in the mix, Georgia has no plans to change it’s approach with getting Bell the ball out of the backfield.

“It’s just a matter of where we are at back. We do have Kendall [Milton] back and he seems much more healthy. Daijun [Edwards] is back, but Dillon gives us a lot of versatility to do other things,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said. “He’s gotten better at his protections, picking things up, IDing things, understanding jet protections, understanding slide protections. He’s getting better at those things. We want to continue to grow his arsenal of plays and continue to use him as a wideout so that’s probably not going to stop regardless of who is there.”

The continuation of Bell at running back is certainly welcomed news both to him and the others in the room. Speaking with reporters last week, Bell said he feels comfortable with balancing the two roles of a running back and receiver. It requires more time studying film and meeting with the coaches, but it’s a challenge Bell enjoys – and takes him back to his high school days.

“I love receiver, I love running back,” Bell said. “That decision (on a permanent position) will come through time, but for right now, I just go wherever … As I do the role a lot more, my confidence gets higher and higher. They’re helping me every day at practice to make sure I know the plays, and as I keep doing that, I’m able to do it more quickly and confidently.”

“We’ve 100% adopted Dillon into the room. Before the game he was in our little talk saying ‘We need this amount of yards as a group.’ I would say he’s definitely, you know, part of the room,” Milton added. “Dillon, he’s been super accepting of his role on the team. He hasn’t complained or anything. When I was off to the side and he first came to the running back group, it wasn’t like any complaining. He wasn’t tripping off of leaving the receiving room for that time. He just took advantage of his moments. He brings a lot of versatility to the table as a running back. As y’all see, he has a crazy acceleration. He has the ability to make defenders miss. He has the ability to catch out of the backfield. Just things like that. And, you know, just seeing him be able to show his skillset and not just the receiving aspect but the running back aspect, it’ll benefit him in the long run.”

Players like Bell have come along before, and several are thriving at the next level. Bell mentioned specifically the likes of Ty Montgomery, Cordarrelle Patterson and Deebo Samuel – who Georgia receivers coach Bryan McClendon coached at South Carolina. While he’s not certain of what his permanent position is best fit to be, he remains open to both and continues to grow in his confidence as an all around football player.