It's strange to think that this is Nate Frazier's first spring in Athens.

After all, the Californian was a revelation as a freshman running back in 2024. Frazier led the Bulldogs in rushing yards with 671 while also accumulating eight rushing touchdowns.

But that all came after Frazier enrolled at Georgia last summer. Now he enters his first spring practice as one of the leaders of the running back room.

"Just trying to develop first," Frazier said. "Develop first as a group, honestly, because there's a lot of new players like me, Dwight (Phillips). Like, we're still considered new, so just trying to grow, develop, trying to learn everything as far as that, and then focus on leadership second, you know? That's it."

Frazier is relying on the lessons he's learned from other players this spring. He said he observed how Trevor Etienne and Cash Jones led the room last season and is trying to emulate that.

But Frazier is also aware that he is a young player with plenty to work on. Fumbles, for example, were something he struggled with at times and a problem that limited his snaps early in the season.

"I'm appreciative of everything that happened for the snaps," Frazier said. "I just remain humble and just continue to work. I know there were a lot of areas that I needed to grow in, so me personally, I wasn't upset at all. I just knew I just need to work harder and just grow and just get better at anything I possibly could. So it didn't make me mad at all. I just put my head down to work."

Etienne's declaration for the draft makes Frazier Georgia's leading returning rusher. His 671 yards last season are more than Branson Robinson (403), Roderick Robinson (199), and Jones (238) have racked up in their Georgia careers.

Frazier will enter 2025 as Georgia's RB1. Like the rest of his teammates, he has his "why" to keep him going.

"I'm from California. A lot of people like where I come from, my city, there's only a couple of options," Frazier said. "So my why is my family. My why is putting my city on my back and stuff like that. And it's just showing all of the kids from where I'm from, there's other options than just doing what it is out there."