Best yet to come for Zamir White

Running back Zamir White predicts he’ll be more like his old self by the time the 2020 season rolls around.

After undergoing a pair of ACL surgeries on each of his knees, having the extra year under his belt should make a lot of difference.

“That season where I didn’t play kind of got me off the beam,” White said. “I had to personally get back in the game, start feeling it like I was before I got hurt.”

Essentially, that’s how he used Georgia’s 2019 season.

White played in 12 of Georgia’s 13 games, ultimately finishing as the Bulldogs’ third-leading rusher behind D’Andre Swift and Brian Herrien, with 60 carries for 327 yards and two scores.

Although White didn’t display the speed he did in high school before the injury occurred, he feels that part of his game will return.

“Oh, yes sir, most definitely,” White said. “I’m going to be fine.”

The Bulldogs certainly hope so.

With Herrien graduating and Swift expected to leave early for the NFL Draft, White, James Cook, sophomore Kenny McIntosh, and incoming freshman Kendall Milton figure to be the main four ball carries for the Bulldogs next fall.

“I’m going to be ready,” White said. “I’m going to work hard.”

ACL injuries have been nothing new for Bulldog running backs.

Former Georgia great Sony Michel suffered an ACL tear back in high school, with Todd Gurley and Nick Chubb going through their own ordeals before ultimately bouncing back, seemingly better than ever.

White is confident he can do the same.

“No doubt,” White said. “This year was about me getting my feet back under me. I’m going to be ready to go.

White said he’s received tons of encouragement along the way.

“Oh yeah. Todd, Chubb, Sony, all my teammates have been very supportive,” White said. “There’s been a lot of people who have reached out to support me, talk to me; everyone has been here for me.”

The journey has been a long one.

White suffered his first injury during the playoffs of his senior year of high school, worked himself back from injury, only to suffer an ACL injury in his left knee while on punt coverage in August prior to what was supposed to be his freshman campaign with the Bulldogs.

“I’m sick for the kid,” Smart told reporters at the time.

But White would bounce back one more time, earning his first collegiate carry in Georgia’s Week 1 win at Vanderbilt.

Although he perhaps didn’t accumulate quite the yardage some predicted, just seeing Smith back on the field was a big deal to teammates like safety J.R. Reed.

“I’m just really proud of him. Coming back from an injury like that and having the confidence to be out there,” Reed said earlier this year. “He’s confident in himself and ready to get out there and play. That’s something very difficult to do.”

The way White sees it, the best is yet to come.

“I think having made it through this year is really going to help me out a lot,” he said. “I can’t wait.”