With Florida transfer Trevor Etienne serving a suspension for his March 24 arrest and Roderick Robinson sidelined after undergoing surgery for a turf-toe injury, freshman running back Nate Frazier stepped up in Georgia’s 34-3 season-opening win over Clemson.
The former four-star recruit out of Mater Dei High School— who former Alabama head coach and now-turned-ESPN “College Gameday” analyst Nick Saban said was his No. 1 running back in this past year’s recruiting class—made quite the impression in his debut.
The Santa Ana, California, native finished with 107 yards of offense and his first career score.
“He’s special,” Malaki Starks said of Frazier postgame. “Nate is special. I told him that when he got here, and I’ll tell him that now. I told him he needs to take it and run with it and just go from here.”
Despite not being an early enrollee like 22 of his fellow freshmen, Frazier was a name brought up throughout fall camp. His performance behind closed doors exploded under the bright lights of Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, leading Georgia in rushing with 83 yards and a touchdown on a team-high 11 carries.
“Yeah, I think he did a great job. I think it's super cool opportunity for him,” quarterback Carson Beck said of his freshman running back. “Obviously, he came here in the summer, so he's only been in Athens for two, three months, which is crazy to me. But we have a lot of confidence in him. We were able to see what he could do in practice. Obviously he translated that to the game, and that's usually how it works.”
While Georgia’s final stat line shows the Bulldogs rushed for 169 yards on 27 attempts (6.3 yards per carry), it was tough sledding against a stout Clemson defense. It wasn’t until the second half that Georgia’s ground game picked up steam after gaining just 34 rushing yards before halftime.
Outside of a pair of jet sweeps to start the half, one for Arian Smith, who picked up seven yards, and another for Dillon Bell, who gained 27 yards, the difference proved to be the talented true freshman. Frazier was handed the ball seven times in the second half, rushing for 63 yards, including his first career touchdown.
While Georgia head coach Kirby Smart described Frazier's performance as “awesome,” he also thinks the freshman has a lot to learn.
“Look, guys, Nate is a long way from a complete package," Smart said. "He wasn’t here in the spring. So he missed 15 practices of intense work that he’s trying to play catch up on.”
The Bulldogs and their “special” freshman, Frazier, will be back in action Saturday when they host Tennessee Tech in their home opener. Kickoff inside Sanford Stadium is set for 2 p.m. EST.
