Sony Michel: Ready For Big Things In 2015?

Sony Michel came to Athens with a ton of promise as one of two 5-Star tailbacks in the UGA Recruiting Class of 2014, along with the Pride of Cedartown, Heisman Hopeful RB Nick Chubb. With so many expectations on Nick Chubb in 2015, are we grossly overlooking what Sony Michel can do for us, Dawg Nation?

Yes, the answer is yes. Sony Michel if you care to remember was 3rd on the UGA RB depth chart last season before the Clemson game, behind Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall. Michel was ahead of Nick Chubb, Brendan Douglas and the injured AJ Turman at the start of last year.

Sony came out in a big way for the Dawgs in the third game of the season against the Troy Trojans at home, rushing 155 yards on 10 carries for 3 scores. He even looked pretty solid in limited action against two Power 5 teams right off the bat, with 51 yards on 10 carries for an impressive 5.1 YPC average versus Clemson and South Carolina.

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However the week following his breakout game against Troy, Sony Michel suffered a major shoulder injury against the Tennessee Volunteers at home and had to miss the next five games, all SEC games. Combined with Keith Marshall’s own health issues and the Todd Gurley suspension prior to the Missouri game, Nick Chubb had to take over as the featured back and the rest was history.

Even with a strong game against the Kentucky Wildcats in his return (16 carries for 84 yards and a score), Sony never reclaimed his positioning ahead of Nick Chubb on the depth chart. Sony Michel finished his freshman season with 64 carries for 410 yards, a 6.4 YPC average, and 5 rushing touchdowns.

With so much focus on Nick Chubb, Sony Michel appears like he’s healthy again, rushing for a 50+ yard score in the Dawgs most recent intra-squad scrimmage earlier this week. The Dawgs have 3 former 5-Star RBs on their roster and the departed Todd Gurley is not one of them. I hope Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer runs the darn ball a ton with his embarrassment of riches in the RB corps.

After the third scrimmage of camp, HC Mark Richt said with affirmation that the UGA RB depth chart is as follows: 1. Nick Chubb 2. Sony Michel 3a. Keith Marshall 3b. Brendan Douglas 4. AJ Turman. All five should get plenty of carries this fall. UGA doesn’t need a work horse this season like Chubb had to become so that the Dawgs could survive 2014 Conference Play.

With his greased lightning foot speed, I feel that Sony Michel should command at least 10 carries a game in this very deep UGA backfield. Traditionally, that sounds like a slap in the face for someone as talented as Sony Michel, but the RB corps gets the big picture: a heavy rotation of power and speed that can and will break down opposing front sevens (think 2014 Clemson game, folks).

If that’s the case, the Sony Michel may only need 10 carries to routinely breach the 100-yard threshold. Expect Sony Michel to often break runs of the 20+ variety in 2015. I mean he broke a 50+ score against the Georgia Bulldogs’ 2nd Team defense in the last scrimmage. Many Power 5 teams would want the players on the UGA 2nd Unit Defense to start for them.

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