Kirby Smart comments on status of Georgia RB Andrew Paul
Georgia’s running back is about as depleted as it could be for the time being. The Bulldogs are likely down three tailbacks when they take on UAB this Saturday and they’ve already moved pieces around and leaned on on a walk-on to get through the first three games. One guy we haven’t seen much of is Andrew Paul.
Conventional wisdom says that the former three-star prospect who garnered a great deal of interest at the end of the 2022 recruiting cycle could step in. That, however, has not happened thus far.
“I think everybody’s got an opportunity,” Kirby Smart said when asked about Paul on Wednesday’s SEC Coaches’ Teleconference. “We’ve got Sevaughn Clark, Andrew Paul, Len’Neth Whitehead. All those guys have been doing a really good job and getting better each week. They get a lot of reps, and I think the opportunity’s there for really a lot of backs that are working their tail off. Dell’s done a great job preparing those guys, and looking forward to seeing them. Hopefully they all get a chance to play.”
Smart went on to confirm that Paul is healthy. He is not battling injuries or even the surgically repaired knee. The eighth-year head coach did, however, casually mention the injury and how Paul is just a year removed from it.
The Texas native joined the program last summer and turned heads in preseason camp before suffering a torn ACL. Paul was fully cleared to start camp this season and, again, did quite well in the scrimmages. But through three games he has only touched the ball five times. He has four rushes for 18 yards and one kickoff return for 23 yards.
The Bulldogs got Daijun Edwards back from a knee injury for the South Carolina and it wasn’t a moment too soon. Edwards ran it 20 times for 118 yards and scored Georgia’s first touchdown early in the third quarter. It was the third 100-yard game of his career.
While Edwards is healthy and available, the guys who carried most of the load for the first two games are not. Kendall Milton sustained a sprained MCL in the third quarter of Saturday’s win over South Carolina. He did it on his longest run of the day, a 15-yard rumble that helped set up the Edwards touchdown.
Roderick Robinson, a true freshman who had 14 carries in the first two games, is battling a high-ankle sprain. It doesn’t seem like a serious sprain but it’s one that will likely keep him from taking the field against UAB.
Those two injuries are added to the stack that was started this preseason when Branson Robinson, arguably the team’s most gifted ball carrier, suffered a torn patella tendon toward the end of camp. He was already battling a foot ailment that required surgery during the spring but Robinson was almost back before suffering the non-contact injury and now it’ll be next season, at the earliest, before we see him in action.
As the injuries have mounted, a couple of Bulldogs have really stepped up. Dillon Bell, a wideout by trade, is cross-training at the position. He has 10 carries for 51 yards and two touchdowns over the past two weeks. Walk-on Cash Jones has also pitched in, scoring touchdowns in back-to-back games. He had a 27-yard touchdown grab against Ball State in week two and a 13-yard touchdown run in week three.
With Milton and Robinson getting dinged against South Carolina, the short-handed backfield will get its first test this coming Saturday. The Bulldogs take on UAB with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
