Breakout Players for 2024: Running back Roderick Robinson
As we continue our series looking at players we feel will be bigger contributors this year, running back Roderick Robinson's name pops up.
Although Florida transfer Trevor Etienne is expected to receive the bulk of the carries, the sophomore from California will have ample opportunities to show what he can do.
With Branson Robinson still recovering from a ruptured patella tendon and Andrew Paul no longer with the program after hitting the transfer portal, Roderick Robinson could well be Georgia’s No. 2 back heading into the start of the season.
For more on Robinson:
Roderick Robinson
Position: Running Back
Class: Sophomore
Height: 6-0
Weight: 240
Projection: No. 2 running back
What you need to know
Roderick Robinson started his freshman season as fourth on the depth chart behind Kendall Milton, Daijun Edwards, and Andrew Paul.
But by the time the season was over, he was third on the team in rushing with 24 carries for 196 yards, despite just playing in five games due to an ankle injury he suffered Week 3 against South Carolina.
After rushing for 50 yards on eight attempts in his first game against UT-Martin, Robinson flashed in Georgia’s rout of Ole Miss with a season-best 36-yard run, before capping the season as the Bulldogs’ leading rusher in the team’s demolition of Florida State in the Orange Bowl.
Robinson followed up his freshman season with a solid spring, sharing most of the carries with Etienne.
“To be the best, you have to play with the best,” Robinson said on an episode of The Players Lounge with former Bulldog quarterback Aaron Murray.
Now that he’s got a year of college experience under his belt, Robinson’s ready to make even more of a difference.
“In high school, I just got the ball and ran,” Robinson told Murray. “But in college, you have to wait for your blocks to be set up, and you have to know where to go if something happens. There’s a lot more mental that goes into it.”
What you need to look for
Look for Robinson to apply the lessons he spoke about above, and to provide a nice boost to Georgia’s backfield.
Although he definitely projects as a power back, Robinson is shiftier than many give him credit for.
“That’s the trait, the No. 1 trait of a running back: secure the ball and make people miss,” head coach Kirby Smart said of Robinson last year. “I’d like to see him run behind his pads a little better for a big man, but he did some nice things.”
Look for more of the same this fall.
While Etienne is expected to start, do not be surprised if Robinson plays a bigger role as the Bulldogs’ No. 2 back.
His 240-pound frame figures to be most valuable in short-yardage and goal-line situations, but be careful not to pigeonhole the sophomore into being only that.
He’ll be a valuable weapon in what’s looking to be another strong season for Georgia and its offense.