Georgia Bulldogs: Will Chubb be ready for season opener?
The Georgia Bulldogs running back Nick Chubb sustained a significant knee injury last season that could have put his football future in jeopardy. While his rehabilitation has reportedly been ahead of schedule, will Chubb be ready for the season opener against North Carolina on September 3?
Though Nick Chubb’s recovery has been ahead of schedule, there have been reports that sources close to the program are actually uncertain that he will in fact be ready by the season opener.
"While the target date for Chubb’s return is the opener against North Carolina, some close to the program are skeptical he’ll be ready that soon. Longtime SEC analyst Tony Barnhart of Gridiron Now, citing a conversation with medical specialists, believes Chubb will miss the first couple games before he’s back to 100 percent.“The orthopedic people that I’ve talked to say from the date you injure the way he injured that knee, it’s a calendar year,” Barnhart said during a recent appearance on 1010XL in Jacksonville. “So if he comes back before the end of September, I’m going to be surprised. But if he comes back anywhere close to what he was before, Georgia’s going to develop the quarterback and they’re going to have a pretty good football team.”"
Just how long can the Georgia Bulldogs afford to be without Chubb? It appears Georgia will have time to bring him along more slowly if needed, thanks to the combination of a favorable start to their 2016 schedule and the presence of quality backups.
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The Georgia Bulldogs first three games consist of the North Carolina Tar Heels, Nicholls State Colonels, and the Missouri Tigers.
North Carolina and Missouri both have challenges of their own including new coaching staff, new quarterbacks, and plenty of off the field controversy.
The schedule really toughens up after that, with a road game in Oxford, Mississippi, against the Ole Miss Rebels on September 24.
It would be ideal for the Georgia Bulldogs that Chubb be ready at that point, but if not, definitely by the following week when the Bulldogs take on the Tennessee Volunteers at Sanford Stadium. That game could a long way in deciding the eventual SEC east winner.
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Will the Georgia Bulldogs be ready even if Chubb isn’t? It appears that the Bulldogs are deep enough, and the schedule is favorable enough that there should be no need to rush him back before he is fully ready.