The past two years in Athens have been anything but smooth for Kendall Milton.

He has battled injures often, missing numerous games over the past two seasons. The former five-star from California also had to wait his turn behind the likes of Zamir White and James Cook.

Now, it's Milton's turn to take on that bigger role. The lessons of the past two years, on and off the field, have him feeling ready to accept it.

Milton spent most of the past two years learning from White and Cook. He saw how they went about their business and knew he had plenty to learn.

"You kind of have to look yourself in the mirror and decide, like, OK, are you ready to be the number one or ready to have that main role," Milton said. "I kind of just took my opportunities and tried to do the most that I could do with them. At the end of the day, I still knew I had things to work on to be able to become the back I wanted to be."

Injuries have also hampered Milton's progress. A sprained MCL, a hamstring issue, other nagging ailments—they have all kept Milton off the field at one point or another.

During those times, Milton's teammates made sure to encourage him and keep his spirits up. For his part, Milton did everything possible in rehab and in the weight room to keep himself in as good a shape as possible.

Now White and Cook are gone. After all the waiting, Milton is one of the backs tasked with filling those shoes.

"Even coming up as a freshman, as a sophomore, I knew it was all about trusting the process," Milton said. "At a school like this, we’re always going to have five-star, four-star running backs coming in back to back to back. At a certain point, you’ve kind of just got to wait your turn. At the end of the day, everybody’s going to get their turn."

Milton has focused on his receiving skills over the past year. That showed in Georgia's season opener against Oregon, where Milton had an 18-yard touchdown catch out of the backfield.

After keeping Milton's morale up during the injuries, some of those same teammates set up the touchdown catch with key blocks.

"After the end zone, I made sure I got right back to my teammates and slapped them on the helmet, thanked them," Milton said. "At the end of the day, especially as a running back, we really can’t do anything unless everything works itself out."

Reading defenses has also been an area of emphasis for Milton. He now feels that he often knows what the defense is going to do before the ball is snapped, allowing him to better execute his assignments. That knowledge also boosts Milton's confidence when he takes the field.

Along with Kenny McIntosh and Daijun Edwards, Milton forms part of a Georgia backfield committee that hopes to continue the Bulldogs' RBU tradition. With improved health and more experience, Milton is ready to take his spot on center stage.

"I just kept my head down, just kept working, kept doing what I needed to do to get back on the field," Milton said. "I’m just happy that I can be in big moments with my teammates."