This series focuses on the 17 Georgia Bulldogs who graded at or above 70.0 by Pro Football Focus, and who played a minimum of 100 snaps in 2020.
Coming in at number six on our list:
Zamir White - 80.4 overall grade; 81.6 rushing; 52.6 receiving
Tough running
Dayne: When speaking with people around the team, it is obvious that Zamir White is one of the team leaders and sets the tone for working hard. He's a north and south runner who stays low to the ground and makes agile cuts. He does not get enough credit for his straight-line speed. He uses his acceleration to turn a five-yard gain into a game-changing big play.
Brent: Instead of Zeus, he should probably go by alpha, as by all accounts White is that from a work ethic and leadership perspective. Last season, White took another step forward as a rusher from a cutting and vision standpoint. He's at his best as a one-cut downhill runner, but also showed more short-area quickness/shiftiness to and in the hole this past season (above).
Dayne: Dell McGee likes to tout his goal line stalkers. White is just that. He has 14 career rushing touchdowns, 11 of them coming in the abbreviated 2020 season. While not always the most patient of runners, he does have great vision and lean that allows him to slither through small holes between the tackles. White averages 5.3 yards per carry in college football. He needed to prove that kind of reliability and durability after two ACL tears keeping him off the field in 2017 and 2018.
Brent: He finished with 27 forced missed tackles and 400 of his 779 yards after contact. Now another year removed from the ACL issues, can White be even more explosive, force more tackles, and see a big jump in the number of 15-plus yard runs (nine last year)? Bulldogs fans certainly hope so.
Catching out of the backfield
Dayne: White does not have the documented history of being a regular passing target. He has eight career catches (as opposed to 222 total carries). He does have the ability to help Georgia with his hands, but he's not a candidate to motion out wide.
Brent: This is what will be most interesting with the Bulldogs offense and the running back room this fall. A little over 60 percent of his career snaps have been running plays of some sort. He's only seen 12 career targets. The back on the field should not give the defense a lean one way or the other from a tendency perspective.
Protection
Dayne: We discussed in our James Cook article that Georgia running backs have struggled in pass protection. White must improve that area of his game to help his future NFL stock and display versatility at Georgia. He's a physical player who too often gets knocked off-course due to poor leverage and balance. White is RB1 going into this season. If another player on the roster takes his starting spot, it would be in part because of needed pass protection improvements.
Brent: These finer details of the game are things that should hopefully get cleaned up with a normal offseason and the second year in Todd Monken's system. White allowed four total quarterback pressures on 29 pass block snaps and a 40.1 pass block grade. I expect all the backs to be better in this area this fall, as under Kirby Smart, areas of weakness have traditionally been focused on and improved.
Previous:
-7) Jordan Shaffer
-8) James Cook
-9) Jordan Davis
-10) Christopher Smith
-11) Kearis Jackson
- 12) Devonte Wyatt
- 13) Lewis Cine
- 14) Warren McClendon
- 15) Jalen Carter
- 16) Arik Gilbert
- 17) Travon Walker
