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Published Jan 23, 2022
Stats Crunch: 2021 Review (Rushing)
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Dave McMahon  •  UGASports
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In terms of rushing, the 2021 season had its ups and downs. For the first time since 2013, the Bulldogs didn't have a 1,000-yard rusher. What it did have was six players who ran for more than 200 yards. The Dawgs also had nine different players rushing for a touchdown including a wide receiver, a tight end, and a defensive lineman.

Georgia and Air Force were the only two teams in the FBS to have six different players with at least 200 yards rushing.

The Bulldogs were one of three SEC schools to accomplish this feat in the 2000s (LSU in 2007; Florida in 2010).

The Dawgs led the SEC with nine different players scoring a rushing touchdown and only four schools had more.

The only other Georgia team to have nine different players with a rushing touchdown in the 2000s was the 2011 team.

Georgia Seasons with 9 Different Players with Rushing Touchdowns
20112021

Isaiah Crowell (5)

Zamir White (11)

Aaron Murray (2)

James Cook (7)

Carlton Thomas (2)

Daijun Edwards (3)

Brandon Boykin (1)

Kenny McIntosh (3)

Brandon Harton (1)

Stetson Bennett (1)

Kyle Karempelis (1)

Brock Bowers (1)

Hutson Mason (1)

Jordan Davis (1)

Richard Samuel (1)

Ladd McConkey (1)

Braden Smith (1)

Kendall Milton (1)

On the whole, Georgia averaged just over 190 yards per game on the ground. That ranks somewhere in the middle during Kirby Smart's tenure. Where did it rank in the SEC? Here are all of Smart's teams.

Georgia Under Kirby Smart - Rushing Stats and SEC Ranks
Rush Yards Per GameRush Yards Per Attempt

2016

191.2 (9th)

4.7 (9th)

2017

258.4 (1st)

5.8 (1st)

2018

238.8 (1st)

5.9 (1st)

2019

185.1 (5th)

4.9 (5th)

2020

174.2 (5th)

4.6 (4th)

2021

190.6 (6th)

5.2 (3rd)

Zamir White declared for the NFL Draft earlier this month. His time at Georgia had its share of injuries, but he did put up some interesting stats in his three seasons of playing time, including cracking the top 15 all-time in rush yards.

Most Career Rush Yards by a Georgia Bulldog (10th through 16th place)
SeasonsCareer Rush Yards

10th -Thomas Brown

2004 - 2007

2,646

11th - Kevin McLee

1975 - 1977

2,581

12th - Frank Sinkwich

1940 - 1942

2,271

13th - Willie McClendon

1976 - 1978

2,228

14th - Musa Smith

2000 - 2002

2,202

15th - Zamir White

2019 - 2021

2,043

16th - Tim Worley

1985-86, 1988

2,038

White averaged 5.3 yards per attempt throughout his career, which is the same average as Herschel Walker. However, Zamir had 382 career attempts, and Herschel had 385 in his sophomore season alone.

White also had 25 rushing touchdowns during his career, including 11 in 2021. The 11 this past season matched the 11 he had in 2020. He's the sixth different Georgia player to have double-digit rushing touchdowns in back-to-back seasons since the 1940s.

Bulldogs with Back-to-Back Seasons with 10+ TD Rushes Since 1940
Seasons

Charley Trippi

1945 - 1946

Herschel Walker

1980 - 1982 (3 seasons)

Lars Tate

1986 - 1987

Knowshon Moreno

2007 - 2008

Todd Gurley

2012 - 2013

Zamir White

2020 - 2021

James Cook did a little bit of everything and still managed 1,503 career rush yards. This past season was eerily similar to his first three seasons combined.

James Cook - Rushing Stats Comparison
First 3 Seasons2021 Season

Rush Attempts

117

113

Yards

775

728

Rush Yards Per Attempt

6.6

6.4

TD Rushes

7

7

As with passing, Stetson Bennett had a very productive season running. His 259 net yards on the ground was one of the top totals by a Georgia quarterback over the last 25 seasons.

Most Rush Yards in a Season and Career by Bulldog QB Since 1996
SeasonCareer

D.J. Shockley (2005) - 322

D.J. Shockley - 643

Quincy Carter (1998) - 284

Quincy Carter - 601

Justin Fields (2018) - 266

Aaron Murray - 396

Stetson Bennett (2021) - 259

Stetson Bennett - 325

Quincy Carter (1999) - 255

Justin Fields - 266

Matthew Stafford (2006) - 191

Matthew Stafford - 213

Aaron Murray (2013) - 186

Christian LeMay - 67

Aaron Murray (2010) - 167

Faton Bauta - 50

D.J. Shockley (2004) - 113

Jake Fromm - 40

Aaron Murray (2011) - 111

Jon England - 38

The most attempts a Georgia player had in a game in 2021 were 18 by White against Auburn.

Three times this season, Georgia had a player rush for multiple rushing touchdowns. White accomplished this feat twice, while Cook did it once.

Cook also had the longest rush of the season, when he ran for 67 yards late in the third quarter against Alabama in the CFP Championship game. Kenny McIntosh had the longest run for a touchdown when he had a 59-yard score against Georgia Tech.

Here are the most yards rushing by a player that Georgia had in a game this season.

Most Rush Yards in a Game in 2021 by Georgia Bulldog
Opponent (Yards)Opponent (Yards)

Zamir White

Florida (105)

James Cook

Alabama - CFP (77)

James Cook

Tennessee (104)

Zamir White

Clemson (74)

James Cook

Arkansas (87)

Zamir White

Arkansas (68)

Zamir White

Alabama - CFP (84)

Kendall Milton

South Carolina (66)

Zamir White

Charleston Southern (79)

Kenny McIntosh

Georgia Tech (66)

Zamir White

Auburn (79)

Who gets the ball and when? Here's a deeper look at how Georgia's top five running backs have fared per quarter this season.

Georgia Top 5 Running Backs by Quarter in 2021
attempts / yards/ touchdowns
1st Quarter2nd Quarter3rd Quarter4th Quarter

Zamir White

50 / 267 / 3

39 / 158 / 3

44 / 233 / 2

27 / 198 / 3

James Cook

34 / 246 / 2

37 / 192 / 3

25 / 182 / 1

17 / 108 / 1

Kenny McIntosh

12 / 31 / 0

13 / 38 / 0

21 / 164 / 2

12 / 97 / 1

Kendall Milton

10 / 34 / 1

10 / 58 / 0

14 / 62 / 0

22 / 110 / 0

Daijun Edwards

0 / 0 / 0

1 / 6 / 1

8 / 33 / 0

40 / 176 / 2

Where do Georgia's top running backs compare to the ones in recent seasons for the Bulldogs? Here's a quick look at the top three Dawgs in terms of rushing yards in each of the last ten seasons.

Top 3 - Rush Yards by Individual Bulldog - Last 10 Seasons
Top RusherSecondThird

2012

Todd Gurley (1,385)

Keith Marshall (759)

Ken Malcome (272)

2013

Todd Gurley (989)

J.J. Green (384)

Brendan Douglas (345)

2014

Nick Chubb (1,547)

Todd Gurley (911)

Sony Michel (410)

2015

Sony Michel (1,161)

Nick Chubb (747)

Keith Marshall (350)

2016

Nick Chubb (1,130)

Sony Michel (840)

Brian Herrien (363)

2017

Nick Chubb (1,345)

Sony Michel (1,227)

D"Andre Swift (618)

2018

D'Andre Swift (1,049)

Elijah Holyfield (1,018)

Brian Herrien (363)

2019

D'Andre Swift (1,218)

Brian Herrien (490)

Zamir White (408)

2020

Zamir White (779)

James Cook (303)

Kenny McIntosh (251)

2021

Zamir White (856)

James Cook (728)

Kenny McIntosh (328)

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